Christopher Hitchens: "Compulsory genital mutilation of children is not a joke."

Ma99ie · 2011-01-31T05:08:43+00:00

It is mutilation. And as I quoted in this thread, Maimonides (for those who don't know who Maimonidies was, look him up), says exactly what Hitches says he says.

GroundhogExpert · 2011-01-31T04:59:33+00:00

Lots of people try to diminish and marginalize male circumcision. It's either totally acceptable since society doesn't pay much attention to it, or it's just the setup for a dick-joke followed by snickering.

It's disgusting and barbaric. An adult who mutilates a child's body and genitals for no good reason should be ashamed, and I would say imprisoned. There are no medical advantages, no hygienic considerations(not if you regularly use soap and bathe), there's no good reason to do it at all. Virtually all of the arguments against female circumcision apply to male circumcision. I don't see any worthwhile way to condemn one while condoning the other, either actively or passively.

I have a number of friends who are currently finishing med-school, they all refuse to partake in circumcisions in any respect or capacity.

erebar · 2011-01-31T07:03:42+00:00

Who else read the subject line in Hitch's voice?

2011-01-31T11:23:54+00:00

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fluidmsc · 2011-01-31T04:53:29+00:00

I love this clip. That rabbi gets owned so hard.

AzureDrag0n1 · 2011-01-31T10:48:40+00:00

I agree that cutting of foreskin is nonsense but I disagree that it is not a joke. You can find humor in anything.

3dpornAdPlacement · 2011-01-31T09:55:49+00:00

in case you didnt notice, hitch is not a big fan of BS.

mtg4l · 2011-01-31T06:26:00+00:00

I don't disagree with what Hitchens said, but why couldn't he look the Rabbi in the eye during any of this? Then he cuts him off repeatedly at the end. Not a way to win a debate in my eyes

SoulPenguin · 2011-01-31T06:44:01+00:00

As a circumcised male, I must say being circumcised hasn't had any effect on me, positive or negative, that I've ever noticed. But as it has been mentioned, growing up with a circumcised penis, I just figured that's just the way penises are. Never did it occur to me that there was something missing from my penis. It wasn't until the Seinfeld episode "The Bris" that I learned about circumcision. Even then, I just figured it was something that everyone had done, for one reason or another. It was penis information, nothing I felt like researching or asking my parents about.

Anyways, I guess somewhere along the line in life, I have heard that sex is better uncircumcised. Here I am hearing it again. I can't imagine sex feeling much better than it does with just some added skin, but whatever, I won't argue it. Perhaps it is. I will say, however, that watching this has given me something to think about, whether it's because Hitchens is such a convincing speaker or because he has similar views of religion that I do, I don't know. But after watching this, I did wonder if maybe I was missing out on something. If maybe what I had done to me, was wrong.

But then, I think about when I first heard the word "smegma". It was the gamertag of a guy I met while playing on xbox live. I thought it was just something he made up that sounded cool. When he told me what smegma was...well...let's just say at that point I was not envious of those who are uncircumcised.

L1M3 · 2011-01-31T11:37:18+00:00

The problem I have is that circumcision is compared to removing the clitoris, which isn't true. Removing the clitoris is akin to removing the entire penis.

It makes sense to me that circumcision would have benefits for people living in dry, sandy areas where sand could get under the flap of skin and baths aren't as easy to come by. And it's probably not nearly as beneficial for the Americans most likely to do it as it might have been way back. But hey, kids might not want booster shots, and those can definitely have a negative effect, but we force those. Maybe not the greatest analogy, but i just don't see circumcision as this great evil thing it's being portrayed as lately.

Also, as a circumcised man, I definitely do not prefer masturbation to intercourse, as someone suggested circumcised men are prone to do. I also masturbate dry with a three finger stance, because it feel better than a closed hand to me.

PhysicsPhil · 2011-01-31T22:35:52+00:00

[permanently deleted]

Title	Christopher Hitchens: "Compulsory genital mutilation of children is not a joke."
Author	darthjesus
Upvotes	79
Comments	87
Date	January 31, 2011 2:50 AM UTC (15 years ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/MensRights
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/MensRights/comments/fc4ko/christopher_hitchens_compulsory_genital/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/MensRights/christopher-hitchens-compulsory-genital-mutilation.1043714 https://theredarchive.com/post/1043714

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