" But it is certainly true that were AIDS only an African disease , however many millions were dying, few outside of Africa would be concerned with it . It would be one of those “ natural ” events, like famines, which periodically ravage poor, overpopulated countries and about which people in rich countries feel quite helpless. Because it is a world event — that is, because it affects the West — it is regarded as not just a natural disaster. It is filled with historical meaning. "

― Susan Sontag , Illness as Metaphor and AIDS and Its Metaphors