COMPASSION: Massive San Francisco AIDS Ribbon Marks 30 Years of Epidemic!

The San Francisco AIDS Foundation installed a giant AIDS ribbon on Twin Peaks above the city over the weekend to mark 30 years since the beginning of the AIDS crisis.


The SF Chronicle reports: "It's gone from a death sentence to a chronic disease," said Patrick Carney, who was diagnosed with the AIDS virus in 1987 and who today, at 55 years old, relies on dozens of pills and two injections a day to keep his compromised immune system strong.

Made from 15,000 square feet of plastic tarp and held down by 400 stakes, the symbol should be visible from the East Bay on a clear day. "Like an aging movie star, it's going to look better from a distance," said Carney, who lives in the Tenderloin.

He helped the San Francisco AIDS Foundation, the group behind the project, with logistics. For the past 15 years, Carney has worked with volunteers to place a large pink triangle on the same hillside as a mark of gay pride. The triangle stays up for two days a year; the City Hall-sanctioned red ribbon has a monthlong run on Twin Peaks.