On AIDS Circa 1991: “I think it’s a wonderful thing that Magic Johnson came out and said what he had to say. But I think everyone pretending that it didn’t exist the last 10 years was absolutely criminal. I mean how could the government allow that to happen? If it had been 129,000 little white children {who died}, you can bet they would have raised a stink. You say to yourself, `Is that how the government’s going to treat me if I don’t fall into the category they cherish?’ Who are the people they like? Business people? White business people? What kind of a suit do you have to wear to get by? It’s just absolutely astonishing that nobody came forward,” says Midler, removing her glasses to dry her tears. (The Washington Post, 1991) – Bette Midler
