really? banning a religious ritual that causes zero harm doesn't bother some of YOU PEOPLE? really?
5/20/2011 6:44:35 PM
^Protecting the 1st amendment bothers you?
5/20/2011 7:48:40 PM
5/20/2011 7:59:11 PM
I was arguing with aaron that the right to not have your body irreversibly changed for religious modifications should be up to the individual and not something parents do to their children. When this happens, the individual can never remove the markings of that religion thus has no freedom of choice.
5/20/2011 8:40:24 PM
5/20/2011 9:11:36 PM
5/20/2011 9:16:25 PM
Tomorrow may very well be the end of the World. Kris and I agree on something
5/20/2011 9:23:19 PM
He loves going on the religious angle. Raise your hand if you have argued in favor of this thread and are Jewish.[does not raise hand] I'm so profoundly anglo-saxon that it hurts, and am Christian.Raise your hand if you are part of any religion that encourages circumcision.[does not raise hand] I haven't checked, but I'm pretty sure it's rare among the Orthodox. Probably comes across as too Jew-y to people from the old country.Raise your hand if you were circumcised by a cleric or other religious official.[does not raise hand] It was a medical doctor who apparently did not think it was a bad idea. But apparently disco_stu knows better than a doctor.Raise your hand if you were circumcised for any religious reason at all.[does not raise hand] Dad the atheist was all for it, as I understand. Hell, it was probably his idea.
5/20/2011 10:32:56 PM
^agreed.TSB, revealing crazy people every day
5/21/2011 12:12:32 AM
You know, even though I have my own opinion on this, it really is amazing to hear how many people think that precedent automatically makes something ok. That exact justification has been used by a couple people at this point, and I wish I could say I am surprised, but...this is TSB.
5/21/2011 12:41:17 AM
^3As I said in the OP, the thing that I found peculiar is that most people I've spoken with (and indeed most people in this thread) who oppose such a ban do so based on the idea of religious freedom. It is those people, not those who argue that there are worthwhile medical benefits, that I take issue with. And they bring it on themselves, so don't blame us.If circumcision is done for religious reasons, it seems to me that this has a net negative impact on religious freedom. Granted, I understand that both the parents' and the child's religious freedom are on the line, but I think you have to consider who the biggest stakeholder is here. And I would say the person about to have his physical form permanently altered is clearly the bigger stakeholder, and thus the one whose liberty needs to be protected.And pooh-poohing the issue as "not a big deal" is not a serious argument. Whether or not physically branding a person into this or that clan or religion is ok deserves, I think, more than such a frivolous response.
5/21/2011 7:05:49 AM
There are other things that should be banned well before circumcision... you know, things that actually harm children and people of all ages, drain the economy, cripple people for life, and in millions of cases, kill.[smoking, fast food, junk food, etc]
5/21/2011 7:51:33 AM
Zero harm? Because they don't remember the pain of getting their dick severed there's no actual harm? What in the fuck is wrong with you people? Can I beat the shit out of my infant children or perform other unnecessary surgery on them as long as they don't remember it? No harm. What in the fuck is wrong with you people where you could possibly believe having your foreskin removed is not being caused harm.
5/21/2011 4:34:17 PM
we're sorry you miss your foreskin so much- we really are.
5/21/2011 5:17:46 PM
5/21/2011 5:56:42 PM
5/21/2011 8:17:54 PM
ITT disco_stu reads minds. It's impressive.
5/21/2011 10:53:06 PM
I didn't even know I was circumcised because I don't look at other guy's dicks. My circumcision had no affect on me before or after I was told I was circumcised by my first girlfriend.People who are offended should educate themselves about life and its unfairnesses. They should worry about how their ugly god given face fucks up their chances as getting laid before they worry about excess skin on their dicks.[Edited on May 21, 2011 at 11:06 PM. Reason : .]
5/21/2011 11:04:14 PM
I have a circumcised dick. It's impossible for me to get upset over being circumcised when I don't know what it's like to have a uncircumcised dick. Seriously, how can you miss something you never had?disco_stu, you must have a ton of free time to get upset over having a circumcised dick. I wish I had such a leisured life that I could worry about the most insignificant things...You say that harm is being done, yet you can't even quantify the actual harm. If you always had a circumcised dick, how do you know that you should be upset over it anyway? How do you even know what you're missing...I follow your logic, I just don't follow your concern.
