Intolerance runs rampant toward those who are different, even in today's ever-progressive social landscape. There still exist many who, given the choice, would not sit in the same room with a person afflicted with HIV/AIDS without taking incorrect precautions; one prime recent example being Justice Jon-Jo Douglas, a judge presiding over a sexual assault case who insisted on wearing rubber gloves while handling documents touched by a witness who was HIV-positive, moved the case to a larger courtroom to maximize the distance from the witness stand and the bench and made the witness wear a surgical mask.

When a prominent, presumably well-educated individual in a position of power in a First World country's justice department displays such a lack of education when it comes to a disease that 33.2 million live with worldwide, it doesn't reflect well on the general populace.

Gays still endure taunts and discrimination from chest-thumping, beer-guzzling sports nuts to religious zealots. Rev. Lance Quinn of Little Rock, Co. is a self-anointed "gay converter" who has taken it upon himself to convert the supposed lost souls of the gay community "because there are people who find homosexuality to be repugnant to them," says Pastor Quinn. Civilized persons understand that what consenting adults do with each other within the confines of their bedrooms is nobody else's business.

Deaf and hearing-impaired individuals often can't find sign language interpreters from a variety of institutions, like in the case of Latia Falls, an eight-year-old deaf child, who wasn't able to understand what was happening to her during her five-day stay at Prince George's Hospital Centre in Cheverly, Maryland, because the hospital refused to provide sign language interpreter services.

As a deaf, gay and HIV-positive man, Kevin Canning doesn't let discrimination sink its sharp teeth into his aspirations. A spokesperson for the Toronto-based Deaf Outreach Program, Canning has devoted his life to educating deaf people on safe-sex practices and the dangers of HIV transmission and AIDS, which has spread throughout the deaf community at a ratio much higher than hearing people's because of a lack of communication on the subject. "A friend of mine who's deaf went to get tested for HIV and when it showed he was HIV-positive, he concentrated on the word "positive", thinking it was a good thing, in that he didn't have HIV," explained Canning through interpreters, visibly dismayed. According to Canning, acceptance is the key. "Self-analysis, first and foremost was my reaction when I learned I was HIV-positive. I didn't place blame on anyone and decided to go on with my life and educate others." One can't accept others unless they accept themselves.