Circumcision causes brain damage!
Tampa, FL - Yesterday on Monroe Street at I-10 in Tallahassee, FL I saw the most unusual protester. After a double take to verify the sign does in fact say "Circumcision causes brain damage" I felt compelled to stop and see what this was all about. So with camera phone in hand went and asked.
He told me. He talked about MRIs, brain scans and intelligence tests that prove the uncircumcised are smarter, happier and healthier then their clipped counter parts. He said that circumcised males cannot comprehend what they read as well. He even talked about MRIs performed during circumcisions and the before and after difference in brain activity.
OK, some men are thought to do their decision making from crotch level. I have been accused of that more then once during my dance on this earth. But I always thought that was more of a metaphor. Perhaps this man is on to something I missed in anatomy and physiology. But his concerns don't stop with the physical effects.
He told me that Male circumcision was a matter of unconstitutional discrimination. Then he gave me the only part of his spiel that could be independently verified. He pointed out that female circumcision is illegal in the United States. That is true and as it should be under Crimes and Criminal Procedure - 18 USC Section 116. He told me that "The United States Constitution says congress shall make no law discriminating against religion, race or sex." (Funny, that isn't the way I remember those words in that document.)
I really do not believe this man understands the difference between male and female circumcision.
There are really good arguments on both sides of the circumcision argument. The most compelling argument for me is that circumcised males are less likely to pick up sexually transmitted diseases. But in all honesty I really don't lean one way or the other in the argument. It is a personal choice the family of the newborn male makes based on what ever cultural, religious and health reasons they have. In this case I don't think the government needs to have a say in what is done.
I know what all of you are wondering. Sadly, in all the time I talked to him, it never once occurred to me to ask him if he was circumcised. I was too focused on maintaining a straight face.
Well it's a drastic procedure by your standards and mine, but for the people who are living in desperation perhaps the best way to understand it is that it seems no more drastic to them than circumcision.
- John Money