Hillary Clinton’s probably still-inadequate apology: What I’m reading, March 13, 2016

Hillary Clinton

Not being a member of any group highly impacted by HIV, I’m not the one to say when an apology is adequate, but I’m guessing that a proper apology would correct the error, acknowledging not merely “a mistake,” but saying explicitly that through their years-long silence, the Reagans were complicit in the stigmatization of AIDS as a “gay disease.”[1] Here’s what Clinton says:

When many in positions of power turned a blind eye, it was groups like ACT UP, Gay Men’s Health Crisis and others that came forward to shatter the silence — because as they reminded us again and again, Silence = Death. They organized and marched, held die-ins on the steps of city halls and vigils in the streets. They fought alongside a few courageous voices in Washington, like U.S. Representative Henry Waxman, who spoke out from the floor of Congress.[2]

She does not name the Reagans as having been most prominent amongst those “many in positions of power [who] turned a blind eye.” And among the activists she names who did speak up, she includes ACT UP! This group vociferously denied on the streets of San Francisco that HIV causes AIDS and denied that condoms might be effective in limiting the spread of the disease. She also mentions the progress that has been made since the 1980s, and promises to do more.[3]

Hillary Clinton, “On the fight against HIV and AIDS—and on the people who really started the conversation,” Medium, March 12, 2016, https://medium.com/@HillaryClinton/on-the-fight-against-hiv-and-aids-and-on-the-people-who-really-started-the-conversation-7b9fc00e6ed8

Evelyn Rupert, “Clinton further apologizes for Nancy Reagan AIDS comment,” Hill, March 13, 2016, http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/272806-clinton-further-apologizes-for-nancy-reagan-aids-comment


Donald Trump

When I think of right-wing violence among tendencies of conservatism, I think of paleoconservatives. Paleoconservatives are supporting Donald Trump, but I do not know whether they are behind any of this violence.

Karen Tumulty, Jenna Johnson, and Jose A. DelReal, “Trump has lit a fire. Can it be contained?” Washington Post, March 12, 2016, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-has-lit-a-fire-can-it-be-contained/2016/03/12/c3886c56-e876-11e5-a6f3-21ccdbc5f74e_story.html

  1. [1]Dan Zak, “On drugs, Nancy Reagan just said no. On AIDS, she said nothing,” Washington Post, March 11, 2016, https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/on-drugs-nancy-reagan-just-said-no-on-aids-she-said-nothing/2016/03/11/3f9d59e8-e483-11e5-a6f3-21ccdbc5f74e_story.html
  2. [2]Hillary Clinton, “On the fight against HIV and AIDS—and on the people who really started the conversation,” Medium, March 12, 2016, https://medium.com/@HillaryClinton/on-the-fight-against-hiv-and-aids-and-on-the-people-who-really-started-the-conversation-7b9fc00e6ed8
  3. [3]Hillary Clinton, “On the fight against HIV and AIDS—and on the people who really started the conversation,” Medium, March 12, 2016, https://medium.com/@HillaryClinton/on-the-fight-against-hiv-and-aids-and-on-the-people-who-really-started-the-conversation-7b9fc00e6ed8

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