Even recent threats like Legionnaire's disease and toxic shock syndrome have been quickly mastered. So reports in the early 1980s of a new epidemic were met with resistance and disbelief, even among the people first affected - gay men in Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York. Many people don't want to hear about this epidemic. What they do is their business but if they're sick, it's their fault. Don't burden me with this.
Homosexuality continues to be one of culture's big secrets, and conflicts.
Many people don't want to hear the basic facts about how HIV is transmitted. And I don't want my kids to hear those words on television. Sexual matters are difficult. The media's effort not to offend led many to conclude erroneously that sweat, saliva and tears posed risks. AIDS disproportionately affects the poor and communities of color.