Elizabeth Gallaser Discrimination

In the years preceding the Vietnam war a new disease has appeared in the United States in the future it will be known as the HIV/AIDS virus. The AIDS virus had quickly spread due to it being unknown and virtually undetectable during that time. For those who were infected they felt increasingly isolated. Prejudice and fear had overtaken people’s emotions resulting to stereotypes in many levels of society. One of the early pioneering AIDS activist was Elizabeth Glaser who herself had contracted the AIDS virus during her pregnancy passing it on to both her children resulting to the death of her daughter, which was the spark for her fight against the epidemic. Elizabeth Glaser took a stand by speaking out about the discrimination people affected with the virus struggled with, she also talked about the government’s lack of action and what they could have done, finally by founding “The Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation” in order to provide for those with HIV.
Discrimination towards people with the AIDS virus commonly referred to as “The gay disease.” One of the first person diagnosed with the AIDS virus was a openly out gay men arising to the generalization that such a disease was linked with homosexuality. Those with the virus most were kicked out of their schools, fired from their
jobs just because of a virus fearing that its could be transmitted to their peers. According to Stigma, discrimination and HIV “ In 35% of countries with available data, over 50% of men and women report having discriminatory attitudes towards people living with HIV. Fear surrounding the emerging HIV epidemic in the 1980s largely persists today.” from this site I learned about the difficulties a person with AIDS during that time would have faced. After the lost of her daughter Elizabeth with the help of her friends they founded a foundation later to be renamed as “Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric Aids Foundation” (EGPAF) to help those with HIV and prevention of transmission. According to pedaids.org “ EGPAF has become the leading global nonprofit organization dedicated to preventing pediatric HIV infection and eliminating pediatric AIDS through research, advocacy, and prevention and treatment programs.” (Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, November 2016) From this site I discovered how much Elizabeth Glaser had devoted herself to a cause, how her legacy still lives on saving thousands of life’s. The government’s lack of empathy towards those suffering with HIV.
For people like Elizabeth Glaser and others they were left to fend for themselves seemingly unable to be heard by those in the sit of power the result was a movement to catch the government’s attention.. Elizabeth Glaser recalls her journey“ I go to Washington to the National Institute of Health and say show me what you’re doing on HIV they hate it was I come because I try to tell them what to do.” She also expressed her frustration on how the government said can cared but did nothing. From this speech I learned about how hard it would've been for people to feel like they weren't alone in their fight to
survival. There are those who did believed that not helping those with AIDS was completely justified for because of their belief that the disease was a punishment from God. ( Is AIDS a Divine on Sexual Promiscuity) “We believe that AIDS is more a consequence of sinful lifestyle and hence what is properly termed an indirect rather than a direct judgment of God.” From this site I learned about the argument of the other side where their views come from. The AIDS movement kicking off government action. During the time another movement was happening alongside with the AIDS epidemic it was the gay equality movement. It was a changing time for the first time parents stood alongside with their children fighting for equal treatment of people belonging to the LGBT community almost every day movements are gaining more and more momentum making it increasingly difficult for the government to keep its back turned against those calling for social change. The government finally heard it was a turning point. Funding was diverted towards research for a cure for the AIDS virus.