Doug Henwood:
> Dunno where it came from, but it's sustained by people who are deeply
> suspicious of mainstream science, but who credulously swallow any
> line coming out of a quack. The Gary Null site is full of photos of
> him - and his oily voice seduces listeners with its comforting tales
> of triumphing over "incuarable" illnesses (you only hear from
> survivors, never the ones who died), and his own wisdom and
> selflessness.
I already recommended Randy Shilts's _And_The_Band_Played_On_ which gives a history of the early days of the epidemic (a contested one, but I think it's reasonably factual on the point in question).
When HIV/AIDS first appeared, no one, of course, knew what it was, and there were many opinions. Since medical science is not exact and deals with probabilities, there is room for alternative opinions to persist even if the majority informed opinion comes down very strongly in favor of the HIV theory. This is not entirely a bad thing; medical science can be wrong.
I attribute the success of Gary Null to the overall authoritarianism which still permeates most human societies. The Null set are among those who have become disenchanted with one group of authoritarians, but seek comfort with another, which is depressing but not surprising. On the other hand, a lucky few have been entertained by the Gary Null stories, which could not exist without Gary Null.