2861U2 said:
The reason I mentioned gay people specifically was because I get the impression that some people in here are turning this into a "gay" issue, not a "potentially deadly disease" issue.
and this is what's really interesting.
AIDS is quite obviously not a gay disease in a worldwide context, and though it was in the beginning in the US and Europe, now straight people make up the majority of new HIV infections, and the most at-risk group are straight african-americans.
however, in 1992, it was seen as a "gay disease," and it was a wonderfully effective way for the socially conservative right to view AIDS as some sort of punishment for a "sinful" lifestyle. there was a horrible t-shirt that was popular in some corners that read: "AIDS is killing the right people." i remember Sebastian Bach getting in trouble for wearing a t-shirt that read "AIDS Kills Fags Dead."
so while AIDS has never been solely a gay disease, it has disproportionately affected the gay community (for a long, long list of reasons, many of which are quite complex), and it has thusly been used as "evidence" that there's something wrong with being gay. further, it becomes quite easy to point at a despised segment of the population and call for "isolation" when (you don't think) it's going to be anyone who'd either, a) vote for you, or b) you don't regard as totally human.
like i said, if it were soccer moms getting HIV, you'd never, ever have a senate candidate from AR calling for "isolation."
these days, people are saying that there was too much "P.C." surrounding the early years of the AIDS crisis, and had there been quarantining of some sort in the very early 80s, perhaps the spread could have been stopped. that's something we'll never know. but it's hard not to backlash when you're already a highly discriminated against (especially back then) minority group. how do you not read more into this than what might already be there? but ultimately, it's the dormant stage of the virus that makes it so potent. you don't get sick right away. most people will come down with something akin to a flu right after seroconversion, but people can have HIV and not know it for years and years, and this makes it so easy to spread, and this is why in addition to the spread of safer sex practices i think HIV testing should be part of a routine doctor's visit. once people know they have the virus, most people are very responsible for their health and for the health of others, and once someone is on medications, their ability to infect others is greatly reduced.