The Blood is The Life 14-07-2012

[miss_s_b]

• German circumcision ban: Is it a parent's right to choose?
  BIG can of worms. Very big and very wormy.
  (tags: )
  
  
• BBC News - 'Swift justice' plans revealed by ministers
  This makes me worry. Just on instinct.
  (tags: )
  
  
• David AG on What “freedom of the press” should mean
  (tags: )
  
• New Statesman - Cameron needs to stop rewarding the lucky
  (tags: )
  
• 10 principles for the management of internal elections in membership organisations « Strange Thoughts
  Excellent post on how to run internal elections. In my view all elections for membership-only bodies should be run on The Strange Principles.
  (tags: )
  
  
• BBC News - Move to '20-year-rule' for secret papers will cost £52m
  (tags: )
  
• How to Make a Rape Joke
  This is well worth reading.
  (tags: )
  
  

Comments

[innerbrat]

So I pretty much think that cutting bits off babies is horrible. But due to a lack of long term harm, not so horrible that I am willing to start interfering with the cultural identity of a group which has a long history of having its religious, cultural and ethnic identity shat on from a great height.

And then I remember it's Germany implementing the ban and I'm like GERMANY, WHAT ARE YOU THINKING?

[von_geisterhand]

Yeah, I have to admit that I was pretty surprised when I heard about the court ruling. Something so obviously likely to get the German Jews upset is unusual considering that even criticism of Israeli military actions was not something German authorities have been particularly keen on in recent deacdes.
May have been an anti-muslim judge with a lack of vision.

On the other hand: While I do feel very iffy about parents making irreversible decisions in regards to their childrens' lives and bodies, making circumcisions illegal might well pave the way for things like people claiming that body-modifications and SM-practices are something which one should get proscecuted for again.

[andrewhickey.info]

Agreed with all of this except the 'lack of long-term harm' thing -- as a foreskin-owner, I would consider the loss of part or all of mine to be quite a severe long-term harm (and that's if it goes 'right' -- there's a non-zero chance of penile amputation).

Were it not for the fact that it's so important to both Jewish and Muslim people, it'd be an absolutely straightforward thing for me -- ban it, no question. But I think a ban would lead to both an increase in racial/religious bigotry and to children getting damaged by having the practice move underground.

[innerbrat]

I should have said limited long term harm.

What I meant was: I believe the harm caused to a baby by the non-consensual removal of enough of his foreskin to satisfy Islamic and Jewish covenants to not be great enough to justify the legalization of further prosecution of these groups and the inevitable movement underground of a delicate medical procedure.

[andrewhickey.info]

Absolutely agreed there.