How ‘And the Band Played On’ Changed How We Think Of The AIDS Crisis

Remember AIDS? If you were in alive in the 80’s you do. Today, we don't hear much about it. That’s because thanks to modern medicine, it’s no longer the death sentence it was back then.

You think Covid-19 is bad?

The panic that set in from The AIDS Epidemic was worse than that of Covid-19 and it lasted a whole lot longer. It also fueled homophobia since it started, but was not limited to, the gay community.

Then, like now, many people were looking for someone to blame for this problem. Getting AIDS was seen by the ultra-religious as a ‘punishment from God’. it was seen by many other nonreligious types a ‘disease brought on by a person’s own stupidity or bad choices’ (again, very much like Covid.)

People who contracted AIDS were often kicked out of their families and left to die alone. And most often, people with AIDS did die, because the medicine back then was not that effective, and even some medical professionals refused to treat the infected.

Randy Shilts was an author who wanted to change all that. His book, And The Band Played On was published in 1987, at the height of the AIDS crisis. A non fiction book made up essays, it follows the origin of AIDS from the first known case to the death of Rock Hudson in 1985. On the way, it exposed the power plays and political dynamics at work from politicians, religious communities, the medical profession and the LGBTQIA community itself.