6 ms·

I have read most, but not all of his work but did't know that's how he died. I wasn't old enough in the 90s to understand HIV/AIDS completely but remember it b

by v1vek 8y ago

I have read most, but not all of his work but did't know that's how he died. I wasn't old enough in the 90s to understand HIV/AIDS completely but remember it being a death sentence (I remember a rumor that you could get it by using public toilets)

billfruit 8y ago
Reportedly his family didn't publicize the matter at the time, due to the prejudice it would have triggered. His auto biography also does not mention it. It was only made public by his family, several years after his death.
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
- User23 8y ago
  Which family? His child pornography collecting son? https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Charges-shatter-Asimov-son-s-reclusion-3099867.php https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Charges-shatter-Asimo... Isaac was also a serial sexual harasser who routinely pinched women on the backside when they were stuck in an elevator with him: https://the-orbit.net/almostdiamonds/2012/09/09/we-dont-do-that-anymore/ https://the-orbit.net/almostdiamonds/2012/09/09/we-dont-do-t... Edit: I never thought I'd see the community coming out to defend child porn and sexual assault here.
throwaway5752 8y ago
This is a pretty good time to remember Ryan White, who is a fairly under-appreciated contemporary hero. They called this the "gay plague" at one point, and in a derogatory way. To all of our collective shame, it probably would have killed far fewer if people didn't think it was exclusive to gay communities.
- pbhjpbhj 8y ago
  >it probably would have killed far fewer // Maybe if hedonists had curbed their desire for promiscuous sex too? People went on screwing around even when they knew they were infected, people who were at high risk refused to modify their behaviour. Is it "shameful" we didn't discover the full nature of the disease sooner? What exactly should we all be ashamed about, other people's actions? Suppose we found out now that smoker's lung cancer was contagious, would it be shameful of us not to have found out sooner? Or is the real shame that people would still willingly take to smoking?
  - Wowfunhappy 8y ago
    It's shameful that people assumed HIV was exclusive to gay communities, likely due in large part to homophobic prejudice rather than facts. This is not the only shameful thing that has ever happened in the world, but I'm not sure what your example of a shameful action has to do with the GP's.
    - zorked 8y ago
      From what I remember back then it isn't that people assumed only gay people could catch it (otherwise why would absolutely everybody be paranoid about it)... ... but that plenty of people thought it was a convenient way to get rid of gay people. Genocide by omission, if you will. We don't talk about this era anywhere near as much as we should.
    - kakarot 8y ago
      That's not shameful. What's shameful is that we decided that it was OK to let AIDS run rampant since it only affected homosexuals.
      - throwaway5752 8y ago
        I didn't think it had to be said, but apparently I was wrong. I know the gp is a flagged/dead now, but I came back to the comment today and wanted to thank you for your succinct and correct summary of my implicit point.
      - 8y ago
- refurb 8y ago
  The correct medical diagnosis was Gay Related Immune Deficiency (GRID). And that was because all of the early cases were in homosexual men. Even today, the vast majority of people with AIDS are male homosexuals, which is remarkable because they don’t make up a big percentage of the total population. Of course anyone can get AIDS, but men who have sex with men have a much higher risk of contracting than any other group with the exception of IV drug users.
