Fear of AIDS.

AIDS inspired fear.

And fear inspired moral panic.

And so gay men were subjected to shame and damnation.

And many gay men internalized feelings of self-hatred because of these psychic pressures.

And all the lies of homophobia emerged from the unconscious.

Gay men were said to have indulged in excessive promiscuity and sexual license which many thought was the cause of AIDS.

Others claimed that AIDS was God's punishment for homosexual behavior.

But these ideas are not based in fact.

Gay men were no more promiscuous than straight men and women in the 1960s and 1970s.

And straight men and women did not experience AIDS to the same extent.

So these ideas are suspect to say the least.

They are in fact forms of homophobia.

AIDS has brought these issues up into the conscious minds of everyone.

And there we are able to deal with them.

So examine your attitudes to gay people.

Are they based in fact?

Or are they forms of fear and prejudice?

On this hangs all our hopes.

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