Pressure building on NYC mayor Blasio to ban sucking of blood from circumcised penis

[Suzanimal]

It is a big world and in it there are many cultures where it is a common practice for mothers to suck their male baby's penis to comfort him. My friend, a Vietnam vet, told me he saw it first hand in Vietnam. I can't look up any citations for this at the moment, since I am at work. But you can.

I'll take your word for it, sounds like a good way to get fetish porn on my computer.

 

[Acala]

I'll take your word for it, sounds like a good way to get fetish porn on my computer.

Yes. Now that I think about it, I probably can't research it at home either. Which is just another symptom of our screwed-up culture.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Ever had a baby?

edit: I ask because caring for a baby puts the concept of "disgusting" into a different perspective.

I have definitely questioned circumcision if that is what you mean, as for the creep sucking blood from a babies circumcision?that is absolutely disgusting! and disturbing

 

[jmdrake]

So since the state has intervened to some extent in an area, that justifies MORE intervention? I think we can all see where that logic leads.

I'm not 100% against all state intervention. I lose no sleep when a child who is literally starving to death is taken away from his/her crack smoking parent.

Just as a cultural note - modern Americans are about the most uptight, squeamish, sexually-repressed, faint-hearted, culturally-bigoted people that have ever lived. It is a wonder to me that we are even able to reproduce.

I fail to see what a man putting his mouth on a bloody baby penis has to do with reproduction. And this article came from an Israeli newspaper. Also I'm pretty sure this practice has been banned in some European countries so "American squeamishness" seems to be irrelevant.

 

[jmdrake]

It is a big world and in it there are many cultures where it is a common practice for mothers to suck their male baby's penis to comfort him. My friend, a Vietnam vet, told me he saw it first hand in Vietnam. I can't look up any citations for this at the moment, since I am at work. But you can.

And in ancient Greece it was common from men to rape boys. Not seeing the relevance.

 

[Acala]

I have definitely questioned circumcision if that is what you mean, as for the creep sucking blood from a babies circumcision?that is absolutely disgusting! and disturbing

Nope. I was going to describe the reality of actually maintaining a shitting, puking, pissing baby. Your "disgust" meter gets a recalibration.

As for circumcision, I was cut but I chose not to have my son cut.

 

[Acala]

And in ancient Greece it was common from men to rape boys. Not seeing the relevance.

The relevance is that your set of cultural norms is merely one among many. Thinking that your set of cultural norms is somehow the "right" one and any deviation is disgusting and criminal is narrow-minded.

 

[amy31416]

Nope. I was going to describe the reality of actually maintaining a shitting, puking, pissing baby. Your "disgust" meter gets a recalibration.

As for circumcision, I was cut but I chose not to have my son cut.

Pissing, pooping and puking mostly didn't bother me (puking was the worst), but it does creep me out to see someone chopping off a bit of a baby's reproductive organ, then sucking on it. Doesn't matter to me if the adult is male or female.

If I belonged to a religion where this was part of it, the minimum I'd do is pay the mohel to get tested prior to touching the baby. Honestly though, I couldn't be part of a religion where you're an outcast unless you offer up your child's foreskin to honor him or whatever the reasoning is behind it.

But yeah, totally agree that the gov't shouldn't have any say unless a mohel is knowingly transmitting disease.

 

[brushfire]

buncha sick fks...

 

[Danke]

But yeah, totally agree that the gov't shouldn't have any say unless a mohel is knowingly transmitting disease.

I doubt any other religion would be given such favorable treatment from the society. Say the scientologist, etc. cuts off the tips of female baby nipples and then sucks on them.

 

[mosquitobite]

I doubt any other religion would be given such favorable treatment from the society. Say the scientologist, etc. cuts off the tips of female baby nipples and then sucks on them.

I have to agree.

I understand the points Acala is making, but I tend to think that it only gets a pass because it is a tradition of a "favored" religion. Honestly, if this story were about Muslims practicing it - Hannity would be outraged and EVERYONE would be building pressure on Blasio to end it.

Such is the disconnect with humanity.

