I have a dirty confession to make. We had to put Oliver in disposable diapers the other night because we forgot to pack the diaper bag for a party at our friend's house. Apparently he still wears 12 month pants in disposables. Think of the money we could save on new clothes if we switched!! Oh wait, except that I would have to spend all that money on throw away diapers.
So in my moment of shame, we had to stop at a CVS to get the diapers. CT waited for me in the car while I ran inside. Once inside, I was bombarded by choices. I had no idea what size he was, what brand to get, what type of which brand to get. I mean, he IS cruising, so does he need a cruiser? Or a Ultra? Is that more absorbant? What is the difference between a natural cut and a regular?? I heard that Huggies was better for Willies, and Pampers were better for Willimenas, or was it the opposite??
Anyway, I finally picked a package (holy expensive trash Batman!) and paid for it and embarrassedly shuffled out of the store. I was pretty proud of myself for not telling the cashier that we USUALLY cloth diaper, I could have easily done so.
Well, as I got to the car, a woman parked next to us rolled her window down. She stuck her head out and told me she was proud of me for having the guts to have the bumpersticker I do. To all that don't know, it says: "The Foreskin is Not A Birth Defect: Stop Infant Circumcision" She went on to tell me that her son was uncut (and also facing forward, but that is a different post all together) and that she was so glad her brother-in-law urged them not to cut him. I laughed and said thanks, that mostly I get strange looks and questions, although once I did get talked about in a tattoo parlor, that was funny. I went on to say, "Yea the most uncomfortable situation was when we went to the Cancer Walk at the Jewish Community Center last weekend." Which I thought was sorta a funny, awkward situation - as you can imagine. Sorta like condemming guilt at a Catholic Church.
Her response, and I quote, "Yea, well, its those damned Jew doctors who are pushing circumcision on us!" Uhhhhhhhhhhh....What exactly DO you say to that? Several things came into mind.
1. My best friend is marrying a Jew. (the "my best friend" argument)
2. Usually doctors don't do Brists, Moyls do. (afraid too much yiddish would get a burning stake in my yard)
3. I loved Seinfeld. (Too 1995)
4. Bagels. (Not in this anti-carb world!)
5. My son isn't a skin head he just has a short hair cut for the summer. (Yea, but his hair IS still blond)
Ultimately, I should have just said "WHOA there!" and jumped into the car. No one expects an anti-Semite!
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5 comments:
I realized just how far Leander is from Austin at that moment (philosophically speaking anyway).
Wait, I'm confused. Am I your best friend or "best friend" for the sake of argument? It is important that I clarify before I buy you a birthday present or a "birthday present."
P.S. Do you think they make all the little boys drop their pants on the first day of Hebrew school just to check their level of commitment?
Thank you, Alyssa. Your attitudes towards the environment and your fellow human beings are more than laudable. In my mind, however, the woman's statement was incorrect mainly by being only partially true. The majority of doctors found advocating circumcision *today* are indeed Jewish, and while the woman's statement may have been ill-phrased, I can assure you she was unfortunately correct, based on my many years in the genital-integrity movement.
More troubling to those (like you) who wish to protect children is the apparent bias in radio and print media in favor of circumcision from predominantly-Jewish media outlets such as NPR. Critical discussion of circumcision is withheld from NPR programming, and pro-circumcision stories are given airtime. If you are skeptical of my statements about the Jewish nature of NPR - which you rightly should be - please listen to NPR's programming for two or more days, paying close attention to the names of the hosts, guests, and underwriters. (I myself am an almost-daily listener of NPR for more than ten years, and a member of my local public radio station.)
I don't believe there is a conspiracy of Jews to promote circumcision among Gentiles. It is simply the natural instinct of a given community to preserve the respectability (and increasingly, the legality) of their customs in the face of declining circumcision rates in the United States and around the world. It's unfortunate that in this case, the battleground of this issue are the bodies of defenseless children, both Jewish and Gentile - all of whom should be protected from the long-term harms of genital cutting.
Why would the Jewish community want non-Jewish people to be circumcised? According to the Torah, it was a sign of the covenant between them and God, so not something just anyone should be doing. I think maybe your logic is flawed here.
I think I explained why Jews may wish to preserve circumcision among non-Jews in the last paragraph of my original post. You may wish to review it.
I would only add to my original statement that, in past attacks/pogroms, male Jews were sometimes identified by their circumcision status, which is another reason for them to preserve circumcision among at least a good number of non-Jews in the event of a future holocaust. While you might think the possibility of [yet] another pogrom against the Jewish people is pretty far-fetched, I imagine Jews see things differently, based on their history.
I guess I should ask you this: Is the correlation between predominantly Jewish media outlets like NPR and The New York Times and their support for circumcision of all males (Jewish and Gentile) simply coincidental?
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