made some edits, posted it to facebook:
Tribal-branding of a baby boy is pretty primitive behavior for this day and age.
This is the kind of logic (or shall I say illogical thinking) that keeps it going:
We hope our baby doesn't have any birth defects."
except for aposthia (lack of foreskin) which we would sort of like so we can save some money since our insurance said it was "cosmetic".
"We'd never submit our baby to a surgical procedure without a diagnosis."
except for circumcision, which doctors let us decide about because it's the most profitable 15 minutes of their day.
"It is not OK to hurt babies."
except when we want them circumcised for our own sexual and aesthetic preferences.
"We'd never unnecessarily place our baby at risk of infection or injury."
except to get him circumcised because those risks are better than something we aren't used to.
"We'd never permit healthy tissue to be removed from our baby."
unless it is his foreskin.
"It is our job to protect our baby from pain."
except from his circumcision, which we know (from the consent form and several studies) the doctor does not use painkiller to perform.
"We must aid and comfort our baby when he is injured."
except during his circumcision which we'll pretend doesn't hurt because "babies can't feel pain" even though many pro-life advocates tell us that even a fetus can feel pain...but a full term little boy? NAH!
"We'd never take the easy way out of caring for our baby."
unless it is a boy. Then we'll have his penis altered so we
won't have to take care of the great unknown: foreskin.
"We'd never allow anything to impair our baby's bonding with his mother."
except for the pain of circumcision which they told us can interrupt or even ruin breastfeeding...oh well, theres formula for that.
"We want our baby to grow up happy with his body."
except his penis. we'll tell him that men are born with imperfect bodies and only some parents fix their broken little boys by gracing them with a circumcision before they even get to know them.
"We'll teach our son that everyone is different and that everyone is okay the way they are"
Except him. That foreskin HAD to go. Our sons body wasn't good enough the way it was made.
"We'd never let our child feel robbed of something if we could prevent it."
except for his foreskin which we hold to be worthless
(and we don't care what he might think).
"We'd never place our child at a disadvantage where he could be ridiculed."
except we'll alter his penis so it doesn't look like or function like the vast majority in the world. he can't possibly fall in that 10% (laid out on the consent form) that has significant problems
"We wouldn't want our baby to doubt our commitment to loving him the way he is no matter what he looks like"
Except his penis. It MUST meet our preferences before he's really our son.
"We'd never do anything to make our baby doubt our love."
except we'll have almost half the skin of his penis removed and mucuous membrane exposed to urine and feces during the healing process.
"We'd never do anything to our baby just because it was done to us."
except we'll circumcise him so he'll be just like his Daddy.
"We don't hold with tribal markings just to make children feel part of a clan as they do in primitive cultures."
except we'll circumcise our boys in the (vain) hope that they'll all look alike in the locker room where most men no longer even look at each others penises for the fear of being labeled "gay"
"We would not compromise our baby just to bend to societal pressures. We will remind him that he shouldn't jump off a bridge because his friends did."
except we'll circumcise him because the grandparents expect it, and what would the neighbors say?
"We'd never impose our will on our child against his future wishes. We know that people have different feelings and beliefs"
except we'll rush to circumcise him before he can even formulate his wishes or discover his own beliefs because WE like circumcised penises better.
"We'd never compromise our baby's future happiness."
but we will remove an erogenous tissue from his body and risk his sexual functioning.
"We'd never make an irreversible decision to alter our child's appearance in a way he might one day regret, such as tattooing."
unless it is to alter the appearance of his penis in a way WE want.
"We want our baby to grow up a -human- being."
but we'll teach him, by circumcising him, that human rights don't amount to much.
"We'll love our baby in all his glory."
except for his foreskin which we'll have cut off and allowed doctors to sell (per the consent form we signed)
"God made our baby with love, care and wisdom. God made us all in his image"
except our son's penis, which God screwed up on.
"We hold that all parts of our baby's body are sacred."
except for his foreskin which is ours to alter as we will because the unknown is scary.
"Not many people think that scar tissue looks appealing, and certainly not more appealing than natural tissue."
Unless it's scar tissue from a circumcision, in which some Americans claim looks better than the natural alternative.
"It is wrong to deprive someone of a healthy part of their body."
unless it is the male foreskin.
made a few other changes after i posted this, you can just go see the note:
http://www.facebook.com/note.php?cre...3206687499&id=
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