Remembering Ryan White
Today is the anniversary of Ryan White's death. Ryan was born a hemophiliac and contracted AIDS through contaminated blood. His struggle to be accepted and allowed to go to school was one of the most moving stories when the AIDS epidemic came the forefront of the nation.
Ryan's story will always be etched firmly in my mind. It demonstrated the worst in human character (his community) as he was expelled from Western Middle School in Russiaville, Indiana. His fight to be accepted, despite his diagnoses, showed the best of human bravery.
Upon checking Western Middle School's daily announcements page today, I was disheartened to find that there was no mention of Ryan White. I clicked on various links and could find no tribute to Ryan White on any web page representing this school district.
I hope his community gives a special tribute in some form or fashion. Ryan should be honored for his bravery in the face of a scared and misguided public. If you are from Indiana, I am curious to hear any local efforts being done to celebrate Ryan's life.
posted by Brettcajun at Wednesday, April 08, 2009
6 Comments:
Thank you for posting this...
Thank you , Brett... we do need to remember....So, so much good happening, but let us never forget...
Thanks for reminding us of his brave battle.
Thanks for the reminder. He certainly was a courageous young man.
Like the others, thanks for reminding me of the date.
The saddest part is, this isn't even the entire story. It would be bad enough if it were just fear of infection were the basis for the locals' reaction, but beyond that, some residents screamed gay epithets at him, and a bullet was fired through the front window of his family's home. The publishers of the local newspaper supported White, for which act they were also publicly attacked with gay slurs.
As I said, I can excuse a considerable amount of ignorance (because people who don't know, can't be blamed for what they don't know). But hatred - that's another story. I hope those who spat gay epithets at him die slowly of a grossly disfiguring disease, and I hope the one who fired the shot bleeds to death slowly from an internal injury that medicine can't diagnose.
As someone who has been HIV+ for over 25 years, and still kickin', a big thank you for the reminder.
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