Circumcision: How does it work?

[tyrannosaurus vex]

Never had any kind of infection in or around my junk, and still have my foreskin.

Human viruses don't often infect the Welsh.  It's a compatability thing.

What about the Irish?

Despite rumors that Irish people can breed true with actual people, I am fairly certain that most microbes that target humans will not survive in the hellbroth of bile and cheap whiskey that Irish people use as a bloodstream.

This explains why, even though I never drink, I am usually dizzy and I haven't had the flu since 1996.

[Nephew Twiddleton]

Never had any kind of infection in or around my junk, and still have my foreskin.

Human viruses don't often infect the Welsh.  It's a compatability thing.

What about the Irish?

Despite rumors that Irish people can breed true with actual people, I am fairly certain that most microbes that target humans will not survive in the hellbroth of bile and cheap whiskey that Irish people use as a bloodstream.

Hellbroth. I like that.

[navkat]

The hygiene argument is absurd.

Women hide their genitals inside their body, right? Sometimes they can get infected, right? Is the solution: hack up their genitals so they can more easily apply soap? Well why not?

If a guy doesn't know to peel back and wash his foreskin then, much like drugs, he doesn't deserve it.
Also, like drugs, I blame the parents.

[tyrannosaurus vex]

The hygiene argument is absurd.

Women hide their genitals inside their body, right? Sometimes they can get infected, right? Is the solution: hack up their genitals so they can more easily apply soap? Well why not?

If a guy doesn't know to peel back and wash his foreskin then, much like drugs, he doesn't deserve it.
Also, like drugs, I blame the parents.

4 pages though. Not bad.

[Bebek Sincap Ratatosk]

So the article linked isn't saying that circumcision should be mandatory, only that it should be left up to the parents because of a study which indicates that the benefits of the procedure 'appear' to outweigh the risks (because some kids die from the procedure). This is mostly so that insurance companies will cover the procedure, rather than making it come out of the parents pocket.

The HIV study is not 'debunked' as much as the study is plagued with methodology issues. For example, the circumcised subjects also got more training on condom use.

There are legitimate reasons for a circumcision. There is a genetic condition that is common in some families where the penis is actually too big for the foreskin and it causes problems. There is also some evidence that some men are predisposed to some kinds of infection. I have no idea if any of my kids might have these problems, since I was sniped at birth. So I think, were I ever to have a son, I would wait until they were older and either a condition presented itself where the procedure was necessary, or they chose to do it for aesthetic reasons. I wouldn't make that decision at birth, though.

Personally, I am skeptical that some 3000 year old tradition using sharp flint because 'God told me to' actually has health benefits. Maybe it does... but it would require a lot of reliable studies to convince me.

[Salty]

Yeah, I'm pretty reasonable, if SCIENCE! proves that it provides measurable benefit I will change my position. Until that day...

If these men can be convinced to let some asshole chop off a part of their fully grown dick then why can't they be convinced to use a condom, which is way, way, WAY more effective?

It seems the problem isn't foreskin. The problem is quality of life, hygiene, and cultural issues.
It just seems like a deep, collective mental disorder. And I don't say that lightly, it seems genuinely sick to me.

[Salty]

I mean, I think a lot of human behavior could be improved with a small snip to their frontal lobes and you dont see me advocating that kind of...well now that actually gives me an idea.

Did you know 60% of circumcised brains are much less likely to vote republican?

[The Good Reverend Roger]

I often wonder how the human race survived before circumcision.

And if it IS divinely mandated, what's God trying to say?  "Oh, sorry, there was a bit of a gap in the mold, and you'll have to cut the flash off the product."

[tyrannosaurus vex]

Yeah, I'm pretty reasonable, if SCIENCE! proves that it provides measurable benefit I will change my position. Until that day...

If these men can be convinced to let some asshole chop off a part of their fully grown dick then why can't they be convinced to use a condom, which is way, way, WAY more effective?

It seems the problem isn't foreskin. The problem is quality of life, hygiene, and cultural issues.
It just seems like a deep, collective mental disorder. And I don't say that lightly, it seems genuinely sick to me.

