The politicized nature of this problem did a great disservice to those who suffered from AIDS. The inaction by the government and the act of people ostracizing those with the disease, only increased the epidemic. The American government routinely ignores issues that affect minorities or involve sex. In this case, unfortunately, both of those denominators were present. Each one of these patients felt like their pain was doubled because of the stigma associated with AIDS. If AIDS had been taken seriously, work could have been done to provide accurate information and support for this community. The handling of this situation is one of the biggest failures of our government.