Elizabeth Gallaser Discrimination

In the years preceding the Vietnam war a new disease has appeared in the United States in the future it will be known as the HIV/AIDS virus. The AIDS virus had quickly spread due to it being unknown and virtually undetectable during that time. For those who were infected they felt increasingly isolated. Prejudice and fear had overtaken people’s emotions resulting to stereotypes in many levels of society. One of the early pioneering AIDS activist was Elizabeth Glaser who herself had contracted the AIDS virus during her pregnancy passing it on to both her children resulting to the death of her daughter, which was the spark for her fight against the epidemic. Elizabeth Glaser took a stand by speaking out about the discrimination people affected with the virus struggled with, she also talked about the government’s lack of action and what they could have done, finally by founding “The Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation” in order to provide for those with HIV.
Discrimination towards people with the AIDS virus commonly referred to as “The gay disease.” One of the first person diagnosed with the AIDS virus was a openly out gay men arising to the generalization that such a disease was linked with homosexuality. Those with the virus most were kicked out of their schools, fired from their
For people like Elizabeth Glaser and others they were left to fend for themselves seemingly unable to be heard by those in the sit of power the result was a movement to catch the government’s attention.. Elizabeth Glaser recalls her journey“ I go to Washington to the National Institute of Health and say show me what you’re doing on HIV they hate it was I come because I try to tell them what to do.” She also expressed her frustration on how the government said can cared but did nothing. From this speech I learned about how hard it would've been for people to feel like they weren't alone in their fight to