And The Band Played On

This book is an exceptional documentation of the AIDS crisis in the early years of the epidemic. I am not surprised at how often I find myself easily enraged at the telling of discrimination that People with AIDS faced and, I'm sure, still do face. Not to mention the lack of any action whatsoever by US Presidents Reagan and Bush, which greatly contributed to countless American lives lost to AIDS, as well as the ineptness of so many politicians and those in the medical profession. 

One of the stand-out quotes came from Gary Walsh to Jerry Falwell: "My God is not a vengeful God. When those children died of polio in the fifties, they were not punished by God. One of the most perverted uses of religion is to use religion to justify hatred for your fellow man."

I'm not yet finished reading And The Band Played On but I already know it has no happy ending. It never can. Even when a day comes where AIDS is at last wiped off the earth, that day will be nothing more than a relief that came far too late. 

(ps - the only thing I don't like about this book is how often the word "moreover" is used. Oh my good god, it feels nearly incessant! I've actually shouted out loud, "Oh Randy, come on! You're killing me - find a different word!!" If there's a hereafter, I bet Mr. Shilts is enjoying my "moreover-groans" and laughing his arse off. ♥RS♥)