As a
muslim, I am
circumcised, and would agree with almost all the points as laid out by mecolleague Cletus.
Circumcision is terribly
misunderstood outside of the cultures that practice it, and often the term "
barbarity" is
bandied about as a way of
diverting attention from the real issue:
It may or may not surprise the readers that male circumcision is practised as a matter of course for Muslims, Jews, and a large number of Christians. This constitutes a rather large percentage of humanity, and I would dare to say that most of these people are not living in the past, nor were they abused by evil parents. I myself do not feel traumatized by my circumcision, I simply don't remember it. It did after all happen two weeks after I was born.
To be honest I think that this whole discussion was prompted by a need to vent hatred at a set of cultures that are so alien to people here that they automatically feel the need to reject them. To these people I would point out that these cultures often create individuals who are intelligent, open minded, and capable of deciding for themselves whether or not to continue in the footsteps of their ancestors. (ahem, like yours )While some move to different value systems, many more choose to keep their beliefs and so the cultures remain alive.
Please don't be quite so eager to judge others simply on the basis of your personal emotional response to a situation.
This has been a public service annnouncement on behalf of the "Think Again Party".