College AIDS
Recently, both the New York Times and USA Today reported on the first outbreak of AIDS among American college students. These students were disproportionately black and from the Southeastern United States. The information was revealed at an AIDS conference in San Francisco held in February 2004. The facts in themselves are disturbing: not only do black men (who have sex with men) make up 88% of these new college student AIDS cases, but a third of these men also have sex with women. Although the numbers themselves are relatively small (less than 100 cases), the implications for a future epidemic are frightening to say the least.
But as concerned as I was about these new statistics, I was more disturbed by the response of certain leaders in the black community. “We have to increase the level of tolerance among our students for all people,” Morehouse College President Walter Massey was quoted as saying. “It’s hard to educate gay men about the dangers of reckless sex if intolerance forces them into hiding and denial.” He, along with various columnists and activists hold to the opinion that it is the black community’s historic disapproval of homosexuality, fueled by religious faith, that is “causing” this potential AIDS epidemic.
As a black Christian man, I cannot begin to express how much that response infuriates me. Let’s take that kind of thinking out to its logical extreme for a minute: no one is arguing with the fact that these college students are contracting AIDS as a result of sex with an infected partner. Men who have sex with men without condoms are particularly vulnerable to contracting the virus, as are the women who have sex with those same men. President Massey is saying that if the black community becomes more “tolerant” of homosexuality, then people will begin behaving responsibly. He is saying that it is our religious faith, not our lack thereof, that is causing this blatantly self-destructive behavior.
When president Massey speaks of “educating gay men,” he is most likely talking about encouraging condom use, although hopefully he is also referring to encouraging fewer sexual partners and regular HIV tests. Let’s overlook the fact that condoms are only 70-85% effective in preventing HIV in the first place, depending on whose study you read. Let’s think about this: the Bible teaches that we remain virgins, as my wife and I did, until we marry, and remain faithful to our spouse. Assuming everyone steers clear of intravenous drug use, etc., that’s a guaranteed AIDS-free way of living! Yet Christianity is portrayed as a culprit here, not a solution.
A lot of people make the same argument, blaming the lack of access to birth control (and “intolerance” of teen sex) for rising teen pregnancy rates. Yet we can look at the last 100 years and see that the more tolerant of extra-marital sex our society becomes, the more teen pregnancy increases. In the same way, we now have condoms available in every Walmart, grocery store, gas station and 7-Eleven, and STILL sexually transmitted diseases are on the rise. So what next? Do we need to cut out all other forms of education and make our public schools focus entirely on sex-ed and free condom giveaways?
The problem is NOT lack of sex education or condoms. The problem is lack of self-respect. People who respect themselves and value their own lives do not have irresponsible sex, nor deceptively endanger others. It’s that simple. Proponents of the “tolerance” solution truly believe that it is unrealistic for young people to abstain from irresponsible sex. Instead of teaching people to value their lives and their futures and make better decisions, they want them to trust a flimsy piece of latex to save them.
God created each of us in His own image, and says that we are precious to Him. He valued each of us enough to send His own Son to die for us on the cross. Students who are convinced of that truth will do better for their peers and themselves than those indoctrinated with “tolerance” fever.
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