  - headShrinker 8y ago
    > The correct medical diagnosis was Gay Related Immune Deficiency The medical “GRID” diagnosis was wrong, while “HIV” was attacking gay men, it was also attacking straight people. They were being ignored because it was eliminating gay people. Hospital staff kicked gay people out as HIV diagnoses came in. My friends held their friends in their arms without medical care as they died because a government and medical association did nothing. If gay people had rights they would have been able to have more successful monogamous relationships. If they had government assistance they could have aided in stopping the spread. For 8 years the government did nothing. Clever trick to call it GRID, then once it blooms in straight populations change the official acronym. “Oh it happens in straight people too?!” Damn right. > Of course anyone can get AIDS, but men who have sex with men have a much higher risk of contracting than any other group with the exception of IV drug users. Male to male anal sex is a common and easy method for transmission, so is IV drug use. The greatest rate of new infection is African-American women. Why would you point out some groups and leave others out? https://www.cdc.gov/hiv/group/racialethnic/africanamericans/index.html https://www.cdc.gov/hiv/group/racialethnic/africanamericans/...
    - Mirioron 8y ago
      >My friends held their friends in their arms without medical care as they died because a government and medical association did nothing. Was there any help to be gained from private medical institutions? Or was that also impossible because the government has to allow for treatments?
    - refurb 8y ago
      You’re ignore relative prevalence of the subjects getting infected. Sure, African-American women were infected, but that’s 4,000 out of a population of what? 35M? The rate compared to higher risk populations is still incredibly low.
tropo 8y ago
That wasn't just a rumor. First, if we take "public toilets" to mean the location rather than the plumbing, that is a location where people inject heroin (sharing needles) and sometimes fuck. Second, if we take "public toilets" to mean the plumbing itself, the seats may be contaminated with fresh bodily fluids of all types. (mainly blood for women or semen for men) You could rub against it with your cunt, open sore, dickhole, prolapsed anus, or eyeball. Some seats even have splinters/slivers to jab you in the ass, or in the ballsack or tongue or whatever.
- tfmatt 8y ago
  Well this has been informative, thanks for sharing.
- zapzupnz 8y ago
  HN is a relatively sophisticated forum, as forums go. I'm not saying that you need to censor your language, more that a sense of decorum in phrasing could've gone a long way to avoiding downvoting.
  - deleted 8y ago
    [deleted]
- scarmig 8y ago
  Yeah, no. Even vigorous bareback anal sex transfers HIV only a minority of the time. Sitting on semen or menstrual fluid, or even rubbing it on your outer sphincter, is not going to give you HIV. Downvoted for focusing on generating a disgust reaction instead of being aware of any scientific facts.
  - meruru 8y ago
    You know how when you shit sometimes the water can splash back on your anus? I don't know if that can transmit HIV or any other diseases, but I'd rather not happen to me when I'm in a public toilet. Well if you put some toilet paper on the surface of the water it can prevent the splashing. It will increase the chance of clogging though.
datafatmunger 8y ago
Those tissue paper toilet seat covers only really appeared in public bathrooms in the 90s. I still think about how ridiculous they are in the context of HIV/AIDS, every time I see them.

