In 1981, the CDC documented 40 cases of a rare skin cancer in the gay communities of San Francisco and New York. The cancer, initially called Kaposi's Sarcoma, appeared as spots on the bodies of gay men. The spots didn't cause them any pain, but it caused swollen lymph nodes and then killed the victims by spreading throughout the body. By the end of 1981, 121 gay men had died from the mysterious disease. It wasn't until 1986 that researchers isolated the virus causing the cancer: HIV. HIV(human immunodeficiency virus) is a retrovirus, which means that the virus will transcribe its RNA into the DNA of the host cell, ensuring that the virus's genetic material is permanently incorporated in the genetic material of the host cell. HIV attacks the body's immune system, reducing the number of T cells, and making the body more susceptible to infections and diseases. Over time, HIV can destroy so many T cells that the body is basically unable to fight off any infections or diseases, no matter how small. This last and final stage of HIV is called AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome). Without treatment, a person who is infected with AIDS will typically only survive for another 3 years.
At the beginning of the AIDS epidemic, the response was mainly limited to the communities that were the most affected, such as the gay male community. The epidemic brought about a lot of stigma surrounding AIDS and the gay community in particular. In places like San Francisco, with a large gay population, people infected with HIV/AIDS were mocked for being gay, or for being drug addicts. Jerry Falwell, the founder of the Moral Majority, used HIV/AIDS as a tool to further his political agenda. Falwell argued that "AIDS is the wrath of God upon homosexuals". The stigma that surrounded the diseases led to a general reluctance from the public to help the victims. Ronald Reagan, president at the time, was in office for 5 years before he even mentioned the words "AIDS" in public. Reagan wouldn't address the issue until 1987, near the end of his second term. At the time of his speech, over 36,000 Americans had been diagnosed with AIDS and over 20,000 had died. The disease had also spread to over 113 countries across the world.
Today, over 36 million people are living with HIV/AIDS, and an estimated 1.2 million died from the disease in 2014 alone. There is currently no cure for the disease, but treatment methods have greatly improved since 1981. HIV/AIDS is a global epidemic, and one cannot help but wonder what might have happened if Reagan had done more to treat the disease when it first appeared. The stigma surrounding the disease led to the government ignoring the problem, and indirectly causing the death of hundreds of thousands of Americans. Even today, the disease is highly stigmatized. People still associate HIV/AIDS with "gay sex" and "drug abuse", preventing healthy debate about the disease. The epidemic of the 1980's is rarely heard of, even in the San Francisco area, where thousands of people died from the disease a mere 30 years ago. When looking at history, even recent history, it is not enough to simply gloss over each and only remember the successes of the US government. When a disease has affected a significant portion of the population, it is not enough to shove it to one side and focus solely on Reaganomics, or SDI. This same kind of ignorance is what led to the spread of one of the deadliest diseases we have ever seen.
Sources:
http://www.sfgate.com/opinion/openforum/article/Reagan-s-AIDS-Legacy-Silence-equals-death-2751030.php
http://www.apa.org/pi/about/newsletter/2014/12/hiv-aids.aspx
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-confusing-and-at-times-counterproductive-1980s-response-to-the-aids-epidemic-180948611/?no-ist
https://www.aids.gov/hiv-aids-basics/hiv-aids-101/what-is-hiv-aids/
http://www.nytimes.com/1981/07/03/us/rare-cancer-seen-in-41-homosexuals.html
https://my.vanderbilt.edu/f13afdevfilm/2013/11/governmental-and-social-response-to-hivaids/
When it comes to fighting diseases, do you think the United States is fairly adept at fighting them before they spread? With Ebola and Zika, the response of the United States had found, and still finds, significant roadblocks in providing aid. Recipient countries often have internal problems preventing efficiency in American aid, but as for the American side, congressional opposition, bureaucracy, and the sheer size of the effort often hampers fast and speedy aid. In this case, the group that was most largely affected was a stigmatized community and it begs the question as to if the United States would be better at dealing with non-stigmatized populations outside of the United States, or treating stigmatized populations within the United States.
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