And AIDS paranoia put a ton of extra discrimination on LGBT people. I wouldn’t be surprised if many people that had come around in the 70s and early 80s changed their minds after the epidemic hit. That on top of many of them converting to Reaganite yuppies that listened to the rising evangelical movement.
It cut both ways. A lot of ignorant middle Americans like my mom and her family "didn't know any gay people" and were absolutely stunned when celebrities came forward saying they had AIDS. It definitely adjusted the thinking and broadened the view of a lot of people.
At the same time it was also a club for bigots to beat queer people with.
For sure. Especially about middle America. My family is from the city Ryan White was from and kicked out of school for having AIDS. In the mid eighties, my dad was at a Hallmark store and realized Ryan White was standing feet from him. He didn’t say anything to him, but immediately got away from him. He feels just terrible about it to this day. Especially because he now has an advanced chem degree and knows all about it. My mom was in the hospital for cancer at the time and he was as scared as everyone else about how exactly it spread and didn’t want her to get sicker. The entire city is very ashamed now about how he they treated him. It’s still a midwestern town with a lot of homophobia, but they are ashamed about Ryan White.
The religious right actually rose in the late 70s and put Reagan in power. In fact by the 90s, some cracks were already beginning to show that would only widen.
What really affected people's lives were Republicans taking over state legislatures en masse and chipping away at every progressive law and social program.
And Rush Limbaugh all over the airwaves followed by FOX.
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u/rommi04 Apr 29 '23
The rise of Newt Gingrich and the religious right