I was just glad that she said "I'm sorry" and didn't give the typical boiler plate politician response, which always seems to start along the lines of, "I apologize to anyone I have unintentionally offended..."
Yes, my bar really is that low.
However, I agree with the sentiment that a twitter apology is not enough. She needs to step out before the cameras, give an unequivocal apology, make clear the record of the Reagan White House, talk about how it directly resulted in tens of thousands of deaths, talk about the bigotry levied against us, and the gleeful way most Americans watched us die. Then she should discuss what she intends to do about HIV and AIDS if she should become President. She should at least make some tangible commitments over this that we can hold her too.
Honestly, my feeling is that she had a stupid straight person moment. The LGBTQ Community and the Straight Community really live in different worlds, especially at that time, and over this issue. While many straight people may have lost a relative or two as a result of AIDS, many in the community at the time lost scores and scores of people as the plague swept through the community. They then had to watch as the world not only turned a blind eye to what was happening, but when they decided to take a moment to look--it was to mock and laugh at those suffering while cheering on the plague to spread.
I was too young to really understand what was going on in the beginning. I never knew anyone who died from AIDS. However, as I was growing up I witnessed people--again and again--praying for people like myself to get AIDS and die. I spent my entire teenage years believing that I had no future. I used to live in terror of what would happen (not IF but WHEN) I caught HIV and other people found out. Being in the closet made it worse, because it meant that if people found out, then they'd also know that I was gay. I used to plan for the ways that I would kill myself if I got AIDS, to keep everything a secret. That is how I spent my teenage years. It was made worse that I was raised as a religious fundamentalist and lacked access to knowledge and resources.
I don't think most straight people really understand how serious this issue is for the community. This goes beyond a Hillary Clinton problem. Not acknowledging what happened to the community during the 1980's is tantamount to denying the Holocaust, and really that is more-or-less what we just witnessed. However, this goes beyond Clinton. It highlights a huge divide between the LGBTQ and Straight Communities in how we experienced the world and the issue. Quite frankly, they simply don't get it. That was the reason I made this thread.
EDITED TO ADD: I updated my original post to clarify and reflect my feelings on the matter. I didn't mean to insinuate that simply making a statement on twitter was a sufficient apology.
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