1988. HIV/AIDS: Vito Russo – ‘Why We Fight’
So, I’m proud to be with my friends today and the people I love, because I think you’re all heroes, and I’m glad to be part of this fight. But, to borrow a phrase from Michael Callen’s song: all we have is love right now, what we don’t have is time.
In a lot of ways, AIDS activists are like those doctors out there — they’re so busy putting out fires and taking care of people on respirators, that they don’t have the time to take care of all the sick people. We’re so busy putting out fires right now, that we don’t have the time to talk to each other and strategize and plan for the next wave, and the next day, and next month and the next week and the next year.
And, we’re going to have to find the time to do that in the next few months. And, we have to commit ourselves to doing that. And then, after we kick the shit out of this disease, we’re all going to be alive to kick the shit out of this system, so that this never happens again.
- There is a detailed account of the response to the emergence of HIV/AIDS – from both governments and our communities – in my eBook Gay in the 80s. Full details are available here.
Thank you for sharing this speech with your readers.
It is astounding at how little people know about AIDS/HIV even now even though it is a disease that still effects many. It is even more surprising at the stigma still attached to the AIDS virus. I wanted to recommend a memoir about the subject that is educational, informative and inspiring. It is called “Don’t Stop Dreaming” by author Dr. Russell Tomar (https://russtomarmd.com/). This book offers a first hand account from someone who was right in the middle of the tragic start of the AIDS epidemic. The author shares his struggle with finding a cure as well as trying to understand the cause and treatment of the disease. I feel it is the duty of each individual to educate themselves on things like this that have had such a profound impact on such a large number of people and this book was the perfect way for me to do that.
I went to one of his and his boyfriends loft for a party in 1986. I will always remember
His smile!