Gen X Reacts to AIDS | Generation X

In 1985, Rock Hudson, Hollywood heartthrob, becomes the face of AIDS, and overnight the epidemic is no longer anonymous. I was on the set of The Breakfast Club when I heard about Rock Hudson, and to me, that sort of changed everything. It kind of finally hit home for the country; one of the American Idols was sick, and it was AIDS. Then, two months later, he was gone. The country went into an Ebola-like panic. The fear of catching AIDS was spreading as quickly as the virus.

People were scared to interact; people scared of me in the same room. In San Francisco, police and firemen were issued masks to wear in case they had to resuscitate AIDS victims. It was terrifying. I lived in San Francisco; I had a lot of friends affected by it. Um, a lot of friends died. By 1985, one to two million Americans were carriers but showed no symptoms. To make matters worse, the government doesn't seem to be doing much to help find a cure.

I came here today in the hope that my epitaph would not read that I died of red tape. What about AIDS? But there's no delay at school. Generation X learns a frightening new lesson. I was terrified of sex. We were having constant assemblies at school, like basically, you're going to die if you have sex. The AIDS crisis made you feel like basically, you could get AIDS at any moment. It influenced every relationship; sex equals death. I mean, every English major knows that, right? I mean symbolically, but this time it was the truth.