My instinct is to disagree with this, but I'm trying to unravel how much of that instinct comes from research and science, and how much comes from not wanting to think I am personally affected by collective cultural madness. The discussion is interesting because it highlights deep divisions between otherwise sane people, and how one group of people are able to condone and even push for something that is arguably insane.

[navkat]

"Oh, sorry, there was a bit of a gap in the mold, and you'll have to cut the flash off the product."

[Salty]

We are well aware of the way that the physical limitations of the central nervous system, and how our perceptions are equally limited. The same can be said for the rest of the human body.

If you were a quadriplegic, blind, and deaf your grasp on reality would be very different. Now that's an extreme example. So why not something smaller? Why not a piece of skin that contains MANY nerve endings. What kind of perspective is available to a society of men who are unable to feel what their brains have felt for a long, long time? What kind of long-term effects would result from an isolation from specific sensations?

Not that there's anything intrinsically wrong with the perspective of people who get he snip, just different.

[Bebek Sincap Ratatosk]

I often wonder how the human race survived before circumcision.

And if it IS divinely mandated, what's God trying to say?  "Oh, sorry, there was a bit of a gap in the mold, and you'll have to cut the flash off the product."

Ironically, the Jewish tradition is because YHVH said it would separate Abraham's children from the rest of the world, since Abraham was his buddy and he had promised Abraham that the 'seed'/'messiah' would come through his line. Poor Abe was in his 90's at the time. There was no mention by old YHVH that it was a health issue, but rather that it was a token of the covenant between Abraham and YHVH.

"You're my friend, to prove we're friends, please cut of a bit of your penis. Also cut off a bit of your son's penis and make every male in your lineage cut off a bit of their penis. Here's a nice sharp chunk of flint."

See, sounds just like YHVH, with friends like him... you're fucked. 

[The Johnny]

I often wonder how the human race survived before circumcision.

And if it IS divinely mandated, what's God trying to say?  "Oh, sorry, there was a bit of a gap in the mold, and you'll have to cut the flash off the product."

Ironically, the Jewish tradition is because YHVH said it would separate Abraham's children from the rest of the world, since Abraham was his buddy and he had promised Abraham that the 'seed'/'messiah' would come through his line. Poor Abe was in his 90's at the time. There was no mention by old YHVH that it was a health issue, but rather that it was a token of the covenant between Abraham and YHVH.

"You're my friend, to prove we're friends, please cut of a bit of your penis. Also cut off a bit of your son's penis and make every male in your lineage cut off a bit of their penis. Here's a nice sharp chunk of flint."

See, sounds just like YHVH, with friends like him... you're fucked. 

I dont remember where i read it, but cutting a piece of your dick off was kind of like a war uniform, to distinguish your comrades from enemies.

[tyrannosaurus vex]

I often wonder how the human race survived before circumcision.

And if it IS divinely mandated, what's God trying to say?  "Oh, sorry, there was a bit of a gap in the mold, and you'll have to cut the flash off the product."

Ironically, the Jewish tradition is because YHVH said it would separate Abraham's children from the rest of the world, since Abraham was his buddy and he had promised Abraham that the 'seed'/'messiah' would come through his line. Poor Abe was in his 90's at the time. There was no mention by old YHVH that it was a health issue, but rather that it was a token of the covenant between Abraham and YHVH.

"You're my friend, to prove we're friends, please cut of a bit of your penis. Also cut off a bit of your son's penis and make every male in your lineage cut off a bit of their penis. Here's a nice sharp chunk of flint."

See, sounds just like YHVH, with friends like him... you're fucked. 

I dont remember where i read it, but cutting a piece of your dick off was kind of like a war uniform, to distinguish your comrades from enemies.

There are quite a few tribes in Africa who still use it this way, which is part of the reason why it can be so hard to get people to do it.

[Anna Mae Bollocks]

So YHVH checks everybody's dick to see who's really Jewish?

Why did the custom spread to everybody else? OMF?