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LGBTQ+ People Are Not Going Back! Don’t Make Me Get Out My Docs Again
The apathy and ignorance surrounding the AIDS crisis is not just a matter of historical amnesia.
This isn’t the article I started to write last week. But then I saw a post from a friend on another platform, explaining the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt to a 30-something gay man who’d never heard of it. That post stopped me cold. It made me rethink the very phrase “going back.”
The NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt isn’t just a collection of fabric panels; it’s a testament to a generation tragically lost, a visceral reminder of what can happen when hate and indifference go unchecked. It’s a legacy.
How can we demand to not go back when so many don’t know where we came from?
This is something I have learned to deal with when teaching undergraduate Gen Zers. It’s jarring to find out that a significant portion of the younger generation doesn’t know about the AIDS crisis. The sheer scale of death and suffering, the casual cruelty of a government that stood idly by, the profound fear that permeated our community — it’s a history that must be reckoned with, not brushed aside.
Recently, I lectured on Rent to this semester’s group of GenZers. This now-period piece…
