Kramer vs. Reagan.

I was totally stunned when Ronald Reagan died and there was nothing but extreme praise in the media. I wondered if I had lived on a different planet than everyone else at the time of his presidency. And then, as always, Larry Kramer steps fearlessly into the arena to give the world a much needed dose of reality ["Adolf Reagan," July 6]! Kramer is one of the very few gay people left these days who tins not fallen into a comp "latent P.C. stance. He is too much for many to handle. But those very people will be calling him a pioneer and era inspiration after he's gone. Straight people's reality during the Reagan era was not the same as ours. I thank Larry Kramer for pointing that out in a way only he can.

Damon Devine, Los Angeles, Calif.

A blessing to Larry Kramer! Not only for his work in the arts and AIDS activism but for being a voice for all of us not just in the United States but around the world who feel that Ronald Reagan, "the great communicator," was nothing less than a wretched murderer and a false leader of the American people and the free world. For I was in my late teens in 1981, when the first AIDS cases were reported, and I have seen friends and heroes pass on too soon due to bigotry and indifference. I feel no remorse for Ronnie and Nancy, for our voices will rise up over the media ass-kissing that has been paraded to the world regarding the death of one of the worst human beings ever to grace the earth.

Michael Roberto, Brooklyn, N.Y.

What's eating Larry Kramer? One would think that Ronald Reagan was born with horns, a spearlike tail, and pitchfork by reading Kramer's hate-filled commentary. Did Ronald Reagan turn his back on the thousands of our brothers and sisters who contracted AIDS in the '80s and '90s? Yes. But so did the rest of the government. What elected official does Kramer remember hearing speaking out during those dark days?

Like Kramer, I lived through those days. I saw my best friend go from a robust young man to a corpse in less than two years. I watched countless friends wither and die from this scourge, which didn't even have a name at that time, yet I never heard any politician call for the massive increase of funds that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention needed to find the source of this killer we call AIDS.

I ask Mr. Kramer, where was Mario Cuomo or Jerry Brown? Birch Bayh or Jesse Unruh? Ted Kennedy or Daniel Patrick Moynihan? Where were any of our elected officials? Why were they all so silent while this plague slaughtered our friends, relatives, and lovers? Did Reagan help? Of course he did: He helped those who wanted to ignore the "gay cancer" remain silent. But is he the only one responsible? Not in the least. They all helped by their silence.

Stop hating, Mr. Kramer. It won't help anyone anymore. Let's concentrate on helping this generation, who have no idea of the terrors we lived through, who are now listening to ads that tell them they can have unprotected sex without worry. Let's concentrate on the here and now and stop the hate; it's not worth it!

Joe Laux, Albany, N.Y.

I was incredibly outraged by Larry Kramer's diatribe against Ronald Reagan. As the best president in my lifetime, he aided in eradicating the Soviet Union, and he also brought back the economy from the doldrums. Even after President Reagan's death, left-wing haters like Kramer spew their classless venom. However, I will follow my mother's advice when President Carter passes away: If you have nothing good to say about someone, don't say anything at all.

Richard Leonardon, Vienna, Va.

Reagan was a waste of flesh who did a great deal of harm. However, to call him Hitler is wrong and irresponsible and I believe a ploy for media attention. Kramer is obviously bitter about Reagan, and on some levels he should be, but it is also evident that he is trying to get people to attend his plays. Also, what is his beef with Ron Reagan Jr? Jeez, give that guy a break. Has anyone noticed that he is the only sane one in his family? Did Kramer sleep with him? Did he witness firsthand his gay escapades? This kind of eighth-grade "he said, he said" innuendo is just silly and smacks of the same fight-wing tactics used by our enemies.

I was only a child when Reagan was president, but I was old enough to know that the disease now called HIV was not something we were going to fix overnight and that as a community we were ultimately somewhat responsible for accepting this disease as a killer early on. Viruses do not discriminate. They kill people. Sadly, this virus has killed more than a fair share of our best and brightest, but the culture of victimization will get our cause nowhere. Kramer needs to accept the past and move on. He is too talented an author and playwright not to be a voice of reason in the future.

J. Hedinger, Louisville, Ky.