Letters to the Editor
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i love you proudnormalandjewish
spot on. bravo.
reminds me about how some jews think it's okay to call other jews the derogatory "JAP"... "because they're jewish". self loathing or oblivion, whatever, its the worse.
thanks for taking the time to contribute yoru thoughts.
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If Anything Good Comes From All This...
...maybe it'll be that the next couple reading this will discuss these issues well in advance of any pregnancy taking place.
Me, I'm very happy I never had to make this decision, being childfree. I can definitely see legitimate arguments pro and con, and no matter what I did someone would have been screaming at me.
What's disturbing here is the emotional blackmailing on the part of Pollack's parents, and the fact that he voluntarily involved them in the decision at all. It's not their kid. It's not, therefore, their business. Period.
And the pseudoreligiosity on which their sanctimony is based is, frankly, nauseating. These were not truly religious Jews; had they been, the issue of the wife not being Jewish would have arisen with them much sooner. They were not angling for their grandson to have the spiritual orientation of the bris. They just wanted to have something in their hands (a foreskin, in this case) with which to beat their son about the head in order to control him. This is reprehensible.
Believe it or not, it is possible to be Jewish and still treat your grown children with some degree of respect as adults. And sometimes, as the adult child, you have to make it clear that you won't be treated any other way. The proper answer for Pollack to have given his parents in this situation was, "OK, you don't have a grandson. You also now don't have a son. See ya."
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Lets keep it reasoned
Speaking as a circumcised male who doesn't have feelings of loss, memories of trauma, or even health problems, I'm kind of amazed at all the heat generated (with not much light) on the issue of circumcision. For the most part, I've felt like Neal, neutral on the issue. But rather than take an emotional stand on the subject I would prefer to take a reasoned one. I've noticed that no one has mentioned the recently and widely reported news about research in Africa that showed that circumcision lowers the risk transmitting HIV/AIDS. I have to wonder whether there is any new research on the issue cause I noticed that the American Academy of Pediatrics policy statement on circumcision is dated almost 7 years ago even if it was reaffirmed last fall. The American Urological Association ( http://www.urologyhealth.org/pediatric/index.cfm?cat=10&topic=350 ) seems to acknowledge both benefits and risks as well as the Mayo Clinic ( http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/circumcision/PR00040 ). I would expect that those men who had a bad experience to be loud about the downsides but I don't believe their voices should be the major source of influence on the matter if there is a silent majority who never had a problem, clearly benefits, or simply doesn't care.
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In answer to those who call this debate trivial
**I'm happy with my uncircumcised penis. So is my wife
and so were all the women I ever had sex with.
If you wanna do it for religious reasons or whatever,
go ahead and do it.
If you don't wanna do it for whatever reason, then
don't do it.
I can't believe what a vicious flame war is going on
over such a trivial subject. Iraq is descending into
the outer ring of the seventh circle of hell, hundreds
of thousands are dead and y'all want to flame over
circumcision.
It's things like this that make me glad I'm an
atheist.
-- Jonathan**
Jonathan, the reason this is not a trivial subject is because it is just this sort of coddling of religious barbarism (On all sides!!) that leads to conflicts like Iraq. If we as a people would stand up and say your bullshit fairy tale beliefs do not justify you drawing blood from another human being, we wouldn't be in this conflict in the first place. If people want to believe in god, the tooth fairy, or little green men who live under your bed, so be it, but the second you use religion as an excuse to hurt another person, you are just plain backward and wrong.
I spoke to my husband about this debate, and he refused to read the article because he doesn't want to think about what he might be missing. I think this is much more common in circed men than most are willing to admit. And to any woman who refuses to date an uncut man, I hope you are willing to get breast augmentation, lipo, and a whole host of other plastic surgery for your man because he thinks it will make you more *pretty*. Honestly, what the hell is wrong with you if you demand the removal of a body part in order to love someone.
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Come on, ladies.
I'm disappointed to see a handful of ladies making posts along the lines of: "I prefer men with cut dicks." Well, okay. That isn't the point. Maybe some men prefer women with big, fake tits. That's no reason for us parents to force elective cosmetic surgery on our kids before they're old enough to make up their own minds. Let the boys cut their pricks and the girls pump their boobs when they're mature enough to decide for themselves.
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Please Dont' Call Me AL
Now, I've heard it all. The war in Iraq is traceable to circumcision. Yeah, there is a dickhead in the White House, and a Dick pulling strings from his undisclosed bat cave, but those are metaphorical dicks. This has to be, without a doubt, the most preposterous thread in Salon.com history. So much stupidity, so little time, but let's start with: at what point in the date does the woman who won't perform with an uncut male discover whether or not Oscar's weiner is all natural, or trimmed? Or do we wear tee shirts,"Say it Loud, I'm Cut and I'm Proud"? What a monumental steaming pile of pigshit, or, if you'd prefer the Kosher version, sheepshit.