Hello All,
First time poster, viewed this board tonight for the first time in search of like minded individuals.
About myself, I'm a gay guy in his late 20s from Toronto, Canada. (Yes, yes I know I'm an unlikely sort to be posting here)
The basis of my inquiry is this - I was in a place in Northern Illinois visiting a very dear friend of mine who had a tragic health problem that required 10 days in hospital. (A Stranger in a Strange Land)
While I was there, I was walking along a hallway with my friend's sister ( an 18 y/o with a 1.5 year old--you do the math) who ran across two young people who just had a baby. They seemed perfectly nice and rational people and we all enjoyed a pleasant conversation and they told us about their son. In the back of my mind, I heard a "voice" tell me to mention that they shouldn't circumcise their son, etc. I ignored this for the sake of social graces ...
This left my mind entirely, until 4 hours later when I was in my friends room and her sister came in and said "Oh I just was in the room with them but I didn't get to hold the baby as they took him off to get circumcised"
I just about lost my f*ing lunch at this point - I stared at her with my mouth hanging open and said "What??" - she replied that she almost got to go and see the baby get circumcised and that she was disappointed that the doctor went and closed the blinds when she tried to look in. I went and said that I was shocked that this was to happen because in Canada is it not illegal but you become a social pariah for doing that to a kid. Everyone in the room just stared at me vacantly and I held my ground and said that it was absolutely a vicious thing to do to a baby and isn't practiced anywhere else in the world except for the US. Then, a woman in the room spoke up and said "Oh you wouldn't want to see that, you wouldn't believe how they scream!"
I was absolutely beside myself and literally speechless.... so the conversation moved on. Aside from this, I feel guilty as h*ll that I didn't say anything or offer to bribe them or G-d anything at all to stop them from that but it just honestly didn't occur to me that in 2009 that it still happened. The naive part of me thought it died in the late 80's when the kids I babysat were all uncut.
SO afterwards, I took the young girl aside and said listen, I know you're in the Midwest and that's what people do here but it isn't done anywhere else in the world and it is an extremely, extremely cruel thing to do to a baby and I want you to know how incredibly wrong it is in case anyone ever asks you about it. She nodded and agreed with me, but it was almost a vacant nodding like I was saying that people lived on Pluto or something strange like that. But, given my involvement in her life and the fact I've never imposed my opinion on anything before was probably the sole source of the reaction.
All that said, G-d love this girl, but she just isn't that bright.
Her sister, (the one in hospital throughout this event), said "that's just what people do here in America" when I spoke with her about it.
I know the logical reasons about why circumcision is a crime against humanity, a lack of choice, a lack of sexual fulfillment, human rights, etc. etc.
But, my question is, how do I help and explain that this is wrong to an unwed, Midwestern (sorry I don't mean that in a pejorative way to you folks from there) teenage mom who doesn't even have her GED ?
I can most certainly say, without judgment, that this will most certainly be a decision she will have to make in her own life in the years to come.... and as sick as it is to say, all of her friends are pregnant or have had at least 1 kid already and she is a "leader" amongst them.
The good news is that I have serious clout with her as I have been putting her through school and have helped her fund her life so far..... so am fairly confident that if I speak right I will be listened to.
Thanks all... hope I have not disrupted the flow of Mom-energy
First time poster, viewed this board tonight for the first time in search of like minded individuals.
About myself, I'm a gay guy in his late 20s from Toronto, Canada. (Yes, yes I know I'm an unlikely sort to be posting here)
The basis of my inquiry is this - I was in a place in Northern Illinois visiting a very dear friend of mine who had a tragic health problem that required 10 days in hospital. (A Stranger in a Strange Land)
While I was there, I was walking along a hallway with my friend's sister ( an 18 y/o with a 1.5 year old--you do the math) who ran across two young people who just had a baby. They seemed perfectly nice and rational people and we all enjoyed a pleasant conversation and they told us about their son. In the back of my mind, I heard a "voice" tell me to mention that they shouldn't circumcise their son, etc. I ignored this for the sake of social graces ...
This left my mind entirely, until 4 hours later when I was in my friends room and her sister came in and said "Oh I just was in the room with them but I didn't get to hold the baby as they took him off to get circumcised"
I just about lost my f*ing lunch at this point - I stared at her with my mouth hanging open and said "What??" - she replied that she almost got to go and see the baby get circumcised and that she was disappointed that the doctor went and closed the blinds when she tried to look in. I went and said that I was shocked that this was to happen because in Canada is it not illegal but you become a social pariah for doing that to a kid. Everyone in the room just stared at me vacantly and I held my ground and said that it was absolutely a vicious thing to do to a baby and isn't practiced anywhere else in the world except for the US. Then, a woman in the room spoke up and said "Oh you wouldn't want to see that, you wouldn't believe how they scream!"
I was absolutely beside myself and literally speechless.... so the conversation moved on. Aside from this, I feel guilty as h*ll that I didn't say anything or offer to bribe them or G-d anything at all to stop them from that but it just honestly didn't occur to me that in 2009 that it still happened. The naive part of me thought it died in the late 80's when the kids I babysat were all uncut.
SO afterwards, I took the young girl aside and said listen, I know you're in the Midwest and that's what people do here but it isn't done anywhere else in the world and it is an extremely, extremely cruel thing to do to a baby and I want you to know how incredibly wrong it is in case anyone ever asks you about it. She nodded and agreed with me, but it was almost a vacant nodding like I was saying that people lived on Pluto or something strange like that. But, given my involvement in her life and the fact I've never imposed my opinion on anything before was probably the sole source of the reaction.
All that said, G-d love this girl, but she just isn't that bright.
Her sister, (the one in hospital throughout this event), said "that's just what people do here in America" when I spoke with her about it.
I know the logical reasons about why circumcision is a crime against humanity, a lack of choice, a lack of sexual fulfillment, human rights, etc. etc.
But, my question is, how do I help and explain that this is wrong to an unwed, Midwestern (sorry I don't mean that in a pejorative way to you folks from there) teenage mom who doesn't even have her GED ?
I can most certainly say, without judgment, that this will most certainly be a decision she will have to make in her own life in the years to come.... and as sick as it is to say, all of her friends are pregnant or have had at least 1 kid already and she is a "leader" amongst them.
The good news is that I have serious clout with her as I have been putting her through school and have helped her fund her life so far..... so am fairly confident that if I speak right I will be listened to.
Thanks all... hope I have not disrupted the flow of Mom-energy