5/21/2011 11:34:34 PM
Stop being trolls guys... it is a well-known fact that men with uncircumcised penises derive greater pleasure from sex as the penises are more sensitive.This is backed up both scientifically and anecdotally. There is no arguing that.Exactly how much more pleasurable it is, no one knows, as it is not possible to imagine the extra pleasure if you are cut, or to imagine the decreased pleasure if you are uncut.So yes, reducing someone's sexual pleasure by surgical methods is definitely "causing harm".Whether the reduction in pleasure is justified by the benefits of circumcision, I guess that's up to speculation. There do exist numbers about how many more men (especially in Africa) would have AIDS if they were uncut... so the harm has to be weighed against that.[Edited on May 22, 2011 at 12:21 AM. Reason : ]
5/22/2011 12:20:41 AM
5/22/2011 10:53:16 AM
You obviously don't know what I said. Look up the word quantify and revise your statement.
5/22/2011 11:25:45 AM
I would argue the other way. I accept undeniably that circumcision causes harm. Same goes for piercing your daughter's ears. However, so does sending your child to bed without dinner. So does spanking the child. Some parents never inflict any bodily harm, but indoctrinate the child into destructive behavior. It is my opinion that Parents have a right to harm their children a pre-determined amount. They don't have the right to kill them. But certainly they should be allowed to torture them a reasonable amount (what else is spanking but torture used as punishment?) So, the question is not whether circumcision is harmful, the question is whether is constitutions sufficient harm for the state to intervene, which I think is a resounding "No."
5/22/2011 11:36:41 AM
Well, I think it is a resounding "Yes." I think cutting parts off your children is child abuse. I guess that's unreasonable.
5/22/2011 12:09:07 PM
Everyone's position here seems pretty clear and there is no objective way to solve the conflict (this is a battle over opinion, science cannot end it). But I am curious. What about cutting off a third nipple, correcting a cosmetic birth defect, or an adjoined twin? Does cutting off these parts of your child constitute child abuse?
5/23/2011 12:48:12 AM
Cosmetic birth "defects" yes, IMO, but not as serious as circumcision given the evidence how circumcision affects sexual pleasure. Any type of cosmetic surgery is submitting the child to a painful process in addition to a painful and sensitive recovery. Adjoined twins would definitely be a case by case basis. And don't get me wrong, you would still be harming the children, but the harm may be justified.
5/23/2011 8:49:56 AM
Ok, so you "think cutting parts off your children is [NOT] child abuse" unless the thing being cut off is foreskin. The issue I guess orbits around the word "defect" and what body parts constitute a defect.
5/23/2011 9:16:30 AM
Uhhh, I said yes. The issue hinges entirely on whether the harm is justified through medical necessity.[Edited on May 23, 2011 at 9:22 AM. Reason : .]
5/23/2011 9:21:34 AM
Bunch of people trying to justify their mutilated penises ITT.
5/23/2011 9:33:58 AM
bunch of dudes arguing about dicks ITT.~[Edited on May 23, 2011 at 11:22 AM. Reason : .]
5/23/2011 11:22:24 AM
Shit aint gonna hold up in court.Move along, folks.
5/23/2011 12:05:06 PM
5/23/2011 12:21:47 PM
Yeah, my kids are having a terrible childhood having fun, learning how to read and math, and about the Universe.My son's foreskin is really getting in the way of drinking bottles and laughing at the raspberries we blow on his stomach. Oh, and they get to sleep in on Sundays (not that they do).I totally misread your post. So surgery to prevent kids from picking on you is justified? I remain unconvinced this is a good reason to physically modify your children without their consent. Yes, I understand you make decisions for your children, but cosmetic surgery should not be one of them.[Edited on May 23, 2011 at 12:38 PM. Reason : .]
5/23/2011 12:33:07 PM
I said I hoped they look normal, because apparently correcting birth defects is child abuse, too. Glad they didn't have a cleft palate or anything.[Edited on May 23, 2011 at 12:36 PM. Reason : of course you're gonna be nice to them. It's their peers what's the issue.]
