AIDS provoked a backlash
1989
Garry made reference to friends and acquaintances who have died and talks about the impact of AIDS and HIV on the community in terms of the backlash the virus provoked - with gay people being seen as "diseased" and "condemned by God". "There was me just coming to terms with who I was and everything .... It was like being back to square one. I think it set the gay movement back because of the media frenzy 20-30 years".
He feels strongly that the gay community was neglected by the medical establishment and they had to turn to self-help. e.g. the Terence Higgins Trust. "The community thing came back. THT started from groups of friends; now it's a global institution almost."
Contributed by: Garry Jones, 47