I just couldn't stay out of this anymore.
Mar 16 '00
I was not going to say anything about this, but I just have to. It is not to say what is right or wrong, but my own personal view on the subject. First of all I would like to say that I do agree with poseidon's opinion about this and he made a lot of valid and very interesting points. There is only one thing that I have to disagree with and that is what I am going to talk about.
In case you want to refer to poseidon's review, use the following link.
http://www.epinions.com/kifm-review-2B7-2DD082D-388CA2A8-prod1
I am Jewish, but because I was born in Russia, I didn't practice nor was I exposed to any religious background and especially circumcision. Even if I was circumcised in the Soviet Union, at that time it would have been a living hell since the other kids weren't. When I came to United States, I was almost fourteen years of age and we were sponsored by the Jewish Organization. As soon as we got a breath of fresh air, a Rabbi who was involved to help out the newcomers approached us about the act of circumcision. He said that it is very good for me and medically important, not to mention the religious point of view. The Rabbi said that I should strongly think about it and give him my answer as soon as possible.
Now remembering that we were not religious at all read on.
My parents
What mother would consciously put her child under a knife? For my parents it was the biggest fear and one of the most important decisions they would have to make. They were more concerned about this then anything in their entire lives.
Myself
To me it wasn't even an option. Since I was a child, I was always squeamish and was always afraid of braking something or getting stitches, STITCHES. Now, someone is going to cut a part of me and for what reason, what have I done to deserve this.
The outcome
I still went through it and at the age of almost 14 years old I was circumcised. One of the reasons was that I strongly believed that it would be medically good for me, so I went under a knife and did it. Well, as the old saying goes 'why fix it if it isn't broken?'.
Am I happy that I did it? Yes, I am. Would I do it if I knew then what I know now? May be, may be not.I am happy because religiously I do believe much more in various aspects of it then I did before, but is this procedure necessary to be a believer, I don't know. I think one of the main reasons that my parents and I agreed to this was because of the other kids. Just like in Russia of not having the procedure, would be just as important to have it done, so the other kids would not make fun of me.
So, without going into the detail of how much pain it can be at 14 years of age, the point of my argument is that I prayed that my parents could have done it when I was a baby. I would not feel that pain, that physical pain which I had to go through. I had to stay mostly in bed for a week and not being able to do much for about two weeks.
If you want to talk about mental damage, don't get me started. How do you explain to a 14-year-old child, who has decided to do it for all the wrong reasons, but still has to, that he is going to be fine? Go head do it, you will be fine, I promise. My friends were laughing, when they found out, that I am thinking of not getting it done. Sure I had my own head, but did I want to face the other kids everyday and hear that I am not normal. Did I want to hear that there is something wrong with me? I was still a kid, a very scared kid.
Another Dilemma
We are expecting, my wife and I. Before we do the congratulations hear, let me just say that it is a boy and what are we going to do? In the way I want to be true to my religion, but on the other hand, this is my child, my flesh and blood. How can I see my baby cry and go through this pain? Will we do the procedure? We are most probably going to, but may be in the hospital and not in the synagogue. Yes, in the way it is not totally religious, but we are not totally religious people. I belief there is god, but I don't believe in all the aspects of the religion.
Why are we doing this? I don't want my son to realize that all the other kids are different and have to go through, what I had to. Yes may be it will be his decision to make then, but at what cost. Will my child make the right the decision for all the right reasons the way I did? Wait, may be he will be old enough to tell the other children, that it was his own choice and his body is his own, when they are making fun of him? No, I would rather get it over with now and not to have to make my son go through the pain and suffering later. Yes, I am talking about physical and mental pain.
I know that there are many views on the subject and none of them are wrong, but this is the way I see it and the way we are going to handle it.
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Epinions.com ID:
jdanishevsky
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Location: Central Jersey, USA
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