ADVOCATE: The unequal responses to two national tragedies trigger a flood of memories for one man recalling a dear friend he lost to the AIDS epidemic.
Dear M — I am supposed to be writing about World AIDS Day, but all I can think about is you.
Today also happens to be September 11, the 20th anniversary of the attacks. The President and a couple of former ones are here to mourn. The blue lights where the towers should be are back on, reaching for the heavens. The names of the dead, all 2977, are read aloud. “Never forget,” we’re told.
I am supposed to be writing about World AIDS Day; it’s the 40th anniversary of the epidemic. We don’t get the presidents mourning though. None of the names of our 106,776 dead in New York City alone are read aloud. We still don’t have a vaccine or a cure. But we have a day, and that red ribbon. » | Richie Jackson | Wednesday, December 1, 2021
