JustASC

I’m a little late in acknowledging New York Magazine’s big pro and con feature on circumcision. But a piece I wrote on Sept. 2 anticipated Hanna Rosin’s defense by six weeks. Like Rosin, I wrote that circumcision is barbaric, but it’s not that barbaric; that its medical benefits outweigh the myths about trauma; and that folks with justifiedly personal qualms shouldn’t try to ruin it for those of who find it a difficult but profound aspect of Jewish tradition and belonging.

Writes Rosin:

People who oppose circumcision are animated by a kind of rage and longing that seems larger than the thing itself. Websites are filled with testimonies from men who believe their lives were ruined by the operation they had as an infant. I can only conclude that it wasn’t the cutting alone that did the ruining.

This entry was posted on Monday, October 26th, 2009 at 12:19 pm and is filed under JustASC. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.