White s diagnosis demonstrated to many that AIDS was not exclusive to homosexuals Did it really demonstrate that the disease was not exclusive to a particular community or did it demonstrate that it was not exclusively contracted through sexual contact Did it really demonstrate to many or did a significant number of people remain prejudiced Yes the gay community felt very strongly that White s illness did demonstrate AIDS was not exclusive to a particular group of people Amongst those who remained prejudiced they remained prejudiced by and large because they wanted it to be a gay disease in order to either give them a better reason to be prejudiced against homosexuals or to promote their own cause and or agenda But it wasn t as if White having AIDS suddenly changed the face of AIDS it took time but his illness did make a difference in how AIDS was thought of and perceived I remember once hearing an educated well known and repspected pastor and Bible scholar saying AIDS is lodged in the rectum that s why it s a homosexual sodomite disease And that was after Ryan White died As far as the above claiming that there was resentment amongst PWAs that it took White s illness to bring the proper attention to AIDS amongst the mainstream media and the rest of America that s untrue There was general anger that there had been people dying of the disease for so long and no one outside the gay community seemed to care There was definite anger toward the Reagan administration the Moral Majority and what was seen as the self righteous extreme right But actual resentment from PWA s in the gay community toward a child dying of the disease many they knew were dying of Not