. (McCuen, 9)
             As studies were made, new discoveries were made on this mysterious disease. AIDS is neither a germ nor alive. It is a piece of "free-floating genetic material" that enters the blood stream and enters the cells of the immune system. It then uses parts of the cell infected to replicate, expands, and kills the "host" cell. After breaking free, it allows the body's B and T cells to try and attack it. However, they cannot identify it and thus, renders it harmless. (Hay, 15) HIV is basically a retrovirus with the capacity to integrate itself permanently into the genetic material of the cells it attacked, rendering the host individual infected for life. (Bayer, 2) If an individual is diagnosed as HIV positive, it means that they have been exposed to the AIDS virus. Luckily, the person has the opportunity to strengthen their immune system before the virus attacks the T4 lymphocytes, which are necessary for immunity. If the immune system remains strong, one may never acquir!
             e AIDS. But, if the virus kills all of the T4 lymphocytes, AIDS is diagnosed. (Hay, 17)
             Gay men were treated horribly by society. Not only was AIDS regarded as a "gay" disease, but those who had it, as well as gay men who did not, were treated with contempt and fear. In fact, the inhumane treatment they encountered was the hardest symptom of AIDS they had to endure. Dentists refused to work on AIDS patients, cab drivers denied access into the vehicles when they were in dire need to be taken to the hospital, and doctors placed them in separated rooms and frequently "forgot" about them. Nurses and doctors wore gowns and masks just to talk to them, and they were not allowed to use public telephones. (Kubler-Ross, 20) One young man remembers going weekly to funerals of friends who had wasted away with the disease, as well as the first candlelight vigil for AIDS victims. The crowd bearin...