The HIV Thread That Broke Gay Twitter

Writer and food editor Tucker Shaw shared heartbreaking tweets about the friends and lovers he lost to AIDS.

Neal Broverman

Neal Broverman is the Editorial Director, Print of Pride Media, publishers of The Advocate, Out, Out Traveler, and Plus, spending more than 20 years in journalism. He indulges his interest in transportation and urban planning with regular contributions to Los Angeles magazine, and his work has also appeared in the Los Angeles Times and USA Today. He lives in the City of Angels with his husband, children, and their chiweenie.

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Neal Broverman

September 19 2018 1:20 PM EST

May 31 2023 8:13 PM EST

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A powerful thread on the oft-forgotten toll of HIV rocked LGBTQ Twitter on Monday and Tuesday.

Writer and food editor Tucker Shaw posted nearly two dozen tweets describing his experience losing friends and lovers to HIV. The thread was triggered by a conversation Shaw overheard on a train; two young men were discussing HIV, with one saying it "galvanized the gay community" and "paved the way to make things better, in the long run."

Shaw described his own experiences -- read them below -- and concluded by saying, "The long run. Wasn't that long ago."

1. Abrahm DeVine, Stanford University, Swim Jake Bain, Indiana State, Football Jacob Van Ittersum, Northwood University, Football

LGBTQ notables were moved by Shaw's thread.