 

[Acala]

Pissing, pooping and puking mostly didn't bother me (puking was the worst), but it does creep me out to see someone chopping off a bit of a baby's reproductive organ, then sucking on it. Doesn't matter to me if the adult is male or female.

If I belonged to a religion where this was part of it, the minimum I'd do is pay the mohel to get tested prior to touching the baby. Honestly though, I couldn't be part of a religion where you're an outcast unless you offer up your child's foreskin to honor him or whatever the reasoning is behind it.

But yeah, totally agree that the gov't shouldn't have any say unless a mohel is knowingly transmitting disease.

I found cleaning poop out of all the various nooks and crannies it got squeezed into required some letting go of habitual notions of propriety.

The possibility of disease is an issue with this circumcision ritual. How big an issue I don't know, but surely not difficult to manage. But that isn't REALLY what is bothering people. What is bothering people is that this looks like some kind of pervy sexual thing. But there is no indication that it is in any way sexual. In fact it is probably a very ancient practice that made hygienic sense 1000 years ago and is now just a ritual that could be replaced with something more hygienic. But it has become part of the ceremony. So what? It would seem to be entirely lacking in sensual pleasure. Certainly for the baby. Probably for the mohel. It's not like he is sitting there giving the baby a BJ in front of everyone.

Breast feeding, on the other hand, is clearly a pleasant sensual experience for mother and baby both, and is purely sexual among adults (and to some extent with the mother and baby as well, if you ask some psychologists). But only the most rigid puritans find breast feeding disgusting. Why the difference?

It looks to me like the disgust over this ritual is purely a matter of cultural conditioning. If anything, it is the cutting that is a problem. That's a painful and permanent disfigurement that the baby will live with forever. But I will wager that many of the people who get bent about the sucking are fine with the slashing. Cultural conditioning again. Go figure . . .

 

[Acala]

I have to agree.

I understand the points Acala is making, but I tend to think that it only gets a pass because it is a tradition of a "favored" religion. Honestly, if this story were about Muslims practicing it - Hannity would be outraged and EVERYONE would be building pressure on Blasio to end it.

Such is the disconnect with humanity.

Agreed that there is disparate treatment. But it is mainly cultural conditioning. This is just a twist on the practice of circumcision that most people in this culture accept.

 

[amy31416]

I found cleaning poop out of all the various nooks and crannies it got squeezed into required some letting go of habitual notions of propriety.

The possibility of disease is an issue with this circumcision ritual. How big an issue I don't know, but surely not difficult to manage. But that isn't REALLY what is bothering people. What is bothering people is that this looks like some kind of pervy sexual thing. But there is no indication that it is in any way sexual. In fact it is probably a very ancient practice that made hygienic sense 1000 years ago and is now just a ritual that could be replaced with something more hygienic. But it has become part of the ceremony. So what? It would seem to be entirely lacking in sensual pleasure. Certainly for the baby. Probably for the mohel. It's not like he is sitting there giving the baby a BJ in front of everyone.

Breast feeding, on the other hand, is clearly a pleasant sensual experience for mother and baby both, and is purely sexual among adults (and to some extent with the mother and baby as well, if you ask some psychologists). But only the most rigid puritans find breast feeding disgusting. Why the difference?

It looks to me like the disgust over this ritual is purely a matter of cultural conditioning. If anything, it is the cutting that is a problem. That's a painful and permanent disfigurement that the baby will live with forever. But I will wager that many of the people who get bent about the sucking are fine with the slashing. Cultural conditioning again. Go figure . . .

I have more of an issue with the slashing, for what that's worth. But it does skeeve me out to see an adult sucking on an infant's penis--maybe that's cultural conditioning, I don't know...but I do think that Danke made a good point in regards to cutting a baby's nipple, then sucking the blood. Just seems demonic, this blood consumption and cutting a baby in such a dramatic way that they're screaming.

