This is a spinoff from "Was I Being Petty".
Have you ever ended or severely halted any relationship with someone after they put their son through circumcision? I'm talking specifically about those who still have their son circumicised even after you've provided sufficient information against the surgery. (I don't want this discussion to include how you feel about people you've met after they've had their son cut).
My sister and her husband had their barely 6 1/2 pound newborn circumcised even after I gave her an incredible amount of information. I explained the structure of the foreskin, what it does, how circumcision is performed, how torturous it is for the baby. She saw photos and drawings of circumcisions being performed. She knew there's a liklihood of serious complications like the loss of the baby's penis and death. She and her husband are strong Christians so I explained how circ is not needed for Chrisitians. Earlier in her pregnancy I thought I had gotten through to her. I even remember her seeing a photo of a baby mid-circ and saying she could never do that to her baby.
My sister is about an inch shorter than me. My son was born naturally in the hospital weighing 8 pounds 10 oz. My daughter was born at home in a birth tub weighing 8 pounds 8 oz. No one told me that I couldn't have my babies. My sister's OB, on the other hand, took one look at her and told her she'd most likely need a cesarean section. She wanted a natural birth because she was afraid of the epidural going into her spine. I gave her a ton of information, bought her several books, and helped her as much as I could given our distance apart. (She's in Virginia, I'm in Illinois.) I encouraged her over and over to at least give labor a try, that most likely she'd be able to have the baby, but the doctor could still give her a c-section if it was truly necessary. In the end, she gave into the doctor and had a scheduled c-section two weeks before her EDD. She never even went into labor. And, like I mentioned earlier, that baby was barely 6.5 pounds.
I called her right after she had the baby to congratulate them on their new baby and to give her intact care. I started explaining intact care and she cut me off midsentence, "We're having him circumcised." I had to bite my tongue to keep from responding with the words that popped into my head. I asked her why on earth she'd do that to her baby. Her answer was that something had to pay for what she'd just been through. In other words, she decided to punish that tiny, perfect, newborn with mutilation because she felt bad about herself giving in to the doctor's recommendation of a cesarean.
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I told her that nothing had to be done right away, that the best thing would be to take her son home and get used to him. I told him a foreskin isn't that big a deal after you've seen it a few times. I thought I'd gotten through to her, but sadly I hadn't.
I found out she'd had him circumcised when he was 3 days old and I saw his red, raw penis during a diaper change. From the middle of his shaft down he had tissue ripped away. When she took his diaper off he urinated on his wound and screamed bloody murder. She just stood there with a stupid grin on her face trying to figure out what made him start crying. I was dumbfounded. I said, "He's just had surgery to rip a big chunk off his penis. He's in pain! Give him some tylenol or something." She refused, telling me that it didn't hurt that much and that he'd be okay. She then proceeded to rub some sort of cream all over his red, raw penis which I have to admit really sickened me. After having an intact son I now see the exposed glans as being even more private than the flaccid intact penis. I couldn't imagine myself ever rubbing a cream all over my own son's glans. That's one sensation I would not want him associating with me.
It's been nearly 2 months and I haven't talked to her except once since then. I went with our Dad to visit her, her husband, and the baby. In my mind what she did was sexual abuse, pure and simple. She knew why it was wrong, she knew there are men who hate being circumcised, she knew everything she needed, and yet she still chose to put her son through that torture. She didn't have the excuse of ignorance. In my mind, there's no difference between a stranger sexually assaulting a child, and her having part of her son's penis ripped off. In short, she's not the same person I once knew, and I don't think I'll ever feel close to her again.
On the bright side, I got some cute toys picked out to send the baby for his 6 month birthday. As others have said, it's not his fault his parents made such a horrible decision.
Have you ever ended or severely halted any relationship with someone after they put their son through circumcision? I'm talking specifically about those who still have their son circumicised even after you've provided sufficient information against the surgery. (I don't want this discussion to include how you feel about people you've met after they've had their son cut).
My sister and her husband had their barely 6 1/2 pound newborn circumcised even after I gave her an incredible amount of information. I explained the structure of the foreskin, what it does, how circumcision is performed, how torturous it is for the baby. She saw photos and drawings of circumcisions being performed. She knew there's a liklihood of serious complications like the loss of the baby's penis and death. She and her husband are strong Christians so I explained how circ is not needed for Chrisitians. Earlier in her pregnancy I thought I had gotten through to her. I even remember her seeing a photo of a baby mid-circ and saying she could never do that to her baby.
My sister is about an inch shorter than me. My son was born naturally in the hospital weighing 8 pounds 10 oz. My daughter was born at home in a birth tub weighing 8 pounds 8 oz. No one told me that I couldn't have my babies. My sister's OB, on the other hand, took one look at her and told her she'd most likely need a cesarean section. She wanted a natural birth because she was afraid of the epidural going into her spine. I gave her a ton of information, bought her several books, and helped her as much as I could given our distance apart. (She's in Virginia, I'm in Illinois.) I encouraged her over and over to at least give labor a try, that most likely she'd be able to have the baby, but the doctor could still give her a c-section if it was truly necessary. In the end, she gave into the doctor and had a scheduled c-section two weeks before her EDD. She never even went into labor. And, like I mentioned earlier, that baby was barely 6.5 pounds.
I called her right after she had the baby to congratulate them on their new baby and to give her intact care. I started explaining intact care and she cut me off midsentence, "We're having him circumcised." I had to bite my tongue to keep from responding with the words that popped into my head. I asked her why on earth she'd do that to her baby. Her answer was that something had to pay for what she'd just been through. In other words, she decided to punish that tiny, perfect, newborn with mutilation because she felt bad about herself giving in to the doctor's recommendation of a cesarean.
: I told her that nothing had to be done right away, that the best thing would be to take her son home and get used to him. I told him a foreskin isn't that big a deal after you've seen it a few times. I thought I'd gotten through to her, but sadly I hadn't.I found out she'd had him circumcised when he was 3 days old and I saw his red, raw penis during a diaper change. From the middle of his shaft down he had tissue ripped away. When she took his diaper off he urinated on his wound and screamed bloody murder. She just stood there with a stupid grin on her face trying to figure out what made him start crying. I was dumbfounded. I said, "He's just had surgery to rip a big chunk off his penis. He's in pain! Give him some tylenol or something." She refused, telling me that it didn't hurt that much and that he'd be okay. She then proceeded to rub some sort of cream all over his red, raw penis which I have to admit really sickened me. After having an intact son I now see the exposed glans as being even more private than the flaccid intact penis. I couldn't imagine myself ever rubbing a cream all over my own son's glans. That's one sensation I would not want him associating with me.
It's been nearly 2 months and I haven't talked to her except once since then. I went with our Dad to visit her, her husband, and the baby. In my mind what she did was sexual abuse, pure and simple. She knew why it was wrong, she knew there are men who hate being circumcised, she knew everything she needed, and yet she still chose to put her son through that torture. She didn't have the excuse of ignorance. In my mind, there's no difference between a stranger sexually assaulting a child, and her having part of her son's penis ripped off. In short, she's not the same person I once knew, and I don't think I'll ever feel close to her again.
On the bright side, I got some cute toys picked out to send the baby for his 6 month birthday. As others have said, it's not his fault his parents made such a horrible decision.
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