{"id":113,"date":"2011-06-05T08:29:23","date_gmt":"2011-06-05T13:29:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/brianfarreybooks.com\/wordpress\/?p=113"},"modified":"2011-06-05T09:48:50","modified_gmt":"2011-06-05T14:48:50","slug":"an-anniversary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brianfarreybooks.com\/wordpress\/2011\/06\/an-anniversary\/","title":{"rendered":"An anniversary"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Today marks the 30th<\/sup> anniversary<\/a> of the first diagnosis of AIDS in the United States<\/a>. The disease had been killing silently around the world since at least 1978 (much\u00c2\u00a0evidence suggests it had been around longer but the pieces of the puzzle started coming together in \u00e2\u20ac\u212278).
\n<\/a><\/p>\n

Of course, at the time, they didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have a word for it.\u00c2\u00a0 The words “gay cancer<\/a>“\u00c2\u00a0were floated around.\u00c2\u00a0 Later, the grotestque \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcgay-related immune deficiency\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 (GRID) popped up. The more accurate, and less vilifying, AIDS was coined in 1982. By then, it had become an epidemic, owing largely to extreme denial on the part of the Reagan administration and the reluctance to acknowledge that a problem even existed.<\/p>\n

This was homophobia at its ugliest.\u00c2\u00a0 The mere perception that the disease was exclusive to homosexuals made the people who could have done something about it ambivalent at best.\u00c2\u00a0(If you’re interested in learning more about the history of AIDS, I highly recommend Randy Schilts’ excellent\u00c2\u00a0AND THE BAND PLAYED ON<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

Back in the \u00e2\u20ac\u02dc80s, everyone was scared because nothing was known about HIV.\u00c2\u00a0 Today, we know it can\u00e2\u20ac\u201dand does\u00e2\u20ac\u201daffect anyone.\u00c2\u00a0 But sometimes it seems that, 30 years on, we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re still as much in the dark now as we were when this was just a condition whispered about with a mixture of fear and shame. Advances in the treatment of HIV and AIDS have fostered complacency in many.\u00c2\u00a0 A lack of strong education on the dangers of HIV\u00e2\u20ac\u201dsupported by those who still live with the idea that it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s strictly a \u00e2\u20ac\u0153gay disease\u00e2\u20ac\u009d\u00e2\u20ac\u201dhave seen a return of reckless sexual practices that endanger thousands of men and women\u00e2\u20ac\u201dgay and straight\u00e2\u20ac\u201devery day.<\/p>\n

The shadow of HIV\/AIDS hovers over WITH OR WITHOUT YOU. To be clear, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not a book about<\/em> HIV\/AIDS. I consider it a book about acceptance, belonging, and love.\u00c2\u00a0 These are all concerns of anyone living with HIV\/AIDS. These are concerns we all face. \u00c2\u00a0 Almost daily, I remind myself to reflect on this often overlooked intersection.<\/p>\n

There’s still much to learn. \u00c2\u00a0There’s still much to say. And I can’t escape the feeling that the most important fact that needs to endure is: This is not over and it <\/em>does <\/strong>affect you.<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Today marks the 30th anniversary of the first diagnosis of AIDS in the United States. The disease had been killing silently around the world since at least 1978 (much\u00c2\u00a0evidence suggests it had been around longer but the pieces of the puzzle started coming together in \u00e2\u20ac\u212278). Of course, at the time, they didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-113","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brianfarreybooks.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/113","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brianfarreybooks.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brianfarreybooks.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brianfarreybooks.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brianfarreybooks.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=113"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/brianfarreybooks.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/113\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brianfarreybooks.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=113"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brianfarreybooks.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=113"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brianfarreybooks.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=113"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}