I agree completely and totally that quarantine would have been a very non pc choice.
Regan during the 80's was totally hated for everything he did. Even though he , through congress spent a bundle on AIDS he still gets blamed for the spread of it.
One of the requirements of my nursing liscense for about 15 years was AIDS CEU's every liscense renewal period. Year after year the educational material on this failed to even mention the most effective means for preventing the spread of AIDS. DO NOT HAVE PROMISCUOUS ANAL SEX, AND DO NOT USE INJECTABLE DRUGS.
I don't know what your personal real life experience is, or if your Father personally saw AIDS cases. I have seen and cared for far too many.
I have seen anal herpes with lesions 10 inches in diameter. I have been there when men in their 20's died with Pneumocystis pneumonia. I have seen Karposki's.
Things are different now, there are lots of stabilizing drugs. It was vastly different in the 80's and early 90's.
It was grossly irresponsible of every one involved, from the government, the CDC, the medical profession and gay activists not to speak the truth.
AIDS is a behaviorally spread disease, it was completely and totally preventable. There were vast sums spent preventing the truth from being spoken. Everybody involved was too busy ignoring the elephant in the living room.
There was an assumption from the beginning that gay men and IV drug users would not curb their behavior. In a situation where the reservoir of the carriers of a 100% lethal disease will not voluntarily curb the means of transmission, then their behavior should have been curbed for them.
One evening, she came home and told me that she had accidentally poked herself with a syringe right after giving an AIDS patient an injection.
We both knew the risks and what that accident may imply. Such are the dangers of being a RN or married to one. Thankfully, we never tested positive for HIV, but it would not have changed anything with us. My wife continued providing nursing care to anyone.
Yes, my father was not simply sitting in a CDC office, but would get out into the field and visit patients often. He took his job personally and very seriously.