Foreskins for Everyone

Opinion

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Greg Shapiro: Foreskins for Everyone!

Friday 16 September 2011
DutchNews.nl is reporting that the Dutch doctors federation KNMG is again speaking out against the practice of circumcising young boys. The organization says “10 - 15,000 boys are circumcised in the Netherlands every year, often on religious grounds and without anesthetics.”
“10-15,000 circumcisions per year!” It would seem that you can’t get a cup of coffee in this country without someone trying to cut off your foreskin.
I can tell you from experience that we considered circumcision for our son, and it was not easy to find anyone to do it. The main reason we considered it was for hygienic reasons: I have no idea how to take care of a foreskin. Having been born in America, I was circumcized along with every other male infant of my generation, and – personally – I’ve never regretted it.

We finally did find a Dutch doctor who performed the circumcision. He used a local anaesthetic, and the procedure was over in 5 minutes. Healing took about a week. In all, it felt about as barbaric as the heel prick or the DTKP inoculation, or any of the needles we jabbed into him, full of disease.
Already, 3 of the KNMG claims are untrue in my experience (circumcisions are common, they are performed for religious reasons, no anesthetic).
IF you want to slice it off of my insurance package (pun intended), then go ahead. But if the Netherlands is going to put a ban on male circumcision, then watch out. Next, I’m afraid males without foreskins will be made to re-attach their foreskins.
BUT the KNMG goes further! They also object to circumcision because it is often for religious reasons and ‘not normal.’ Now you’ve made it into an issue of religious freedom.
Folks, I’d take your argument a lot more seriously – IF your country hadn’t turned in all those Jews a couple generations ago. First, the Dutch crack down on Kosher butchers and now penis butchers. If you’re so darned interested in people’s penises and what they do with them, go to JeffStryker.com.
And as to ‘AjaxFan1983,’ who tweeted ‘Circumcision makes you no doctor. It is a SHAME.’ My response is this: You, sir, are no Joden supporter.
I think the Dutch can all agree that extremism is bad. No one is making circumcisions mandatory (that’s the Yanks). But they also shouldn’t be forbidden. Meanwhile, KNMG, your foreskins are all very nice.
Greg Shapiro is a comedy/newsman, actor/writer, speaker/coach from Chicago, living in Amsterdam