What is a Hate Crime?

Let me make something clear... A hate crime is not solely "white man kills black man." A hate crime is defined as: "Any of various crimes (as assault or defacement of property) when motivated by hostility to the victim as a member of a group (as one based on color, creed, gender, or sexual orientation)." There ARE different types of crime, such as hate, passion, premeditated, desperation, etc. So, no, not every crime is hateful (particularly to a whole group of people). When a crime is committed solely because of hate towards a group, it gives a reason for that whole community to fear for their lives and safety. I think we should consider EDUCATING those that commit hate crimes, not just jailing them, but it is sad everyone doesn't understand why this bill is necessary.

This is one great organization that does work towards educating the antagonists of hate crimes:
http://www.southasiannetwork.org/Programs.htm

I will also add, there will ALWAYS be some lack of understanding by those who do not fall within a group that is often stigmatized by main society. IF we didn't have a problem with racism, homophobia, etc., we wouldn't even NEED labels. I give some people credit for gaining a phenomenal understanding of groups they do not necessarily identify with and the issues they face, but FEW people bother to do so, and few people could understand what it is like unless you have personal experience.

Safe Sex 101

I always found it strange that the first question many men ask women before they sleep with them is, "How many men have you had sex with?" See, it's weird, because number of partners isn't entirely reflective of their sexual health. You can have sex with one person only, and contract 3 STIs from that one person. Or, you could have had sex with 20 people, and not have contracted one single disease or infection. The BETTER question would be, "Have you been tested recently?"

Plus, I have known people afraid to get tested because they think they will test positive for something. If you don't know about it, that doesn't mean you magically don't have anything. It is important to get tested in between every partner, or, if you have been cheated on, then sometimes while you're still with the same partner (though I advise you dump them...).

Did you know that they have done studies that show a majority of men don't even know how to put a condom on correctly? Sad, isn't it? There are certain STIs that you aren't necessarily protected from with condom use too, such as HPV. HPV can be contract from the skin around the privates, and sometimes there are no visible signs that someone has it. Unfortunately, it is even more dangerous for women since we can contract cervical cancer.

Anyway, moral of the story is, get tested regularly and be sure that your partner does as well.