Dooinit

November 7,1991

I remember that day like it was yesterday. I was a fresh-MAN at SOUTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY. It was almost 6pm. I had just finished football practice when I made my way to the dorm. I heard somebody say "____ has AIDS".

My reply was "Man, don't say shit like that. You'll end up starting a nasty rumor."

It took a few mins to make my way to the 3rd floor to my room. When I got upstairs, a few of my teammates looked very sad. I dunno why but I headed to my room. I turned the tv on to watch the news. And it happened.

BOOM!!!

I saw Magic Johnson on tv and he was announcing that he had HIV and would be retiring from the NBA. WHAT? Are you kiddin me? Magic wasn't gay. How could this be? I'll admit that I wasn't a HUGE fan of his b/c I was a Michael Jordan fan. But I gave Magic his props b/c he was a winner...just like me. Keep in mind that in 1991, we thought that this would be the last time that we saw him on tv. HIV would kill him within 2 yrs. That's what we thought. Well, it's almost been 17yrs and Magic is healthy and living with HIV. I remember seeing some dudes CRYING when they heard the news. As the word spread throughout our campus, we all were concerned about our own vulnerability.

I remember vowing to never have unprotected sex (aka do it raw...lol) no matter what. Not only did I pledge it. Many of you did, too. And if you're reading this right now and HAVEN'T had unprotected sex...you tellin' a DAMN LIE!!! LMAO!!!

Sexual irresponsibility has run rampant amongst teens and young adults, a behavior that is displayed in music, movies, on TV and throughout society. Whether it's not using protection, not getting check-ups, not being tested or having lack of knowledge on STDs and how to catch them, this level of irresponsibility is on the rise.The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) provides the following staggering statistics on the rate of HIV/AIDS and STD infection: Over 19 million new sexually transmitted infections occur each year among all age groups, with the highest infection rate among young African-American Women.

HIV/AIDS
Although African-Americans make up only 13% of the U.S. population, we account for more than 49% of HIV/AIDS cases. AIDS is the leading cause of death for Black women ages 25 to 34, and the second leading cause of death for Black men ages 35-44.

Of all Black women living with HIV/AIDS, the primary transmission category was high-risk heterosexual contact (74%), followed by injection drug use. Of Black men, the primary category was male-to-male sexual contact (48%).

LADIES
You are becoming infected with HIV and other STDs at alarming rates. You have to think about the fact that when you are having sex, you can get little tears in the lining of your vagina, which makes the transmission of diseases and infections from a man to a woman extremely high. We've got to do a better job of cherishing our bodies.

There are several men out there who are leading dual sexual lifestyles, which can increase his chances for infections. Make that man use a condom. Better yet, keep your own stash of male and female condoms, so if he gives you a problem about wrapping it up, you can handle your own business and protect yourself.


FELLAS
You saw the stats above. One thing to know is that the majority of these women are catching these infections from heterosexual relationships. You are carriers of several infections that may lie dormant in your system, but are easily transmitted. And although the chances are slightly slimmer, you can catch these infections from women. Use a condom! This choice is not that difficult. If you are concerned about lack of sensation, use an ultra sensitive, ribbed, or dual pleasure Life Styles condom. There are too many choices and not enough reasons not to wrap it up!

Think about this…when you have unprotected sex with someone you are giving that person the ultimate level of trust. This is the same person that you wouldn't leave alone in your house or you wouldn't let drive your new BMW, but you are allowing them to possibly dictate how you live the rest of your life, whether it will be a life of fighting HIV, living with an incurable STD, or possibly having a child with them when you didn't even want to call them the next day. This is crazy!

There are a lot of smart people making dumb decisions about their health, decisions that are literally killing them. What has to happen for us to get smart about the situation? A few minutes of pleasure can lead to a lifetime of pain.

Protect yourself:Get Check-ups
Way too often, the only time we visit the doctor is if we are feeling sick or notice something is wrong - or we tend to skip the doctor and just diagnose ourselves. Our doctor visits need to be more proactive than reactive. Again, many infections and diseases lie dormant in our system and we do not find out about them until it's too late. Be responsible to yourself and make sure you are straight.

How responsible have YOU been? Have YOU been tested? Has your man/woman been tested? Are you STILL careless in bed? Holla bakkkk.