It's 1981 and 5 homosexual men from California were discovered with a strange strand of pneumonia. It quickly spread. People were sent into a panic. What was this disease? This lack of information caused stigma and conspiracy. This was the AIDS epidemic. Many thought that only homosexuals could get the disease and it was treated as a "gay cancer". Throughout the country, people with AIDS were harassed. AIDS patients could be denied jobs, housing, and health insurance. AIDS strengthened the discrimination against those in the gay …show more content…
Even 30 years later, Kokomo is still broken in half about the issue. The Whites cause a riptide that caused the community to be broken into factions.
Jeanne still continues to fight for a cure and speak out about her experiences.
Jeanne White-Ginder's fight resulted in him getting into school as well as the spreads of AIDS education. Her civic action caused a huge change in people's view of AIDS in not only Ryan's school but nationwide. Because people at the time were so unaware during the epidemic, stigma, as well as prejudice, existed. Education helped stopped this and caused AIDS to get the legal as well as the social recognition it needed. While there is still not a cure, Jeanne and Ryan's fight, as well as activism, caused AIDS to gain more attention, and reduced stereotyping as well as discrimination to many patients.
"You do what you have to do. And sometimes it's not the easy road. I have wanted to be the best mom I've wanted to be, and I feel like I have tried to be that best mom."