# Some people do indeed deserve to die. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 22, 2003, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-people-do-indeed-deserve-to-die/150154 "2003-01-22T04:28:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![j\_kat\_251](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/71c47a/32.png) [@j\_kat\_251](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j_kat_251)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2003, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-people-do-indeed-deserve-to-die/150154/21 "2003-01-22T06:19:30Z")
Okay, your cunning wit has indeed made me empathise with people who rape babies. Now I see the light. Dick. ---
**Author:** ![Mockingbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c68b51/32.png) [@Mockingbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mockingbird)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2003, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-people-do-indeed-deserve-to-die/150154/22 "2003-01-22T06:24:11Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by j\_kat\_251 \* > \*\*Okay, your cunning wit has indeed made me empathise with people who rape babies. Now I see the light. Dick. \*\* And can you point out to me where Miller or anyone else suggested empathy with baby rapers? In fact… why are you hijacking this thread into the realm of baby rape? Does this fulfill some need of yours for the attention that comes to those who stomp their impotent foot in righteous indignation? If so… start your own fucking thread, you pathetic pustulent parasite. ---
**Author:** ![Essured](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/278dde/32.png) [@Essured](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Essured)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2003, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-people-do-indeed-deserve-to-die/150154/23 "2003-01-22T06:30:12Z")
From the link provided by **mayberrydan** and **Mockingbird** : > [@](#): > > But I have learned that, to get to the whole truth, we must let go of the definitions and the story, let go of the “bug chasers,” for ultimately their story is not qualitatively different from the story of smokers, drug addicts, alcoholics and the rest of “us.” Their story is little different from those who drive their cars too fast, or choose not to wear a seat belt, or use cell phones that cause brain tumors. Everyone is in the closet about something. The only real difference is the demonization of their behavior-and that’s not about “them,” it’s about us. It is easy to condemn others for what they do, but are we able to own our own self-destructive tendencies, conscious or unconscious? Bug chasers are members of the human race, like everyone else. Interesting reading. Truly, barebackers are taking a risk with their lives and their health. I would love to know statistically how this risk measured up to other risks we take on a daily basis. And a quick google search indicates that this is very much a minority behaviour and that the vast majority of homosexuals disagree with this practice. ---
**Author:** ![j\_kat\_251](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/71c47a/32.png) [@j\_kat\_251](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j_kat_251)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2003, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-people-do-indeed-deserve-to-die/150154/24 "2003-01-22T06:31:13Z")
> [@](#): > > > [@](#): > > > > ## quote: > > > > ## Originally posted by Virgowitch I can do better than this. In some African countries, there is a popular, widely-believed myth that sex with a virgin (male or female) is a cure for AIDS, resulting in, guess what? > > - Originally posted by Brutus \* > > Baby rape. Golly gee, those people need hugs! Gee, you know, nobody except me in this thread mentioned baby rape indeed. What the fuck? You can’t read all of a sudden? ---
**Author:** ![Mockingbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c68b51/32.png) [@Mockingbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mockingbird)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2003, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-people-do-indeed-deserve-to-die/150154/25 "2003-01-22T06:36:17Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by j\_kat\_251 \* > \*\*\* Originally posted by Brutus \* > > Baby rape. Golly gee, those people need hugs! Gee, you know, nobody except me in this thread mentioned baby rape indeed. What the fuck? You can’t read all of a sudden? \*\* [/QUOTE] Dipshit. He was being sarcastic. You have officially been whooshed. The sound you hear is the wind whistling through your ears, filling your head with more than its usual amount of air. ---
**Author:** ![j\_kat\_251](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/71c47a/32.png) [@j\_kat\_251](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j_kat_251)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2003, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-people-do-indeed-deserve-to-die/150154/26 "2003-01-22T06:39:52Z")
Whether he was being sarcastic or not is irrelevant. > [@](#): > > In fact… why are you hijacking this thread into the realm of baby rape? Answer: I’m not. Someone else brought it up. You=wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Mockingbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c68b51/32.png) [@Mockingbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mockingbird)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2003, 6:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-people-do-indeed-deserve-to-die/150154/27 "2003-01-22T06:41:56Z")
