I have witnessed many
of the most creative individuals of my generation ravaged by a disease of
which society said: They deserved it. They brought it upon themselves.
Before there were drug cocktails to keep people alive, there were young men
in the prime of their lives who became sick for no apparent reason, then suddenly
very, very ill. No drugs, no treatment worked, they just died within a few
months, at most a year, leaving their lovers, friends and family stunned and
grieving.
AIDS was utterly lethal and scary.
— Lili Lakich, 1987