The 1980s were a different time, and for all the glitz and glamour the decade also carries with it the stain of having failed on almost every level to address the issue of HIV / AIDS.

President Reagan was front and centre through all of this, failing to even publicly mention AIDS until 1985 – by which point it had already killed more than 5 000 people.

A new short documentary, When AIDS Was Funny, is exposing the White House’s lack of action in rather chilling fashion. This from Vanity Fair:

Using never-before-heard audio tapes from three separate press conferences, in 1982, 1983, and 1984,When AIDS Was Funny illustrates how the reporter Lester Kinsolving, a conservative (and not at all gay-friendly) fixture in the White House press corps, was consistently scoffed at when he posed urgent questions about the AIDS epidemic.

With snickering, homophobic jokes and a disturbing air of uninterest, Speakes dismisses Kinsolving’s concerns about the escalating problem. “Lester was known as somewhat of a kook and a crank (many people still feel the same way),” says Calonico. “But, at the time, he was just a journalist asking questions only to be mocked by both the White House and his peers.”

Then again, if we look at our government’s reaction to the HIV / AIDS front I don’t think we can claim to have done all that much better.

[source:vanityfair]