to some degree i feel that alot of people still have the "it could never happen to me" mentality...especially during the teenaged and early adult years...we don't get checked as often as we should...and if you don't know you have it...and don't think you can get it...then you are more likely to have careless sexual encounters which further the spread of std's...

I agree! I think that a lot of people, including myself, don't believe things until they see it. That shouldn't be the case.But getting tested is a scary thing so people would rather not now then deal with reality... Never put yourself in a situation if you aren't ready to deal with the consequences. I was reading an article on some health forum about Black men and bisexuality.It discussed an new trend called "down low" where Black men are have sex with men and not telling their girlfriends! I personally don't appreciate this! Not only are they endangering themselves but others. Don't play with other people lives just because you want to participate in something! I'm getting upset so I'll leave it alone now...

Unfortunately, this isn't a new trend. This has been going on for ages in black communities and it largely has to do with attitudes against homosexuality. I think it's getting more attention now because recent studies have shown that the rate of HIV infection and AIDS is is growing at an alarming rate among young Black males.

Thats true. I wish we could honestly address this problem. But I realize that its not new because I was watching Jerry Springer (yes I STILL watch Jerry every now and then)and there was a Black man who was gay but was still sleeping with his "girlfriend". Maybe Jerry has been telling us things about our community that some of us, or maybe just me, haven't looked into.