Um… you are the one fixating on something completely divergent from the OP. ---
**Author:** ![j\_kat\_251](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/71c47a/32.png) [@j\_kat\_251](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j_kat_251)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2003, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-people-do-indeed-deserve-to-die/150154/28 "2003-01-22T06:43:08Z")
I suppose you aren’t? Jesus Christ, get a fucking grip. ---
**Author:** ![Esprix](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/esprix/32/7899_2.png) [@Esprix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Esprix)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2003, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-people-do-indeed-deserve-to-die/150154/29 "2003-01-22T06:43:50Z")
Yes, there are bug chasers (which are not quite the same as barebackers). They are appalling. They need help. None of us are qualified to give it. They are not 25% of all new HIV cases. They are a minority. We could delve deeply into not only their psyches, but the long-term historical effects of the HIV/AIDS epidemic on the gay community, sexuality, and the sexual revolution. I can only hope that **Jillgat** pokes her head in with some reliable statistics. In the meantime, this thread can only end in tears. Esprix ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2003, 9:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-people-do-indeed-deserve-to-die/150154/30 "2003-01-22T09:07:41Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Virgowitch \* > \*\*I can do better than this. In some African countries, there is a popular, widely-believed myth that sex with a virgin (male or female) is a cure for AIDS, resulting in, guess what? \*\* FYI: Snopes says that [this myth’s role in child rape, and the belief in it, seems to be exaggerated](http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/petition/babyrape.htm). As for **Brutus’s** follow-up, the number of confirmed cases of an infant being raped seems to be around, well, one (or at least, that’s all Snopes seemed to find) - horrifying, yes, but seemingly quite the anomaly. Read up; I think the social commentary is quite interesting. My thoughts, in sum: bug chasing is horribly misguided (to say the least), but I find it hard to believe that it accounts for as many cases as is asserted. Child rape in Africa has much less to do with AIDS, or AIDS related myths, than many news organizations seem to think, so is generally irrelevant to this particular OP’s point. In short, there’s a lot of exaggeration that, as the Snopes article points out, oversimplifies and does injustice to serious and complex issues. This is not any individual Doper’s fault; it’s just bad reporting and information-spreading. (Apologies in advance; I’m not 100% sure I’m expressing my views accurately in the way I want to…) ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2003, 9:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-people-do-indeed-deserve-to-die/150154/31 "2003-01-22T09:12:44Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Esprix \* > \*\* They are not 25% of all new HIV cases. They are a minority. \*\* Isn’t 25% a minority? ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2003, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-people-do-indeed-deserve-to-die/150154/32 "2003-01-22T12:11:22Z")
Considering their extremely hazardous lifestyle, it’s not hard to imagine that bug chasers may in fact represent a large percentage of HIV cases. They are a small percentage of the population at large, but have a much higher chance of contracting HIV. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2003, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-people-do-indeed-deserve-to-die/150154/33 "2003-01-22T14:24:49Z")
25% sounds like an awfully high figure. It almost sounds like it was invented by some right-wing christian group trying to illustrate the “guilt” felt by gays (in hopes of “undoing” that evil in the rest of the homos). I think it’s mostly bullshit. Even though the numbers are probably significantly less, it is a very sad subject and certainly not deserving of our scorn. Self-loathing to that degree is unspeakably sad. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2003, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-people-do-indeed-deserve-to-die/150154/34 "2003-01-22T15:03:14Z")
