I was really shocked.

[PghLybrt]

Not at all Dsiney related and for that I am sorry, but really important.


I thought that in this day AIDS and HIV were something discussed and understood. Boy was I wrong. We were having a conversation at work. It was 4 males and two females. The discussion became very testosterone laden. Eventually it lead into a territory where I, as a woman but primarily a lesbian, would never have wanted to hear or experience. (get what we were talking about?) I, of course said that why would you do something like that with out using protection of any sort, it can be deadly. The other girl working looked at me and said
“deadly, how?” (she is 19 in college.)
She then went onto say “Oh because of AIDS or whatever.”
I said yes.
And these were her words “ Well if your doing that then you obviously have gotten very far and you would already have it. Anyway you would know if they had anything before you did anything.”
I asked “How would you know”
“Because the person would tell you”

I was astounded. I said that many people do not even know they have it. I then asked her how many of her friends have ever been tested.

“My gay friend gets tested”

Oh my goodness!!! “ How many of your straight friends have ever been tested?”

She looked at me oddly and said “none” ---As if she was saying why should a straight person be tested!!

 

[mom2rb]

I blame the whole abstinent only sex ed. If all young people are taught is wait until marriage, then they have no clue about how to stay safe.

 

[Tony-NJ]

That is pretty scary. No, that's very scary.

 

[OrlandoMike]

Unfortunatly, that attitude seems to be rampent among all young adults these days.

I wish I could share one day of the 1980's with them, and the fear we all felt!

 

[DVC~OKW~96]

Buy her a copy of "The Band Played On." That might open a few eyes.

Not acceptable. Amazes me that someone her age, in this century doesn't have a better grasp of the dangers of unprotected sexual contact.

Part of what I do for a living is train administrators of ALFs. There is always a sexuality portion and I distribute condoms. Just because someone is "old" doesn't mean they aren't sexually active. It astonishes me the number of so called professionals (in the aging services network) who think that sex stops at fifty or something like that.

It starts as early as it starts and it isn't over 'til it's over, eh? Protection is not just good sense, it's a matter of life and death.

 

[ConcKahuna]

That is just horrible. You should have them check out this report. Over 2,000 cases of people contracting AIDS from heterosexual sex, and this is just for the state of California and just for December '06.

 

[PghLybrt]

That is just horrible. You should have them check out this report. Over 2,000 cases of people contracting AIDS from heterosexual sex, and this is just for the state of California and just for December '06.

Ok that even frightened me.

That is pretty scary. No, that's very scary.

Isn't it? I thought things would be very diffferent today. I was really wrong.

 

[LauraAnn630]

When you are pregnant they offer you the test. I had the test done both times I was pregnant. I was sure it would be neg but still did it for my unborn children.


My best friend, who had been with several people. REFUSED the HIV test!!
She didnt want to know. People are just plain dumb! No concern for her unborn child at all!

HIV had been climbing steadily in Cleveland over the years. Its not slowing down.

No ones going to tell you crap!
I read something like 4 in 6 people have herpies!


Wake Up America!

 

[EpcotLove]

Wow, she sounds like a complete idiot. Let her die with a disease, she sounds like a waste.

Okay that was harsh, but I am 22 and I am SICK of people around my age being clueless when there is information out there to be learned. I just wish more people cared like us.

 

[PghLybrt]

Wow, she sounds like a complete idiot. Let her die with a disease, she sounds like a waste.

Okay that was harsh, but I am 22 and I am SICK of people around my age being clueless when there is information out there to be learned. I just wish more people cared like us.

She does sound like an idiot. The thing that kills me is that she attends a University that is not the easiest to get into. She also grew up in a school district which I had thought was pretty progressive. I guess I was wrong about that one. I now live in the school district that she attended and my godchildren will be going there, I am going to look into what programs they have and what they are actually teaching around here.

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

Teens and young adults are staggeringly stupid. It doesn't occur to them that they could be infected, it doesn't occur to them to wonder how many other partners their partners have had (having 2 partners who have each had 2 partners and so on exposes you to over 500 people), it doesn't occur to them that they could be infected by a drug resistant strain that would leave them with ZERO options right out of the starting gate.

