Post On What It Was Like To Be Gay In The '80s Trying To Survive The AIDS Epidemic Goes Viral
Tucker Shaw editor of Cook&rsquos Country magazine recently shared apowerful series of tweets recalling the AIDS epidemic of the 1980s. The epidemic had begun in mid-1970s itself with the virus spreading out to North America South America Europe Africa and Australia by 1980 and infecting an estimated 100,000-300,000 people.
Tucker Shaw, editor of Cook¡¯s Country magazine, recently shared a powerful series of tweets recalling the AIDS epidemic of the 1980s. The epidemic had begun in mid-1970s itself, with the virus spreading out to North America, South America, Europe, Africa and Australia by 1980 and infecting an estimated 1,00,000-3,00,000 people.
Shaw narrates the incident inspired by two young men he overheard on the subway talking about the crisis in what Shaw describes as ¡°a scholarly way.¡±
Shaw wrote: ¡°I overheard a young man on the train on the way home today, talking to another young man. Holding hands."
¡°In college, I guessed. About that age anyway. Much younger than I am."
¡°He was talking about AIDS, in a scholarly way. About how it had galvanised the gay community. How it had spurred change. Paved the way to make things better, in the long run.
¡°The long run.¡±
Read the moving thread below:
#1
I overheard a young man on the train on the way home today, talking to another young man. Holding hands. In college, I guessed. About that age anyway. Much younger than I am.
¡ª Tucker Shaw (@tucker_shaw) 18 September 2018
#2
He was talking about AIDS, in a scholarly way. About how it had galvanized the gay community. How it had spurred change. Paved the way to make things better, in the long run.
¡ª Tucker Shaw (@tucker_shaw) 18 September 2018
#3
The long run.
¡ª Tucker Shaw (@tucker_shaw) 18 September 2018
#4
Maybe he¡¯s right. I don¡¯t know. It¡¯s not the first time I¡¯ve heard the theory. He spoke with clarity and with confidence. Youthful, full of conviction. But.
¡ª Tucker Shaw (@tucker_shaw) 18 September 2018
#5
Remember how terrible it was, not that long ago, during the worst times. How many beautiful friends died. One after the other. Brutally. Restlessly. Brittle and damp. In cold rooms with hot lights. Remember?
¡ª Tucker Shaw (@tucker_shaw) 18 September 2018
#6
Remember how terrible it was, not that long ago, during the worst times. How many beautiful friends died. One after the other. Brutally. Restlessly. Brittle and damp. In cold rooms with hot lights. Remember?
¡ª Tucker Shaw (@tucker_shaw) 18 September 2018
#7
Some nights, you¡¯d sneak in to that hospital downtown after visiting hours, just to see who was around. It wasn¡¯t hard.
¡ª Tucker Shaw (@tucker_shaw) 18 September 2018
#8
Some nights, you¡¯d sneak in to that hospital downtown after visiting hours, just to see who was around. It wasn¡¯t hard.
¡ª Tucker Shaw (@tucker_shaw) 18 September 2018
You¡¯d bring a boom box. Fresh gossip. Trashy magazines and cheap paperbacks. Hash brownies. Anything. Nothing.
¡ª Tucker Shaw (@tucker_shaw) 18 September 2018
You¡¯d get kicked out, but you¡¯d sneak back in. Kicked out again. Back in again. Sometimes you¡¯d recognize a friend. Sometimes you wouldn¡¯t.
¡ª Tucker Shaw (@tucker_shaw) 18 September 2018
Other nights, you¡¯d go out to dance and drink. A different distraction. You¡¯d see a face in the dark, in the back of the bar. Is it you? Old friend! No. Not him. Just a ghost.
¡ª Tucker Shaw (@tucker_shaw) 18 September 2018
At work, you¡¯d find an umbrella, one you¡¯d borrowed a few rainstorms ago from a coworker. I should return it, you¡¯d think. No. No need. He¡¯s gone. It¡¯s yours now.
¡ª Tucker Shaw (@tucker_shaw) 18 September 2018
One day you¡¯d get lucky and meet someone lovely. You'd feel happy, optimistic. You¡¯d make plans.
¡ª Tucker Shaw (@tucker_shaw) 18 September 2018
But there were so many names to write down. Too many names. Names you didn't want to write down.
¡ª Tucker Shaw (@tucker_shaw) 18 September 2018
Shaw talks about coping up with his partner's death and moving on. But he kept getting news of more friends dying from AIDS. He ends his thread with, "The long run. Wasn¡¯t that long ago."