How many times have you ever heard some young smoker saying “I hope I get cancer!”. I’ve heard plenty of idiots saying and doing things that will get them a terrible illness. Although bug chasers seem to exist can anyone show me where they say I hope to get aids _and_ use up a bunch of tax dollars? People eroticise plenty of weird shit. (some people even eroticise actual shit) but YMMV Oh yeah and 25% sounds like a BS number to me as well. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2003, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-people-do-indeed-deserve-to-die/150154/35 "2003-01-22T15:24:04Z")
25% of _newly infected_ men seems like a reasonable percentage to me. This is not 25% of gay men or even 25% of HIV+ men. As **cheesesteak** observed, most gay men are very cautious these days. The ones who have gotten infected in, say, the last year, can fall into three rough categories: accidents like broken condoms, people who aren’t careful due to ignorance or drunkeness or something and “bug chasers.” I think that 25% is entirely possible though it could be a lot less. In any event, I think we can all agree that the practice exists and that it’s unacceptable behavior. My Cousin Bill was one of the first men to die of AIDS. It wasn’t even called AIDS yet. He was a wonderful man who had the misfortune of being a promiscuous gay man who lived in the Bay Area in the 1970’s. It is well documented that there was a lot of resistance in the gay community in the very early days of AIDS to truely face this crisis. They were afraid of (additional) persecution and didn’t want the negative publicity. I’d hate to see a repeat of this with respect to “bug chasers.” Haj ---
**Author:** ![Esprix](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/esprix/32/7899_2.png) [@Esprix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Esprix)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2003, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-people-do-indeed-deserve-to-die/150154/36 "2003-01-22T16:57:11Z")
There’s also a certain complacency that is hounding the gay community after fighting this disease for 20+ years. Add to that the latest “drug cocktails” that can prolong the onset of full-blown AIDS (or keep the symptoms at bay for a longer period of time) and some people think they’re invincible. The sad, sad fools. ☹ Esprix ---
**Author:** ![GregAtlanta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/eb9ed0/32.png) [@GregAtlanta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GregAtlanta)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2003, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-people-do-indeed-deserve-to-die/150154/37 "2003-01-22T20:33:20Z")
For the facts, check out the full article in the Feb. 6 Rolling Stone. I wrote it. Drudge’s report is a 300-word summary of a 5,000-word article. The 25% figure must be understood in context, and the article clarifies that it applies to a fairly broad definition of bug chasing. The estimate comes from a very reliable public health official in San Francisco who is deeply concerned about this issue, not someone trying to make gay men look bad. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2003, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-people-do-indeed-deserve-to-die/150154/38 "2003-01-22T21:35:52Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by GregAtlanta \* > **For the facts, check out the full article in the Feb. 6 Rolling Stone. I wrote it.** Sometimes you just gotta love this place. It reminds me of that scene in _Annie Hall_. [Marshall McLuhan]You know nothing of my work[/Marshall McLuhan] Haj ---
**Author:** ![Esprix](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/esprix/32/7899_2.png) [@Esprix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Esprix)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2003, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-people-do-indeed-deserve-to-die/150154/39 "2003-01-22T21:53:37Z")
**GregAtlanta** , did you do a talk radio show today? I heard you on (what I think was) the AM ABC talk radio arm (same company that does Limbaugh, yes?)! You were talking to a conservative host, but he was in total agreement with you about how sad this is, and that this in no way reflects the attitude of the gay community as a whole You handled yourself well, by the way. Esprix ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2003, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-people-do-indeed-deserve-to-die/150154/40 "2003-01-22T22:01:22Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Esprix \* > \*\*There’s also a certain complacency that is hounding the gay community after fighting this disease for 20+ years. Add to that the latest “drug cocktails” that can prolong the onset of full-blown AIDS (or keep the symptoms at bay for a longer period of time) and some people think they’re invincible. > > The sad, sad fools. ☹ > > Esprix \*\* Sounds like a lot of the idiot kids we get over at SAAN, who are sleeping around at fourteen, and refuse to use birth control- ‘Bcuz u cant git pregirz if ur a virgyn!!’ Or they use Saran wrap as a condom, or jump up and down after sex. Or they actually WANT a baby. Reckless behavior like this isn’t limited to gays, or people with AIDS or whatever. ☹ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-people-do-indeed-deserve-to-die/150154.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-people-do-indeed-deserve-to-die/150154.md?page=3)