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Brian Williams just called covid the largest mass-death event in modern times and I am really tired of people forgetting that from 1997-2005 over 2 million died from HIV/AIDS every year. Over 3 million in 1997.
Over 32 million people have died from HIV/AIDS. It has been classified as both a pandemic and an epidemic.
This isn't some kind of oppression Olympics thing. It's about weird meaning things. And history. And facts.
Covid is definitely ONE of the largest mass-death events in modern history. But it's got competition. And I'm not even mentioning that Williams' comment is side-stepping the Holocaust... and other genocidal events.
So like... sure. It's a massive deal. But @BWilliams might want to think about framing covid as the largest mass-death event on modern times.
I noticed that "word" autocorrected to "weird" above. I'll take it because words have meaning and distorting that meaning is weird as fuck.
I want to come back to this. Of course 400,000 Americans dying in a global pandemic is a tragedy. A lack of leadership. Preventable. But...
the framing of it as "Americans" is actually a huge part of why we got here.
Ok. I'm probably going to delete this thread for 2 reasons:
1. I didn't notice the ATTENTION this was getting and did not have time to add context that those numbers were infection rates not deaths before it got there; and
2. I do not enjoy having a "hot" tweet.
1. I didn't notice the ATTENTION this was getting and did not have time to add context that those numbers were infection rates not deaths before it got there; and
2. I do not enjoy having a "hot" tweet.
That said - Williams statement was without context and indicative of why we are where we are.
I'll add this graph for more context. My numbers were right for infection rates. Deaths for that time period fluctuated between 1.2-1.9 million. It is still horrifying. And is still erased from the conversation.
What media talks about the "last pandemic" and means HIV/AIDS? Most go to 1918. Let's talk about the other pandemic that's going on Right Now too. And let's talk about them both in global terms.
Anyway. Ask your doctors about PrEP, about Cabenuva, the new monthly injectable for those who are HIV positive. Get tested. Know your status. Undetectable = untransmittable.
Just popping back in to this thread to note that, yes, I didn't delete it. A LOT of folks asked me not to. It seems like people want to share their stories, so I'm leaving it up. Muted. But up.