My daughter was slightly jaundiced when she was born, and the hospital people were trying to sign me up for anything they could to get more money--when the nurse came over to check her blood to see if she had any issues she took out a big goddamned needle and took so much blood that I couldn't believe it (I was told it was a very small amount--led to believe it was like a finger prick). My daughter was shrieking in pain, and I told her that her services would no longer be necessary unless the jaundice wasn't going away (it was.) I just made sure she got some sunshine whenever she could and read up on it extensively. It's the responsible thing to do, even if you do have to go up against your doctor or your religion.

I might not want the law to be involved, but that doesn't mean that I don't cringe and I wouldn't associate with people who do these things knowing exactly what they're going to put their baby through.

ETA: The daughter had colic for the 1st year of her life, and spit up constantly--poop was a walk in a sun-filled park filled with unicorns and rainbows. I was constantly drenched in it. Everything she was in was drenched in it. Her chair, her hair, her clothes, my hair, my clothes, often her pediatrician--very few people had the stomach to hold her and snuggle--I had to take bath towels with me wherever I went and wear them like a poncho.

 

[kcchiefs6465]

I found cleaning poop out of all the various nooks and crannies it got squeezed into required some letting go of habitual notions of propriety.

The possibility of disease is an issue with this circumcision ritual. How big an issue I don't know, but surely not difficult to manage. But that isn't REALLY what is bothering people. What is bothering people is that this looks like some kind of pervy sexual thing. But there is no indication that it is in any way sexual. In fact it is probably a very ancient practice that made hygienic sense 1000 years ago and is now just a ritual that could be replaced with something more hygienic. But it has become part of the ceremony. So what? It would seem to be entirely lacking in sensual pleasure. Certainly for the baby. Probably for the mohel. It's not like he is sitting there giving the baby a BJ in front of everyone.

Breast feeding, on the other hand, is clearly a pleasant sensual experience for mother and baby both, and is purely sexual among adults (and to some extent with the mother and baby as well, if you ask some psychologists). But only the most rigid puritans find breast feeding disgusting. Why the difference?

It looks to me like the disgust over this ritual is purely a matter of cultural conditioning. If anything, it is the cutting that is a problem. That's a painful and permanent disfigurement that the baby will live with forever. But I will wager that many of the people who get bent about the sucking are fine with the slashing. Cultural conditioning again. Go figure . . .

Breastfeeding is a natural part of life providing nourishment to a baby. This is not cultural conditioning. It is the reason why women lactate.

To say it is apples and oranges would be grossly misrepresenting of what is being compared.

I'm a little surprised at the analogy, honestly.

As to the thread topic, yes, that bullshit should be banned. I would feel no pity if a person put an end to such nonsense on a level appropriate with defending the child.

Honestly it's things like this that make me amazed the planet has not been yet thrown off its axis. Truly some incredible things occur without much a murmur from the Creator. Trust and believe that if there is a Creator, He would surely not approve of this. And if He did, I'd surely want nothing to do with him.

 

[Harry Guriemand]

Circumcision violates natural right to self-ownership

Libertarians have a strong case against all forms of forced genital mutilation including circumcision of male minors.

“Circumcision must not be made an exception to the natural, negative right to self-ownership — a birthright which should prevent a parent from physically harming a child from the moment of birth going forward,” write Patrick Testa and Walter E. Block in the International Journal of Health Policy and Management, Article 8, Volume 3, Issue 1, June 2014, Page 33-40, (DOI: 10.15171/ijhpm.2014.51).

 

[Harry Guriemand]

See: Circumcision violates natural right to self-ownership
http://www.circinfo.org/news_2014.html#testa

Those interested can follow the links for a free copy of the full paper “Libertarianism and Circumcision” by Patrick Testa and Walter E. Block
http://www.ijhpm.com/?_action=articleInfo&article=2849

 

[idiom]

I love this forum. Never fails to impress with the weird shit I have to read about and then bloody ponder for hours.

Thanks again.

 

[Christian Liberty]

You know what? That's just disgusting. Everybody knows that if these were Muslims the religious right would be having a field day with this story. If people take pictures of their babies taking a bath they are at risk from CPS for child pornography, but a rabbi sucking the blood off of a baby's penis is okay?

My first thought when I read the OP was to cringe. My second thought was to think "yeah, I don't think the State should get involved, but that's still repulsive."