Today is World AIDS Day and it is on this day that I look back on things and how they were. On how you couldn't even sneeze without fear of catching AIDS. How you could not even sit down on a public toilet seat without wondering if the person using this prior to yourself has AIDS.
I grew up in the era of AIDS and remember first hand at my mother telling me to watch where I sat on a toilet because I could get AIDS. I remember at one point being scared to death to even sneeze into my own hands, fearing that I, myself, had AIDS and could very well pass it on to someone else.
I was born in 1981, just as AIDS, or GRID (Gay-Related Immune Deficiency) as it was called then, was starting to become increasingly noticeable. At first, it was only a handful of gay men contracting it, or so it was told to us, the general public. But, by 1982-83, it became nationwide and began to show in IV drug users and Haitian refugees and no longer became known as GRID, but as AIDS.
Then, by 1985, AIDS was showing up in hemophiliacs and babies born to those who had AIDS. It was also then that the disease claimed its first celebrity: Rock Hudson. Come the end of the decade, AIDS had claimed over thousands of people. By the end of December 1991, AIDS claimed Freddie Mercury, the lead singer of Queen. I was just discovering the bombastic music of this group and was deeply hurt to learn of his passing. However, the Tribute Concert to Freddie Mercury reassured me that his legacy will continue...and it has.
As a librarian and avid researcher, I learned much about this horrible disease and that it was not such a new thing. That it dated back to the 1960s when an American teenager in Missouri contracted a "mysterious disease" that would kill him within weeks. Why no one took notice of this we will never truly know.
AIDS is something I know about all too well, both academically and personally. It was never a personal thing until it hit too close to home. My uncle, a drug user, contracted it through his use of drugs. As a young child, I failed to take notice of his sudden weight loss, of his frequent absences at family functions and why he seemed so distant from me. It wasn't until I visited him in the hospital that I took note of the basic fact that he was sick. It was three weeks before Christmas and I wanted him to get better, come home and give me presents. I found myself praying inside my family's church for him to get better. But I guess GOD had other plans and did not fulfill my prayers. On December 15th of 1988, my uncle quietly passed away...without anyone at his side as requested. I guess he wanted to keep his dignity, even with his last dying breath. That's my assumption. I remember vividly seeing my mother, aunt and two cousins waiting outside my school for me. Then my mother taking me aside and telling me that my uncle passed away. As a small child, the thought process can vary. In my case, I was slow to the start. They kept me at home for the funeral and burial, but felt it best for me to attend the repast lunch. What were they thinking? I will never, ever know.
It wasn't until I was an adult that I was told the "slight" truth: My uncle had AIDS and that at the time he was quickly dying from the disease. I kind of understood why they felt it was best not to tell me, but I could not help but to feel angry about it. I mean, I could've taken it with a straight face, maybe even a little bit of a temper tantrum. But, that's the old generation for you. Keep it bottled in and do not let the neighbours know no matter how much you are suffering.
However, the pain and suffering only increases if you choose to keep it bottled in. It will only hurt even worse if you choose not to talk about it. It's like the group ACT UP said: Silence = Death. Those words are true. You keep it to yourself, you're going to die. Sad, but true.
Today, it has been over 30 years since AIDS was discovered. To this day, there are millions affected with HIV and AIDS all over the world and the numbers are starting to dwindle. Thanks to modern day technology and the latest in medication, those who are afflicted with HIV are now either living longer lives or are completely immune to whatever disease comes to weaken their already vulnerable bodies. We have hopes by 2015 to have an HIV-free generation. I have hopes for this, I truly do, but until there is an actual cure to HIV/AIDS, we are only holding out for hope.
In conclusion, I wish to show this video of the actor Shawn Wallace reading the speech of the late LGBT activist, Vito Russo, as to why the fight to stop AIDS continues.
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