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Lowenna Waters
Sep 19, 2018
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iStock Getty / 4421010037
World Aids Day offers the opportunity for people worldwide to unite and fight against HIV, support those living with the disease, and commemorate all those who have died from Aids related illnesses.
This heartbreaking Twitter thread does just that, by bringing home yet again the devastation that was caused by the Aids epidemic.
HIV/Aids arrived in the United States as early as 1960, but was first noticed in young gay men in Los Angeles, New York City, and San Francisco, in 1981.
The epidemic reached a peak in the USA between 1987-1996, killing 324,029 men and women in the USA between 1987 and 1998, reports British Academy.
It particularly impacted the gay community, just as the equal rights movement was really gaining ground. During its peak, by the end of 1983, 71 per cent of the Aids cases reported were among gay and bisexual men, reports Living History.
Now, Twitter user Tucker Shaw is reliving those terrifying times, and bringing to life the people and human stories behind the numbers, in an evocative and heartbreaking thread of tweets:
I overheard a young man on the train on the way home today, talking to another young man. Holding hands. In college… https://t.co/JmYPx8aH5a— Tucker Shaw (@Tucker Shaw) 1537228867
He was talking about AIDS, in a scholarly way. About how it had galvanized the gay community. How it had spurred ch… https://t.co/ql5a1KkXLB— Tucker Shaw (@Tucker Shaw) 1537228872
Maybe he’s right. I don’t know. It’s not the first time I’ve heard the theory. He spoke with clarity and with confi… https://t.co/HlYrC13w0l— Tucker Shaw (@Tucker Shaw) 1537228873
Remember how terrible it was, not that long ago, during the worst times. How many beautiful friends died. One after… https://t.co/70rQtQVZaJ— Tucker Shaw (@Tucker Shaw) 1537228874
Some nights, you’d sneak in to that hospital downtown after visiting hours, just to see who was around. It wasn’t hard.— Tucker Shaw (@Tucker Shaw) 1537228875
You’d bring a boom box. Fresh gossip. Trashy magazines and cheap paperbacks. Hash brownies. Anything. Nothing.— Tucker Shaw (@Tucker Shaw) 1537228875
You’d get kicked out, but you’d sneak back in. Kicked out again. Back in again. Sometimes you’d recognize a friend. Sometimes you wouldn’t.— Tucker Shaw (@Tucker Shaw) 1537228876
Other nights, you’d go out to dance and drink. A different distraction. You’d see a face in the dark, in the back o… https://t.co/JG4sXC2bnb— Tucker Shaw (@Tucker Shaw) 1537228877
At work, you’d find an umbrella, one you’d borrowed a few rainstorms ago from a coworker. I should return it, you’d… https://t.co/RBg4ipNsVk— Tucker Shaw (@Tucker Shaw) 1537228877
Season after season. Year after year.— Tucker Shaw (@Tucker Shaw) 1537228878
One day you’d get lucky and meet someone lovely. You'd feel happy, optimistic. You’d make plans.— Tucker Shaw (@Tucker Shaw) 1537228879
Together, you’d keep a list of names in a notebook you bought for thirty cents in Chinatown so you could remember w… https://t.co/CV563r1MFg— Tucker Shaw (@Tucker Shaw) 1537228879
But there were so many names to write down. Too many names. Names you didn't want to write down.— Tucker Shaw (@Tucker Shaw) 1537228880
When he finally had to go too, you got rid of the notebook. No more names.— Tucker Shaw (@Tucker Shaw) 1537228881
Your friends would come over with takeout and wine and you’d see how hard they tried not to ask when he was coming… https://t.co/EvYfsVYsNN— Tucker Shaw (@Tucker Shaw) 1537228881
When he’d been gone long enough and it was time to get rid of his stuff, they’d say so. It’s time. And you’d do it,… https://t.co/61moj3hD30— Tucker Shaw (@Tucker Shaw) 1537228882
Except those shoes. You remember the ones. He loved those shoes, you’d say. We loved those shoes. I’ll keep those shoes under the bed.— Tucker Shaw (@Tucker Shaw) 1537228883
You’d move to a new neighborhood. You’d unpack the first night, take a shower, make the bed because it’d be bedtime… https://t.co/w6PTH3SD7J— Tucker Shaw (@Tucker Shaw) 1537228884
Air. You’d need air. You’d walk outside in the shoes, just to the stoop. You’d sit. A breeze. A neighbor steps past… https://t.co/1UDziq2Tj4— Tucker Shaw (@Tucker Shaw) 1537228885
You’d sit for a while, maybe an hour, maybe more. Then you’d unlace the shoes, set them by the trash on the curb. Y… https://t.co/9GsMpaYmdO— Tucker Shaw (@Tucker Shaw) 1537228885
The long run. Wasn’t that long ago.— Tucker Shaw (@Tucker Shaw) 1537228886
The lyrical and emotive tweets have caused an outpouring of support, and memorials.
@tucker_shaw I miss my brother. He died 25 years ago along with all of his sweet friends. The long run.— rachel (@rachel) 1537331719
@smyth_rach @tucker_shaw I miss my brother too. 23 years ago— alexandria ross (@alexandria ross) 1537332110
@SANDRAELLENK @tucker_shaw A friend of mine cared for her friend as he died because his family disowned him. So muc… https://t.co/HsUgKOmUP1— Pass SR1 and save our democracy (@Pass SR1 and save our democracy) 1537332583
@tucker_shaw I grew up in San Francisco and hung out every day in the Castro. By the time I turned 18 in 1991, ever… https://t.co/TGEN9vFnqq— Fluffy Puppy Mojo (@Fluffy Puppy Mojo) 1537333706
@cairdin @philquin @tucker_shaw Definitely Worth Of A Pulitzer. I Lost My Cousin Toby. He Used To Raid My Wardrobe… https://t.co/pMNPnX14u8— Pamela Millsaps (@Pamela Millsaps) 1537336526
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