I'm HIV+ 19 years and healthy. I've participated in numerous HIV drug trials.

[mucifer]

12. yup fascinating interview with Terri Gross about the difference between the protests

from the AIDS activists and today's antivaxxers.

Basically he respected never was afraid of the AIDS activists and eventually was working with them on emergency use of HIV meds. This set the groundwork for the emergency use of the Covid vaccine.

From the interview:

GROSS: And, you know, you listened to the activists and, eventually, managed to get reforms so the drug trials could continue while the people with AIDS could get access to some of those drugs. But during the period when activists were really angry with you and there were protests and there were signs saying, like, F Fauci and an image of - I think you were burned in effigy. And there was an image of your head on a spike. Were those threats that you had to take seriously in the way you had to take them seriously now?

FAUCI: No, absolutely not. That really is a stark contrast. The activists were justified in their concerns that the government, even though they weren't doing it deliberately, were not actually giving them a seat at the table to be able to have their own input into things that would, ultimately, affect their lives. So even though they were very theatrical, they were very iconoclastic - they seemed like they were threatening. But never, for a single moment, did I ever feel myself threatened by the AIDS activists.

In fact, in one particular situation I think was very telling, I went down at a time when there was a lot of pushback against the government in not listening to the valid concerns of the activists. I was invited to go down. And I went with just one of my staff at the time to go down, essentially, alone to the gay and lesbian community center in the middle of Greenwich Village to meet with what must have been, you know, anywhere from 50 to 100 activists in this meeting room, just me and one of my staff. And they were angry with the federal government because they felt the federal government was not listening to them. And they were right. I mean, I think they had a really good point. Not for a second did I feel physically threatened to go down there, not even close. I mean, that's not the nature of what the protest was. One of the things about it was that not only were they not threatening at all in a violent way, but, ultimately, they were on the right side of history.

GROSS: Was there a turning point for you, where activists convinced you to change your mind? And...

FAUCI: Oh, yeah. Of course.

More of the fascinating interview I think I can only post 4 paragraphs.:

https://www.npr.org/transcripts/963943156