How ironic that I chose to start my then and now blog drafts today. I was channel surfing today in pursuit of the perfect Saturday afternoon movie. You know the type: Light and breezy, you've seen it at least ten times and it in no way reminds you of some ex-lover. I was about to cruise the dreaded networks (because they edit and show commercials) when I came across what I consider one of Tom Hanks' better roles. Philadelphia. While this particular movie in no way fits the bill of what I was looking for I was compelled to watch it. And now I am compelled to discuss the AIDS issue and how the landscape has changed since I first began paying attention to it.
For those who may not know the movie Philadelphia here are the nuts and bolts. Tom Hanks plays a closeted(vs openly) gay lawyer who develops the AIDS virus and gets visibly ill. He attempts to conceal his disease as well as his lifestyle from his co-workers and superiors. When it is believed that he has AIDS he is summarily terminated by his firm under the false accusation of incompetence. He knows he is being fired for his being sick,and gay, so he seeks legal counsel from a ambulance-chasing black lawyer (Denzel Washington). Washington's character is initially callous, homophobic and reluctant to defend him. Eventually he takes the case and sues the old firm for teminating Andy (Hanks). Of course I could describe the whole movie but the important points to be gleaned are that some people get a dose of tolerance, including Washington's character, and the biases and stigmas towards the disease and the homosexual community are exposed in great detail.
As the movie unfolds, even the staunchest homophobe will find themselves realizing that in the end, we are not talking about a disease. We are talking about people.
The case was heavily publicized. The lifestyle was stressed more than the sickness. Jokes were made, prejudices and apathy and even hatred were exposed. Gay-bashing was rampant from unlikely sources and few focused on the fact that a man was wrongly terminated and that a law was broken. But behind all of that was a nice guy with a loving family. His partner was caring and supportive and for the most part he was just a regular guy who happened to be dying from an insidiuos, devastating and very misunderstood disease. And he walked into the courtroom every day with signs in his face that read "God hates homos" and "AIDS cures homosexuality". Because it is Hollywood the ending was fairly predictable. Andy died, people cried and his lawyer learned a little something about compassion. But Hollywood is not real life.
I remember there were many attitudes towards AIDS in the 80's. It was not considered a real threat to many. There was actually apathy (and a consequent lack of funding) on the part of the heteros because it was a "gay" disease between gay men only. But noone really thought about the bisexual or the husband who secretly liked men and consequently infected his wife. Noone thought about blood transfusions and intravenous drug use. The first story I heard of a "straight" person getting the disease from a transfusion certainly opened my eyes wide. When such stories began surfacing I actually believed that I could walk down the street, trip and fall on a dirty soup spoon and be infected. So condom sales skyrocketed and clinics gave out pamphlets on safe sex and Congress reluctantly gave out more money for research. But tragic news emerged. There was no cure, no antiserum and no chance of survival. And it was spreading worldwide at an alarming rate.
During the 90's a lot of progress was made to curb the disease's spread and infection rates among homosexuals dropped. Drug therapys made it possible that HIV positive people may live long lives. But the casual sex and needle-swapping crowd did a good job of ravaging the community regardless of color or social status. But thanks to such reliable sources of bigotry and bullshit as the religious right and the tragically uninformed the stigma of AIDS as a "gay disease" persisted.
In the 21st century the AIDS virus is ravaging Africa and developing countries at a truly staggering rate. Accelerating rates of contraction, inability to educate the people (some Africans believe having unprotected sex with a virgin will cure the disease), lack of funding make efforts to stop it almost futile. I can only thank God (sarcasm duly noted) that the ass-backwards Catholic Church still forbids condoms in its doctrine. But the World community has stepped up, the US included, and we may make some progress soon. Education has slowed the infection rate in the US and longer life expectancies are the norm.
But for the sake of normalcy and my theme of "then and now" there are still the assholes that carry signs that say "God hates fags" and "AIDS cures Homosexuality". Aaaahhh, reminds me of my youth.