Post AyVGL3aPPx7GNH8g7s by jezebelkat@famichiki.jp
 (DIR) More posts by jezebelkat@famichiki.jp
 (DIR) Post #AyVGL3aPPx7GNH8g7s by jezebelkat@famichiki.jp
       2025-09-23T04:56:47Z
       
       0 likes, 0 repeats
       
       On the "yes things are better in some ways" list...Rent soundtrack came up on random and I was thinking:When was it exactly when AIDS/HIV stopped being "that Gay disease" and "you can get it from touching someone else" and it being viewed as a complete death sentence?Because it hasn't been any of that for a long time and... I couldn't tell you when it changed. But I sure as hell remember when it was all those things.And now it's... just... not.
       
 (DIR) Post #AyVGL4LuZL76kbMcAS by tomjennings@tldr.nettime.org
       2025-09-23T16:27:55Z
       
       0 likes, 0 repeats
       
       @jezebelkat Largely I think the result of out and loud gay people. It became, obviously, life or death, and ACT UP and other groups got very loud... I think the biggest effect was from the "we've been here the whole time, your 'bachelor' neighbor and 'spinster aunt' and the other cliches, functionally normalizing gay and to a large extent queer folk to mainstream US. The effect was larger amongst white folks at least at first (even though black folks were solidly on the front line of this activism!). The legalization of simply being gay/queer followed or was certainly amplified, while i don't think at all that aids group organizing was sole cause, certainly, it was a large and singular one.  Most of the push by bigots is to maintain silences.  Suppression of speech, ideas, kids especially hearing anything. Because their arguments of bigots are non-existent; just anger and fear and secret agendas (pedophile old white guys). Act up was anything but silent. And their methodology was fantastically sophisticated and planned out. It's well documented too.  Yeah it was a lot of privileged white folks, applying their skills and power to a problem. Black peoples matters barely got lifted up in this, afaik, because the core, root, of all this shit in the US is anti black racism. It's our root document. Bummer we didn't or can't have an act up for racism, as driven and existential. We sure could use it now.
       
 (DIR) Post #AyVGL7wtCJTVu9ggim by jezebelkat@famichiki.jp
       2025-09-23T04:59:22Z
       
       0 likes, 0 repeats
       
       I'm sure there are still some people that think that way, but I haven't met one, or at least never met one that would dare say it outloud in... twenty years? Maybe? I don't know.But I remember how bad it was in the school hallways in the 90s.