Who remembers AIDS in the 1980s?

reply to post by tothetenthpower


I am sorry you were treated that way, I remember those days, I am not gay but was a volenteer in the nineties in San Francisco, I helped to feed and care for terminal AIDS patients, I lost many friends also and still miss and think about them all the time, btw I lost a few so called friends during that time because I helped..the stigma is still there but not as bad...

i'm 34 and I remember when Rock Hudson died. that was HUGE. but it didnt matter much to me since I'm a straight, white male. then when Eazy E died in'96, I was shocked. thank god it can be treated now

During 1986 I was diagnosed with HTLV III. They gave me six months to live. Surprise! Still here. God, I was only nineteen.

There was nothing worse than being treated like a leper IN BIBLICAL TERMS. What an awful time.

Edited for alcohol spelling mistake.

[edit on 23-2-2010 by brilab45]

[edit on 23-2-2010 by brilab45]

I went from 13-23 during the 80's and I do remember when aids hit, so to speak.

What I recall.........


A scare over blood tranfusions (there was a couple cases where I lived)


In school,

most were under the impression, only gay people could "catch" it.
many seemed to think every gay person had it automatically
There were endless jokes, much like someone mentioned re: Rock Hudson

Now that I think about, it was almost as if it was being used as propoganda against the gay community.

It certainly did nothing to stop the (hetero)"teens" in my school from having unprotected sex. Their biggest worry remained pregnency.

I do however remember the impact Freddie Mercury had. Most of my friends were into the "rock" scene and were all fans of Queen. The relentless media/popo following and speculating and his eventual death. Opened a few eyes from what I remember.

I have one very vivid recollection during the 80's scare. My family and I were passing through Louisiana on I-10 near Slidell. A very large billboard had been erected by a church (can't remember affiliation) that stated in huge letters "Homosexuals Are Being Punished For Their Sinful Ways". The churches should have been the first ones to step up and offer support, instead, many crucifed them.

I was a new nurse back then and remember all the hype and hysteria. One airliner (can't remember which one) threw out one of their seats and had it burned when it was learned that a passenger with AIDS had been seated there. In the early days, it wasn't known how it was transmitted and so all sources were suspect.

It was originally referred to as HTLV (human T-cell lymphocyte virus) since it attacked the T-cells.

Most people I heard talking about it were incredibly callous saying things like, "Who cares? Only queers and n***ers get it".

There was a special hospital in Houston for the care of terminal AIDS patients that was paying nurses $40.00/hr when the going rate for nurses elsewhere was $10.00/hr.

Later, the co-discoverers of the AIDS virus wrote a book entitled, "What They're Not Telling You About AIDS". It didn't get to stay long on the market since it contradicted everything the CDC was putting out.

Everyone on the continent of Africa was going to be dead in 10 years.

It was the first politically protected disease. Nurses could not even be notified in report that a patient had AIDS since we were supposed to use the newly recommended "universal precautions" for everyone. If a nurse got stuck with a contaminated needle, the patient could REFUSE to be tested for AIDS. (Nurses are still considered disposable commodities, btw.)

The whole era of "free love" was still going on but not quite as openly as before so a lot of people got infected. Newborn babies started testing positive for it. It began to cross the barriers of homosexuals and IV drug users to heterosexuals and infants. Blood was not being tested, oddly enough even when it was known that it was a blood-borne disease.

Infected people died quicker than they do now. Being gay was not cool. A lot of gays stayed in the closet because of the AIDS stigma. An entirely new strain of Hepatitis, then called "non-A/non-B", now called Hepatitis C began to arise.

In the 50's and 60's it was the threat of nuclear war with the Russians. The 70's had the threat of energy shortages. The 80's had the threat of AIDS. The 90's had various and sundry threats continuing until now when we have the threat of bio-engineered novelty diseases and economic collapse. There's always something to scare us into submission so that we're too paralyzed to act in our own best interests.

I`d like to thank everyone for posting their eye-opening first-hand experiences, memories, and cultural observations.

It`s incredible how the fear was hyped and manipulated. People in the boat of AIDS being a govt.-manufactured virus/problem-reaction-solution can have a field-day.

Much fear, division, stigma and ignorance was bred and fostered with precision. Looking back at it, it`s easier to see the manipulation and those who benefited. Can apply that knowledge to what is going on today, to help block the propaganda and see the forest for the trees.

reply to post by nemazasho


I didn't have time to read the whole thread, so hopefully I haven't repeated anything. But I most certainly DO remember AIDS, and the panic that everyone felt. The schools were pushing condoms and safe sex like candy on Halloween.

Funny you post this, because just the other day, I saw Magic Johnson (famous basketball player in the 80's, in case you didn't know), on the television, looking big, strong and healthy. I did a double take, because I very specifically remember the fallout when he came out to tell everyone he had contracted HIV, which turned into AIDS. Back then, someone with full blown AIDS had a life expectancy of no more than 8 to 10 years, so technically, Magic should be long dead by now. I thought perhaps he did die, because he just disappeared from the public eye, and I didn't see him until just recently, but there he was.

This tells me that folks found a cure all on their own and it was never publicized. My honest opinion is that it wasn't publicized because the cure was of a "natural" form, and not a pharmaceutical drug. I know of several that would kill the HIV virus, but back in the 80's, not many people were into natural cures like they are today.

Originally posted by Anti-Evil
I wonder how many babies where not born due to the AIDS Plaque, so those people would be 20 somethings now. hum, I wonder. any way I saw the doctor admiting that they were responsible for Aids and its a really sad disease. usually admitted murderers are arrested... is doctors immune.?
well if not now - they sure will be if healthcare passes.

[edit on 23-2-2010 by Anti-Evil]

If you're referring to my post, I meant those contaminated with the virus will never reach full maturity.

I've heard the retro-virus, engineered theory. Which has basis on the total defeat of the immune system, and targeting of specifically. Some state that a naturally occurring virus couldn't be this "smart".

As far as fingering who may have initiated the spread or non-containment, they fault the individual; as safe practice is supposed to be a good measure.

And, as far as the newer gov't backed health pkg., luck to you. Not being specific, as I fall in the 'you' category, other sense. Preferential treatment is a certainty, with costs reserved for those in the 'inner circle'.

reply to post by emeraldzeus

This tells me that folks found a cure all on their own and it was never publicized. My honest opinion is that it wasn't publicized because the cure was of a "natural" form, and not a pharmaceutical drug. I know of several that would kill the HIV virus, but back in the 80's, not many people were into natural cures like they are today.

Didn't you see the Cure? It was on a SouthPark episode. Huge infusions of CASH! That is what Magic Johnson did.

Magic got the absolutely best possible care that money could buy from day 1, and I have heard that even though doctors don't admit to "curing" him, if MJ took an AIDS test today, he would test negative for it!