Pres. Reagan and AIDS

Ronald Wilson Reagan may be the very definition of a cipher and that doesn't require any intelligence at all. But I will not fully hate on Reagan, because as a young black kid my mother took me out of school to go see him when he came to my town for a speech and parade, and behind the tinted window he saw me, pointed and waved. That moment has stayed with me some 20+ years later and the man had good intentions, like all presidents, before he actually sat in the Oval Office.

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BRAVO! I believe Reagan was not a good president and yet Republicans glorify him. Because of his inability to acknowledge AIDS and AIDS Prevention, unnecessary deaths took place. It is good to read the reviews which bring the truth to light. There were many other things he did that were dishonest, as others have mentioned. I wish the film gave more details on the rejection process. I am happy to read someone mentioning Ryan White. He put a different face on the AIDS epidemic. This motivated Congress towards more funding.

Is there a thread on the AIDS quilt? Another eye opening experience for most that view it.

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You don't prove "opinions"; you can only prove "facts". Fact and opinion is a third grade skill. Perhaps you need a refresher?

In support of my fellow posters here, Perhaps..you do too.

No one doubts that Reagan was surrounded by an Administration of right-wing conservatives-zealots and complete idiots (as many Presidents were/are and will be) but he was not as much of a leader as he could have been to rise above it be that "great communicator" that was needed to lead not just the USA but the World on this matter. He dropped the ball -- and when he could have done, he stepped aside; when he could have spoke, he remained silent. If he was so decent and strong, he could have shunned his far right supporters who backed him and got him elected for the good of the World. He didn't. It WAS his responsibility on his watch.

Let's clarify WHY it is said that Reagan didn't "mention" AIDS until 1987. Until that time, AIDS was "in the Presidential closet" -- whispers and pointers but nothing that garnered the media attention, acknowledgement, cameras rolling, 'the whole world is watching' moment such as a "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall" on June 12, 1987, something former President Reagan could DO. THAT'S what was needed in as early as 1982/3/4/5 (when Rock Hudson died and he called him to "get well" or even 1986! but NEVER happened on that scale, the scale that was NEEDED until May 31, 1987, his second term, near its end and 20 thousand plus DOCUMENTED deaths of AIDS later (and yes Virginia, there are probably thousands more of undocumented deaths from 1981-1988). Reagan could have jumped on this and saved thousands way before May 31, 1987, is what is being implied. He could have saved countless innocent women and children too from 1981, people who had gotten the disease through blood transfusions and needed the research and help into this new disease.

People like Larry, Randy Shilts, (gotta also mention William M. Hoffman here), and MANY others were screaming from the medical, advocacy and entertainment/arts industries: "fire right here, Mr. President!" to try to bring attention to, and focus on the needless deaths that kept piling up year after year. How can one ignore this and put it on a bigger scale as it was coming to ones face and DOORSTEP minute by minute -- 1987 to make "the big acknowledgement announcement" was too long for many who've lost loved ones. I think too -- the former President was forced to publicly acknowledge because of many people including Martin Gaffney who sued the Federal Government and won because of the heartache he faced by his wife and son dying of AIDS of no fault of their own (you should read up on this, it is one of those additional heartbreaking stories that are just one of many during that time). It's HISTORY and FACTS like THIS that is important -- that we do/need to remember.

I could lists hundreds of more names and stories but they are all there. It's writers/playwrights people like Larry, Randy, William, Terrance McNally, etc., who put the stories out there at that time, and to get them made into film to make people know or remember the what that time was really like. And as I said in a previous post, its important to remember these stories and not the amended documents to make Reagan seem like he did good. He COULD have done so much more and looked good a LONG TIME BEFORE. He didn't, and your "facts" do not make up for what we LIVED.

Here's a few other quotes from around that time that made people shape their (well, my) views of the President at that time that affected this issue:

Society has always regarded marital love as a sacred expression of the bond between a man and a woman. It is the means by which families are created and society itself is extended into the future. In the Judeo-Christian tradition it is the means by which husband and wife participate with God in the creation of a new human life. It is for these reasons, among others, that our society has always sought to protect this unique relationship. In part the erosion of these values has given way to a celebration of forms of expression most reject. We will resist the efforts of some to obtain government endorsement of homosexuality. — Ronald Reagan, July 12, 1984.

It is surprising that the president could remain silent as 6,000 Americans died, that he could fail to acknowledge the epidemic's existence. Perhaps his staff felt he had to, since many of his New Right supporters have raised money by campaigning against homosexuals. Washington Post,1985, Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Los Angeles

Mr. Reagan is dead and cannot confirm or deny any of this. And no, I did not personally know Mr. Reagan. I can only tell you what I did know, try to convey my pain of those who left my life way before their time (those close to me, friends, families and YES, those I did not know who suffered too), whom I was around and people I had worked with back then. I'm still living, lived through this time and it hurts to be put back through it. But "never forget". It brings up so much sadness and questions still on how could someone with so much power who was presented an opportunity to save so many if they could have brought attention to it early on, didn't. Why indeed.

Youth is no guarantee for innovation. - Skyfall

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