Another Circumcision thread

[RobertE]

A special exception, to a special case...that isn't -actually- all that special...but is, actually, mutilation.

-and that's where the blows come in.

There are a lot of cases where it's ok for parents to make a decision for their child. 

For example, my parents took me to the orthodontist when I was a kid and put me in braces. Did they ask for my consent? No. I was a kid and didn't know any better. If they had asked, I'm sure I would have said no way, considering how painful and annoying and scary those dang things were. But now that I'm an adult, I'm really grateful that they made that decision for me. Sure, they could have held off and let me make that decision for myself when I was old enough, but I'm glad they didn't. I'm glad I have straight teeth already and that I don't have to worry about finding the money for braces if I wanted them, or have to worry about dealing with it as a grown adult. 

...It is the same type of thinking that parents use when they decide to circumcise their sons while they are babies rather than waiting for them to make their own mind about it when they are older. And again, I'm not saying one decision is "right" over the other (whether doing it while they're young, or letting them do it for themselves), but merely pointing out that there is validity to wanting to get it out of your son's way while it's easiest for him to deal with.

With respect CL, I don't think you can compare the two different surgical procedures. For a start, the average to have a brace is between 12 and 13 years of age. Anyway, only one of those is actually beneficial and positive for a child and he/she will grow up knowing that within a few years, he/she will have nice, shiny,straight teeth. So, the brace is simply temporary and therefore the damage is there temporarily however, the mutilated body part will forever be there, whether he likes it or not and he will be mentally scarred forever.