Ronald Reagan, the closest thing to a deity, aside from God, the right wing has, was the president of the United States when HIV was first diagnosed — and nicknamed — “the gay plague.” He would have been ninety-nine today. He will have been dead six years this June.
The right-wing remembers him as America’s last, true, best leader. The left knows the real truth. Truth like, under Reagan, the first “acknowledgment” of AIDS was this White House press conference:
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
PRESS BRIEFING BY LARRY SPEAKES
October 15, 1982
The Briefing Room
12:45pm EDT
Q: Larry, does the President have any reaction to the announcement the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, that AIDS is now an epidemic and have over 600 cases?
MR. SPEAKES: What’s AIDS?
Q: Over a third of them have died. It’s known as “gay plague.” (Laughter.) No, it is. I mean it’s a pretty serious thing that one in every three people that get this have died. And I wondered if the President is aware of it?
MR. SPEAKES: I don’t have it. Do you? (Laughter.)
Q: No, I don’t.
MR. SPEAKES: You didn’t answer my question.
Q: Well, I just wondered, does the President
MR. SPEAKES: How do you know? (Laughter.)
Q: In other words, the White House looks on this as a great joke?
MR. SPEAKES: No, I don’t know anything about it, Lester.
Q: Does the President, does anyone in the White House know about this epidemic, Larry?
MR. SPEAKES: I don’t think so. I don’t think there’s been any
Q: Nobody knows?
MR. SPEAKES: There has been no personal experience here, Lester.
Q: No, I mean, I thought you were keeping
MR. SPEAKES: I checked thoroughly with Dr. Ruge this morning and he’s had no (laughter) no patients suffering from AIDS or whatever it is.
Q: The President doesn’t have gay plague, is that what you’re saying or what?
MR. SPEAKES: No, I didn’t say that.
Q: Didn’t say that?
MR. SPEAKES: I thought I heard you on the State Department over there. Why didn’t you stay there? (Laughter.)
Q: Because I love you Larry, that’s why (Laughter.)
MR. SPEAKES: Oh I see. Just don’t put it in those terms, Lester. (Laughter.)
Q: Oh, I retract that.
MR. SPEAKES: I hope so.
Q: It’s too late.
Imagine a pandemic today, that had already killed two hundred people, and the White House joking about it. You couldn’t imagine it without the word “impeach” running through your head just as fast. But in those days (and, today, in some circles) it was OK to joke about anything “gay.” Like HIV/AIDS.
Reagan was president from 1981-1989. He lowered the tax rates for the wealthiest Americans from 70% to 28%, while raising taxes on social security and medicare — really, a triple hit against the middle and lower classes.
Via Wikipedia:
“Reagan’s tax policies were accused of pushing both the international transactions current account and the federal budget into deficit and led to a significant increase in public debt. Debt more than tripled from 900 billion dollars to 2.8 trillion dollars during Reagan’s tenure.”
Today, when the news media talks about how America has the highest unemployment in three decades, they’re referring to the years of Reagan’s presidency.
But for our purposes, here’s the critical point: Reagan ignored HIV/AIDS. He did not even acknowledge it until 1987, after countless thousands had died. Think of how many would be alive today, and how much further ahead of finding a cure we could be today, if Ronald Reagan saw HIV/AIDS as not a “gay plague,” but as a pandemic that would kill millions.
Most of us know someone who has HIV/AIDS, or who has died from it, or both.
Personally, to me, the idea of any member of the LGBTQ community, much less LGBT organizations, such as GOProud and Right Pride paying tribute to Ronald Reagan on the date of his birth, is unconscionable.
Via Avert:
“AIDS was first identified in the USA in 1981. The epidemic has now spread to every part of the USA and to all sectors of society.
“It is thought that more than one million people are living with HIV in the USA and that more than half a million have died after developing AIDS.”
Leadership is about leading an entire nation, not just the straight population. Not just the people you like.
Happy Birthday, Ronald Reagan.
(image: Avert)
Related posts:
- Happy (Prop 8 Decision) Birthday, Mr. President!
- Happy Birthday Armistead Maupin, A Writer Who Happens To Be Gay
- Mike Huckabee On HIV/AIDS
- Happy Anniversary, Virginia Foxx
- Is The Pope Guilty Of The Murder Of Millions?
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