Hey New Yorkers, I got a fun and quick game for ya. Gather up three of your friends. Now take a good look at the circle of you. One of you has herpes. See, wasn’t that fun? According to the New York Health Department, over a quarter of the Big Apple’s denizens has got the magic touch.
Now you might be saying, “Oh they must be including cold sores as herpes.” Nope, that 26% number is all gential herpes. This is compared to a national average of 19%. Wait, what? Almost 1 in 5 people in America has Herpes? What is this, the seventies?
Whenever news of increased STDs or teen preganacies comes out, you find two opposing reactions. On one side, and I might add the side I reside on, people believe this is proof we need to be educating and encouraging our kids to seek protected sex. On the other hand, there is that constituency that clamims the only solution is to preach abstinence—a strategy that has been shown to increase STD and teen preganacy rates.
So c’mon New York. Give your kids the safe sex talk. And hey, NY, I still love you. I just wish I could wrap a big condom around you.
Photo: AP
About Cole Gamble
Cole Gamble’s writings on the crimes of Willy Wonka, man-eating beds and tales from his cringe-worthy life appear here on Babble, the humor site Cracked, The Daily Beast, The Huffington Post and Salon. He is working on a book entitled, Conquer Everything! A Self Help Book to Destroy All Other Self Help Books and Grant You Mastery in Everything.
