My brother is from that era. I used to hangout with him and his friends when I was a kid and they were easily some of the nicest, smartest, most accepting people I knew. They’re a big reason for my radicalization into adulthood.

That whole friend circle has been decimated by AIDS. It’s really sad. He has a couple friends that made it through, but things will never be the same for him or the remaining friends.

Edit: thinking about this more, it makes me thankful to still have my brother around. On the non-selfish side, I’m sad he has to endure such loss and grief.