by v1vek 8y ago

billfruit 8y ago

Reportedly his family didn't publicize the matter at the time, due to the prejudice it would have triggered. His auto biography also does not mention it. It was only made public by his family, several years after his death.

deleted 8y ago
[deleted]
User23 8y ago
Which family? His child pornography collecting son? https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Charges-shatter-Asimov-son-s-reclusion-3099867.php https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Charges-shatter-Asimo... Isaac was also a serial sexual harasser who routinely pinched women on the backside when they were stuck in an elevator with him: https://the-orbit.net/almostdiamonds/2012/09/09/we-dont-do-that-anymore/ https://the-orbit.net/almostdiamonds/2012/09/09/we-dont-do-t... Edit: I never thought I'd see the community coming out to defend child porn and sexual assault here.

throwaway5752 8y ago

This is a pretty good time to remember Ryan White, who is a fairly under-appreciated contemporary hero. They called this the "gay plague" at one point, and in a derogatory way. To all of our collective shame, it probably would have killed far fewer if people didn't think it was exclusive to gay communities.

pbhjpbhj 8y ago
>it probably would have killed far fewer // Maybe if hedonists had curbed their desire for promiscuous sex too? People went on screwing around even when they knew they were infected, people who were at high risk refused to modify their behaviour. Is it "shameful" we didn't discover the full nature of the disease sooner? What exactly should we all be ashamed about, other people's actions? Suppose we found out now that smoker's lung cancer was contagious, would it be shameful of us not to have found out sooner? Or is the real shame that people would still willingly take to smoking?
- Wowfunhappy 8y ago
  It's shameful that people assumed HIV was exclusive to gay communities, likely due in large part to homophobic prejudice rather than facts. This is not the only shameful thing that has ever happened in the world, but I'm not sure what your example of a shameful action has to do with the GP's.
  - zorked 8y ago
    From what I remember back then it isn't that people assumed only gay people could catch it (otherwise why would absolutely everybody be paranoid about it)... ... but that plenty of people thought it was a convenient way to get rid of gay people. Genocide by omission, if you will. We don't talk about this era anywhere near as much as we should.
  - kakarot 8y ago
    That's not shameful. What's shameful is that we decided that it was OK to let AIDS run rampant since it only affected homosexuals.
    - throwaway5752 8y ago
      I didn't think it had to be said, but apparently I was wrong. I know the gp is a flagged/dead now, but I came back to the comment today and wanted to thank you for your succinct and correct summary of my implicit point.
    - 8y ago
refurb 8y ago
The correct medical diagnosis was Gay Related Immune Deficiency (GRID). And that was because all of the early cases were in homosexual men. Even today, the vast majority of people with AIDS are male homosexuals, which is remarkable because they don’t make up a big percentage of the total population. Of course anyone can get AIDS, but men who have sex with men have a much higher risk of contracting than any other group with the exception of IV drug users.
- headShrinker 8y ago
  > The correct medical diagnosis was Gay Related Immune Deficiency The medical “GRID” diagnosis was wrong, while “HIV” was attacking gay men, it was also attacking straight people. They were being ignored because it was eliminating gay people. Hospital staff kicked gay people out as HIV diagnoses came in. My friends held their friends in their arms without medical care as they died because a government and medical association did nothing. If gay people had rights they would have been able to have more successful monogamous relationships. If they had government assistance they could have aided in stopping the spread. For 8 years the government did nothing. Clever trick to call it GRID, then once it blooms in straight populations change the official acronym. “Oh it happens in straight people too?!” Damn right. > Of course anyone can get AIDS, but men who have sex with men have a much higher risk of contracting than any other group with the exception of IV drug users. Male to male anal sex is a common and easy method for transmission, so is IV drug use. The greatest rate of new infection is African-American women. Why would you point out some groups and leave others out? https://www.cdc.gov/hiv/group/racialethnic/africanamericans/index.html https://www.cdc.gov/hiv/group/racialethnic/africanamericans/...
  - Mirioron 8y ago
    >My friends held their friends in their arms without medical care as they died because a government and medical association did nothing. Was there any help to be gained from private medical institutions? Or was that also impossible because the government has to allow for treatments?
  - refurb 8y ago
    You’re ignore relative prevalence of the subjects getting infected. Sure, African-American women were infected, but that’s 4,000 out of a population of what? 35M? The rate compared to higher risk populations is still incredibly low.

tropo 8y ago

That wasn't just a rumor. First, if we take "public toilets" to mean the location rather than the plumbing, that is a location where people inject heroin (sharing needles) and sometimes fuck. Second, if we take "public toilets" to mean the plumbing itself, the seats may be contaminated with fresh bodily fluids of all types. (mainly blood for women or semen for men) You could rub against it with your cunt, open sore, dickhole, prolapsed anus, or eyeball. Some seats even have splinters/slivers to jab you in the ass, or in the ballsack or tongue or whatever.

tfmatt 8y ago
Well this has been informative, thanks for sharing.
zapzupnz 8y ago
HN is a relatively sophisticated forum, as forums go. I'm not saying that you need to censor your language, more that a sense of decorum in phrasing could've gone a long way to avoiding downvoting.
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
scarmig 8y ago
Yeah, no. Even vigorous bareback anal sex transfers HIV only a minority of the time. Sitting on semen or menstrual fluid, or even rubbing it on your outer sphincter, is not going to give you HIV. Downvoted for focusing on generating a disgust reaction instead of being aware of any scientific facts.
- meruru 8y ago
  You know how when you shit sometimes the water can splash back on your anus? I don't know if that can transmit HIV or any other diseases, but I'd rather not happen to me when I'm in a public toilet. Well if you put some toilet paper on the surface of the water it can prevent the splashing. It will increase the chance of clogging though.

datafatmunger 8y ago

Those tissue paper toilet seat covers only really appeared in public bathrooms in the 90s. I still think about how ridiculous they are in the context of HIV/AIDS, every time I see them.