Max: one young man's story about HIV and failed abstinence-only programs

When are all the right wing religious nut jobs going to realize that just say no did not work for drugs in the 90's and is not going to work for sex in the hear and now.

Dear Max,
I feel sad hearing about your case.
You are not at fault for having unprotected sex.
You are not at fault for being blissfully ignorant.
It is just a mistake;
and some mistakes are reversible, some are not.
You have done well sharing your story on the internet
to create awareness.
God bless you and I hope all those damn medical scientists won't sit on their asses for too long to come out with a medical cure!

What keeps coming up in my mind is the saying "The truth hurts" I hurt for Max and for everyone who has found themselves in this situation, gay or otherwise.

We as a society are failing in this department.

I appreciate hawk5000's comment regarding people being at fault and not blaming the educational system. While there could clearly be improvement made within each school, so often any advancement is haulted by parents.

I feel bad for the guy, however I don't think he's right to blame the abstinence argument.
He wasn't as ignorant as he claims he was, as he knew at the time that he should have used a condom. So it's not like he didn't know what condoms were and that they would have increased his chances of protection. The problem was he didn't have the confidence or maturity to deal with a sexual situation - which was probably the message his teacher was trying to get across in the first place.
He was young, had sex with someone who clearly had no respect for him and was very unlucky.
I wish him well though, he seems to be a nice guy.