"Andre Robinson of the Black Coalition on AIDS, a San Francisco outreach program. [said]"...If these men were the bridge, then why didn't this happen in the '80s?"
I think he makes a good point.
It didn't happen in the '80's? I remember one of the AIDS jokes going around back then:
Q. What's the toughest part about finding out you have AIDS?
A. Trying to convince your mother you're black.
So why were the two largest populations of HIV+ blacks and gays back then (which is what made the joke funny at the time)? Perhaps because there was significant overlap?
Remember Magic Johnson?
IMO, it has to do with a more permissive society.
Back in the late 80s, homosexuality was starting to be accepted in mainstream circles..
In the mid 90's bisexuality was starting to be accepted.
It was only a matter of time before men started to experiment with other men, since more people were out of he closet and it probably isn't too hard to find a gay/bi man today.
This is why it didn't happen in the 80's IMO.
Plus, AIDS is viewed as a chronic illness by many, without realizing that eventually it WILL kill them. To top that off, drug do not work on 100% of patients. There are people with full blown AIDS who don't respond to the cocktails (and it's not because of drug resistant HIV.)