Liz Taylor: 1932 - 2011

[joeybee12]

“It is bad enough that people are dying of AIDS, but no one should die of ignorance.”

http://www.elizabethtayloraidsfoundation.org/our-grants

Taylor devoted much time and energy to AIDS-related charities and fundraising. She helped start the American Foundation for AIDS Research (amfAR) after the death of her former costar and friend, Rock Hudson. She also created her own AIDS foundation, the Elizabeth Taylor Aids Foundation (ETAF). By 1999, she had helped to raise an estimated US$50 million to fight the disease. In 2006, Taylor commissioned a 37-foot (11 m) "Care Van" equipped with examination tables and X Ray equipment and also donated US$40,000 to the New Orleans Aids task force, a charity designed for the New Orleans population with AIDS and HIV. The donation of the van was made by the Elizabeth Taylor HIV/AIDS Foundation and Macy's. (From her Wikipedia page).


Her troubles bonded her to her peers and the public, and deepened her compassion. Her advocacy for AIDS research and for other causes earned her a special Oscar, the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, in 1993.

As she accepted it, to a long ovation, she declared, "I call upon you to draw from the depths of your being — to prove that we are a human race, to prove that our love outweighs our need to hate, that our compassion is more compelling than our need to blame."

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/12517000/ns/today-entertainment/


:cry:

[xchrom]

1. ...

:cry:

[rubberducky]

2. This sweet lady is truely an American icon. RIP Sweet Elizabeth.

[Mist]

3. I admire Taylor for having close gay friends like Roddy MacDowall and

Montgomery Clift back in the early '50s when there was such an avoidance of the subject. She was known as a diva on the set, but her friends remember a woman of warmth and compassion, so that's what we should remember her by. And for some amazing performances.

[loudsue]

4. NO!!!

:cry: This can't be.

[Smarmie Doofus]

5. Her support for this community was HUGE during the bleak days of the 80s.

She had a great, if difficult, life.

Peace.

[Duncan Grant]

6. 1985: She cared when no one else did.

I think Elizabeth Taylor changed the discourse on AIDS in America. She was a great friend and ally to gay men, especially when it mattered most.

[Jamastiene]

7. RIP

:(

[RetiredTrotskyite]

8. A Great Lady is Gone...

I was very sad to haar of her passing. She was a good friend to our community. RIP.

[dbackjon]

9. Rest in Peace, Liz - a great woman!

[BR_Parkway]

10. Shame they didn't include the rest of that quote - it is truly a fitting to her today

"...I call upon you to draw from the depths of your being to prove that we are a human race. To prove that our love outweighs our need to hate. That our compassion is more compelling than our need to blame. That our sensitivity to those in need is stronger than our greed. That our ability to reason overcomes our fear.

And that at the end of each of our lives, we can look back and be proud that we have treated others with the kindness, dignity and respect that every human being deserves..."

A very classy lady indeed

[thanks_imjustlurking]

11. I burst into tears every time I remember that she's gone.

:patriot:

[beyurslf]

12. NPR reported this morning that she raised over $100 million

for AIDS research. I was young int he 1980's but I remember hearing about her and Tammy Faye Baker. I think it was one of the first times I ever heard about AIDS actually. They both changed the public discourse on the matter. A great voice for our community has been lost.