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Anyone else get the chance to watch this? It was interesting as hell, covering everything from the fight for birth control and legal abortion to the AIDS epidemic and its aftermath. It was an eye-opener for me, who supports gay rights, to learn where the battle started and its rocky road to get where it is today. Everything from the Stonewall riots to what happened after the "twinkie defense" got Milk's murderer off with 4 to 7 years. Which, by the way, is pure bullshit.
I felt the same way watching that as I did when I first watched "Iron-Jawed Angels," about Suffrage. I wept at the strength shown going up against the powerful with nothing but the courage of convictions and the stalwart comfort of one's comrades. It took astounding courage to do that and I have nothing but respect for those who did it, just as I have a similar sense of respect for those who participated in the anti-war movement and civil rights movements of the 60s, the ERA battle of the 70s, and the union wars of the 30s and 40s. All of those people who sacrificed their freedom, their comfort, and (sometimes) their lives to give us all that much more freedom have my undying esteem.
I root for the underdog. I'm not sure if it's because I spent so much time as one when I was young, or because I was taught to distrust the powerful. Who knows? Maybe both.
It's such a good thing I'm not a conspiracy theorist (happily marginalized by other "better" Democrats and liberals) because it sure seems to me that the timing of AIDS sure worked to the benefit of the reactionary Right Wing. I tend to think it's accidental, but I can see how others might be suspicious. My own opinion about conspiracy theories is that a certain number of them are probably correct to some extent or another, though it's certainly possible we may never know the truth about them, or which ones are fever dreams and which ones reality. So I tend to take into consideration how plausible they are, offer up a "might be," and go about my business.
Just like when I saw the plane crash into the World Trade Center on 9/11. My first thought (after "holy shit") was "well, isn't THIS convenient?" A conspiracy? Maybe not. But the aftermath sure was. That's really all I need to know.
AIDS? Probably not the product of a conspiracy and some secret laboratory. But the timing was, as I said, remarkably convenient. Coincidence makes me twitchy. But, as I said, I don't trust the powerful.
Overall I found the documentary informative and well-balanced for the most part. Check it out if you get the chance.
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