Reagan, first president with an openly gay son, dies

[yesthattom]

Today it was announced that Ronald Reagan, known for being the president under which AIDS was discovered, has died of Alzheimer's disease. It is an accepted fact among historians that his Alzheimer's had affected his ability to make critical decisions as early as the first year of his second term in office.

To the gay community, Reagan will always be the president who botched the first 8 years of the AIDS epidemic. AIDS was related to gays and the poor, and was anathema to Reagan's right-wing revolution, which sought to roll back all social programs and movements. Reagan's staffers, but not Reagan himself, have admitted that Reagan's first response to AIDS was to joke that if it kills gays "I don't see the problem." Reagan refused to say the word AIDS in public until his 6th year in the Whitehouse.

What makes it even more ironic is that his son, Ronald Reagan, Jr., is gay.

The combination of Reagan in the White House and Cardinal John O'Connor at the pulpit succeeded in putting the kabosh on attempts to do against anything positive to stop the spread of AIDS in its early days. Such open and public refusal to pay attention to the issue spawned radical organizations in response, including ACT UP.

I had honestly thought that he would die moments before the election, just to give Bush a boost of sympathy votes. My first reaction to hearing that he was dead was simply, "Thank God it isn't close to the convention!"

He's dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead of a disease that is greatly misunderstood and discriminated against; under-funded and under-researched. Painful for years before it finally kills you. I want to go the funeral just to see him dead with my own eyes.

Comments

And yet

[mrfantasy.livejournal.com]

Reagan seems like a moderate in comparison to our current president on so many issues. And that scares me.

Re: And yet

[thespian.livejournal.com]

yeah....the one thing that's offering hope for Alzheimer's is human stem cell research....but no one gets federal money for that anymore, because yes, it comes from human fetal tissue, and that's against the religion of George W.

Ron, Jr. came out ... when?

[sierra-nevada.livejournal.com]

I missed his announcement somewhere along the line. When did he come out?

[kgibraldi2.livejournal.com]

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[barking-iguana.livejournal.com]

As one wag put it, God has just signed legislation outlawing Ronnie breathing forever. We begin embalming in five minutes.

[jcspd.livejournal.com]

Couldn't have said any of that better myself.

wow

[lovefox1.livejournal.com]

Holy cow, that was a bit harsh, but it makes total sence. I learn so much hanging around LJ. Thank you.

How the heck was he elected TWICE??

Re: wow

[kimuchi.livejournal.com]

He was wildly charismatic and managed to pull together both Moral Majority-type social conservatives and fiscal conservatives who were simply fed up with the economy under Carter.

[kimuchi.livejournal.com]

I have a lot of empathy for the man as the sufferer of a degenerative disease, and I'm sure at this point the end is a blessing. I am annoyed at the constant coverage -- it seemed like it took 2 periods into the Calgary-Tampa game before the announcers shut up about it (really, it took until Calgary's almost-goal gave them something else to obsess over), and did we really need to see the hearse backing up to his house?! -- especially since I have been troubled with the way the current crop of neo-cons trot out his memory at all times rather than giving him some time and privacy while he was dying.

[frozenmad.livejournal.com]

I never knew his son is gay... when did he come out?