Having never been a victim of cheating, maybe it is a bit presumptuous of me to comment on the topic, but then again, maybe not. Several of my friends have suffered from cheaters, and I�ve sat there with the Kleenex box, ready to lend an ear.

I like what my Journalism I teacher said on this subject: Loyalty is a character trait. Ok, and so is honesty, which I think goes right hand in hand with loyalty. And loyalty is one thing I do know about. I for one, have been blessed with a very, very loyal boyfriend. He has never lied to me, and I know I can trust him, because that is part of his character. Other people, on the other hand, that I know aren�t quite so trustworthy. One of my friends was messing around with a guy she knew while he was dating another girl. I think that was wrong, and here�s why.

If you know somebody is dating somebody then you tell them �back off� because if they�re messing around with you that constitutes cheating on their girlfriend, and makes you just as guilty because you LET them cheat on their girlfriend with you. Yep, you willingly partake, and you are just as guilty. Period. Besides, if they�re willing to cheat on their girlfriend with you, what�s to say they won�t be willing to cheat on you with someone else? My Journalism I teacher learned that the hard way too as a young person. Loyalty and honesty are character traits, as we have established previously.

But I don�t think a cheater can�t �change his spots�. I wouldn�t wholly trust a known cheater for awhile, but I don�t think �once a cheater, always a cheater� is true for all of them. Some people can or will change, and others can�t, or won�t. �Once a cheater, always a cheater� is too broad. It is a generalization, and not fair to the people who do change.