5/23/2011 12:36:09 PM
Oh, cleft palates have absolutely no medical reason to correct... Oh, and I knew kids with corrected cleft palates. The correction did not stop the kids for picking on them.[Edited on May 23, 2011 at 12:41 PM. Reason : .]
5/23/2011 12:39:31 PM
I'm sure people circumcising their children would call it a "correction" too.
5/23/2011 1:14:27 PM
The arguments for circumcision in this thread are as follows:1. It reduces spread of HIV - Wear a condom? Know what diseases your partner is carrying before you have unprotected sex?2. Prevents various diseases - What diseases? I need proof of this.3. Kid will get made fun of for having foreskin - Stupid.Benefits of keeping foreskin:http://www.noharmm.org/advantage.htmTo me, it seems like people do it out of tradition. "My parents circumcised me, so it's okay for me to circumcise my child."[Edited on May 23, 2011 at 1:38 PM. Reason : .]
5/23/2011 1:36:27 PM
^^This isn't difficult.Medically sound justification? Not child abuse.No medically sound justification? Child abuse.If circumcision had a medically sound justification, it would not be child abuse. It has not been proven that it has any health benefits for people with an ample supply of running water and safe sex practices.Hell, it hasn't even been proven that it's more than a correlation in 3rd world countries in Africa where every cited study is derived from. What other social and economic factors may align with circumcision that would have an impact on disease spreading? Do rich people get cut with a greater frequency than poor people?Maybe you misinterpreted my italics of the word 'correction.' I was noting how even though it was "corrected" there were still children making fun of the "correction." Thereby making the "well your kid is going to get picked on" argument stupid because kids will pick on even "normal looking kids." Additionally, "your kid is going to get picked on" is not a medically sound justification for surgery in an infant who cannot consent by any reasonable definition of consent.[Edited on May 23, 2011 at 1:41 PM. Reason : .]
5/23/2011 1:37:29 PM
So if anyone in the world is willing to proclaim correcting a cleft pallet is not medically necessary then you should go to jail for doing it? I accept undeniably that circumcision causes pain and therefore harm. Same goes for piercing your daughter's ears. However, so does sending your child to bed without dinner. So does spanking the child. Some parents never inflict any bodily harm, but indoctrinate the child into destructive behavior. Are you similarly in favor of having these people arrested, even though they didn't cut anything off their children? If not, why not?
5/23/2011 1:53:05 PM
No, if science-based medicine's consensus was that correcting a cleft palate did not have medically sound justification, then it should be considered child abuse.I don't feel any differently about piercing an infants ears, by the way. It's absolutely child abuse. Comparing either of those to sending your child to bed without dinner is absolutely ridiculous. We're talking about physically modifying your child with surgery (which I suppose you could refer to ear piercing as).There is a line regarding corporal punishment where it should be considered child abuse. It's somewhere between smacking them on the hand and causing welts and bleeding. There's a line regarding psychological abuse where it should be considered child abuse. I'm still not sure how this relates to cosmetic surgery for infants, however.
5/23/2011 2:01:25 PM
5/23/2011 2:03:25 PM
5/23/2011 2:18:21 PM
5/23/2011 2:22:25 PM
You mean one of those people that thinks that you shouldn't shear parts off of or stab holes through an infant's body? Yep, one of those.^To be fair, I think inflicting minor physical pain is ok if the result is immediate prevention of greater physical harm. Smacking a hand when they're reaching for something that will seriously injure them, for instance.I don't agree with spanking as punishment (nor going to bed without supper for that manner) but I would be hesitant to label every instance of each as child abuse.[Edited on May 23, 2011 at 2:26 PM. Reason : .]
5/23/2011 2:23:27 PM
yep.
5/23/2011 2:24:01 PM
5/23/2011 2:31:09 PM
Kids can be very unreasonable at times. Discipline shouldn't inflict physical harm, but sometimes children (especially at young ages) will only respond to pain.
5/23/2011 3:30:42 PM
Children need punishment when they're misbehaving. There's nothing wrong with sending them to bed without dinner or a good spanking.
5/23/2011 3:38:54 PM
The lack of merits for corporal punishment belong in a different thread. Comparing corporal punishment to cosmetic surgery for infants is ludicrous.
5/23/2011 3:53:10 PM
5/23/2011 3:54:32 PM