Tom has a poster behind his desk at work: a drawing of a sad little guy with a text that reads "I have AIDS. Please hug me. I can’t make you sick".
It means he never forgot about his friend Harley - the kid who died from AIDS in episode 2.13, "A Big Disease With a Little Name". At the end of the episode Harley asks Tom to hug him:
"Would you do me a favor?" "Sure.” “Just hold me, man...”
Tom is the only one who does it - everyone else is afraid to touch Harley, not wanting to get “infected” by the disease.
This is an incredibly touching little detail that adds a lot to Tom’s character - behind his sarcastic and cold facade he’s actually a very kind person who cares deeply about other people. This is also a public statement: everyone at work can see this poster and learn how to treat people with AIDS correctly.
