When It Started to Begin

My activist pal Jay Blotcher writes:

A tragic anniversary. Thirty-eight years ago today: The Old Grey Lady acknowledges a health crisis that had been strafing NYC’s and San Francisco’s gay communities for more than a year. And so a modern holocaust begins. Never forget how our government under Ronald Reagan and George Bush ignored the epidemic while hundreds of thousands sickened and died in misery. Because they were gay. And remember: AIDS is not over. We again have hateful Republicans in power who want to see us wiped out.

Do yourself a favor and watch the new documentary "5B," which should be required viewing for all queer people -- especially young ones lacking a sense of history and perspective. (Oh, the "privilege" a generation of cis gay men basked in while being rejected by hospitals and mortuaries -- and by plenty of family members, too.)

I don't want to "spoil" anything for you, but Dr. Lorraine "I knew something devastating was going to happen to that community" is such a cartoon character of a villain you won't even believe your eyes.

“We decided that if we can’t save these folks, we’re going to touch them,” one nurse said of their approach to care, which included physical contact with patients at a time when most people would be unwilling to go near someone with HIV. “This was a tangible thing you could do: wash them, put moisturizer on them,” another caregiver said. “You were allowed to love your patients.”