This article is about the early years of AIDS, long before anyone knew what it was. Back then, it was a strange disease that seemed to affect people of the "H" group: homosexuals, Haitians, and haemophiliacs. At least that's how the media put it. The outbreak of cases of Karposi's Sarcoma was truly mysterious. No one knew the cause, but they certainly saw similarities among the victims and the connection to an outbreak in Africa. Yet The disease was little known, but was suddenly showing up in the gay population. Randy Shiltz argues in his book And the Band Played On that because it seemed to be a gay disease, incompetence and apathy led AIDS to spread more widely and quickly than it should have. Most of hubski (people under 40) came of age in an AIDS-riddled world and, for the most part, will live their lives sheathed or "getting tested" when they meet a new partner. Imagine a world where little of that fear existed. That was growing up between 1965 and 1980. It was still difficult finding out who you were and what you needed. It was still difficult feeling valued and valuing yourself. But it was an interesting time.
Hence the sexual revolution. It was a long time coming, but certain events made it easier: 1. In the 1950s, penicillin became widely available as a cure for syphillis. 2. In the 1960s, birth control pills became widely available to prevent pregnancy. However by the mid-1980s, AIDS was seen as a fatal, incurable STD and the party was over. If you could organize your life differently, arrange to come of age between 1965 and 1980.No one medical investigator has yet interviewed all the victims, Dr. Curran said.