The rate of infection is rising the most rapidly in STRAIGHT minority women ages 18-24. And last I heard they estimate that 25% of all those infected (in all demographics) don't know they are infected. In Dallas County there are over 10,000 diagnosed cases. Why anyone would risk it is beyond me. But not having witnessed the devastation of the disease in the 1980's has made young people very complacent. Combined with that attitude that they are immortal and bad things only happen to OTHER people it is no wonder that they think they are safe.

Well, they aren't safe. They'll figure that out soon enough. When it's too late.

 

[OrlandoMike]

What really gets me is there is so much information out there but they just ignore it!

Back in the day we had no clue what was going on! All we knew was gay men were getting sick and dying. The government was hush on the whole thing. Religious people were on the television saying it was "God's curse". If you wanted information you had to go to a gay bar and get the local gay paper. Was it poppers? Was it some sort of virus? Your doctor didn't even have an answer. At the time I lived in Boston, and I remember walking down the street and you would see a man, and you knew just by the look of his skin and eyes he had a very short time left on earth. It was truly an awful time for this country.

Now we know how it is transmitted, and yet so many kids today are just too lazy or too stupid to do any thing about it. Yet we still have people screaming about the thought of teaching safer sex in the classroom.

I just don't get it.

 

[easleygrls]

I know when I was that age (late teens - early 20s) I had that dangerous combination of thinking I was indestructible and blossoming alcohol addiction. This lead me to take some awful risks that it took me years to recognize as risks. I was in DC in the early 80s and I was just coming out, and experimented a lot sexually and substance-wise. I believe it's by sheer luck I didn't end up catching something or end up 6 feet under.

I can't believe in this day & age someone that old would not have been presented with all of the facts about AIDs and other STDs. I DO believe that as a parent, it is my job to reinforce or augment whatever kind of sex ed my kid ends up getting at school. After all, it isn't just her life I may be saving. As PPs have said, if you have 2 partners who have 2 partners...etc etc etc. Scary!

 

[Viki]

My take on the connection between sex and education is that these two areas of human experience, in particular, happen in two VERY different parts of the brain, in such a way as to exemplify that not even knowledge is salvific (efficacious).

 

[EpcotLove]

Teens and young adults are staggeringly stupid. It doesn't occur to them that they could be infected, it doesn't occur to them to wonder how many other partners their partners have had (having 2 partners who have each had 2 partners and so on exposes you to over 500 people), it doesn't occur to them that they could be infected by a drug resistant strain that would leave them with ZERO options right out of the starting gate.
:

I do think a lot of teens and young adults are dealing with the invincibility fable (they think they can do anything and survive). But it's not fair to say "teens and young adults are stupid". I think people are just STUPID in general....after the teen years, it's not the age, it's the person, their background, etc.

 

[Hodder]

She does sound like an idiot. The thing that kills me is that she attends a University that is not the easiest to get into. She also grew up in a school district which I had thought was pretty progressive. I guess I was wrong about that one. I now live in the school district that she attended and my godchildren will be going there, I am going to look into what programs they have and what they are actually teaching around here.

Ahhh but book smart doesn't mean life smart.

 

[ConcKahuna]

This is why abstinence education just doesnt work. When I was in High School, they brought out a picture book with photos of people with herpes, syphallis, etc. They also showed us a video of a woman giving birth. Scared me, that's for sure!

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

I do think a lot of teens and young adults are dealing with the invincibility fable (they think they can do anything and survive). But it's not fair to say "teens and young adults are stupid". I think people are just STUPID in general....after the teen years, it's not the age, it's the person, their background, etc.

True. So I guess it ties in more with what Viki said about KNOWING the consequences but choosing not to apply the knowledge to the situation. I do think part of that is a maturation process. There is NO WAY I would take the risks now that I took as a teenager, even though as a teen I was fully aware of the risks. Strange how that goes.

I believe that for most people their willingness to purposely engage in risky behaviors drops as they get older.