http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2012/09/14/little-smokies Comments On: Little Smokies by Dan Savage en-us Copyright 2013 The Stranger. All rights reserved. This RSS file is offered to individuals, The Stranger readers, and non-commercial organizations only. Any commercial websites wishing to use this RSS file, please contact The Stranger. webmaster@thestranger.com (The Stranger Webmaster) Mon, 20 May 2013 00:00:01 -0700 Mon, 20 May 2013 08:00:00 -0700 Foundation http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss
You know, back in the day, bigots used to point to pictures of gay men in leather harnesses and feather boas at Pride and say "Look at how disgusting gay people are."

It didn't matter to them that the pictures were out of their cultural context, or that they didn't represent the vast majority of gay people. They seemed to support an old, ugly slander against gay people, so bigots were happy to pass them around.

I don't think that it's a bad thing to highlight the abuses of religions. But Dan, in light of thousands of years of blood libel, I think it's irresponsible and borderline bigoted to post this as an example of how those icky Jews are. It's taken out of its cultural context, and it doesn't represent the vast majority of Jews (as others noted, this is not a common tradition). Besides, as still others have noted, Jews aren't out to convert you, take over the country, or pass laws restricting your rights. Nor are Jews a monolith, like the Catholic Church, or a political power, like Evangelicals.

You're basically posting another example of a very old, very ugly slander about a minority group.

Please think about that.

==========
I'm going to add a few more points:
* this practice isn't any more sexual than handling a baby's penis when you clean it during a diaper change is sexual. I suppose either _could_ be, but in general, neither is.
* this practice is rare among Jews. It started as a health measure, back in the days before sterile blades and dressings, when getting a little blood to flow out of the wound reduced the odds of infection. Most modern Jews either skip the sucking, or use a sterile glass tube. But Judaism is into tradition, and some very traditional groups still do it.
* whether herpes has actually been transmitted to babies this way or not is controversial. Babies sometimes pick up herpes from their moms, or at the hospital, and I've heard it claimed that the one moyel who was accused of spreading herpes was tested and proved to be negative.

and to 76: because it is our role on earth to complete creation, and this act is symbolic of our role.

Posted by mother of two]]> Sat, 22 Sep 2012 08:48:00 -0700 The Stranger Posted by undim]]> Wed, 19 Sep 2012 11:59:51 -0700 The Stranger Posted by Pmasp]]> Mon, 17 Sep 2012 23:19:44 -0700 The Stranger Posted by samktg]]> Mon, 17 Sep 2012 22:53:43 -0700 The Stranger Posted by samktg]]> Mon, 17 Sep 2012 22:46:23 -0700 The Stranger http://www.webmd.com/oral-health/news/20…
Posted by Rob in Baltimore]]> Mon, 17 Sep 2012 16:06:27 -0700 The Stranger
you are an idiot.

and wrong about the health benefits of circumcision.

asymptomatic wisdom teeth are removed to prevent problems later.

when hired killers murder perfectly good babies does that violate the Hypocritic Oaf?

PS....you are an idiot.
Posted by you really should register]]> Mon, 17 Sep 2012 15:35:08 -0700 The Stranger Posted by Rob in Baltimore]]> Mon, 17 Sep 2012 10:46:45 -0700 The Stranger Posted by Chris in Vancouver WA]]> Mon, 17 Sep 2012 10:46:44 -0700 The Stranger Posted by neun]]> Mon, 17 Sep 2012 10:33:58 -0700 The Stranger
It didn't matter to them that the pictures were out of their cultural context, or that they didn't represent the vast majority of gay people. They seemed to support an old, ugly slander against gay people, so bigots were happy to pass them around.

I don't think that it's a bad thing to highlight the abuses of religions. But Dan, in light of thousands of years of blood libel, I think it's irresponsible and borderline bigoted to post this as an example of how those icky Jews are. It's taken out of its cultural context, and it doesn't represent the vast majority of Jews (as others noted, this is not a common tradition). Besides, as still others have noted, Jews aren't out to convert you, take over the country, or pass laws restricting your rights. Nor are Jews a monolith, like the Catholic Church, or a political power, like Evangelicals.

You're basically posting another example of a very old, very ugly slander about a minority group.

Please think about that.


Posted by neun]]> Mon, 17 Sep 2012 10:03:44 -0700 The Stranger Posted by Amanda]]> Mon, 17 Sep 2012 09:49:33 -0700 The Stranger
Circumcision has no health benefits that wouldn't be just as applicable to chopping off the kid's ears. There is no other part of the body that is preemptively cut off just in case it MIGHT cause a problem later on. Advocating the amputation of a healthy body part, without any indication that that particular part of that particular person is likely to cause serious problems later on, is a blatant violation of the Hippocratic Oath.
Posted by RevTap]]> Mon, 17 Sep 2012 01:23:47 -0700 The Stranger
Posted by idaho]]> Mon, 17 Sep 2012 00:06:31 -0700 The Stranger Posted by wxPDX]]> Sun, 16 Sep 2012 21:22:15 -0700 The Stranger Posted by Retnan]]> Sun, 16 Sep 2012 15:26:47 -0700 The Stranger
http://vimeo.com/23723609
Posted by Friendstastegood]]> Sun, 16 Sep 2012 06:08:41 -0700 The Stranger Posted by KaraC]]> Sat, 15 Sep 2012 23:47:30 -0700 The Stranger Posted by SpaceGirl]]> Sat, 15 Sep 2012 23:31:59 -0700 The Stranger
Based on actual contracted cases of herpes from the mohel's saliva touching the bloody wound, you're a fucking idiot.
Posted by read sometimes, it's fun-da-mental]]> Sat, 15 Sep 2012 21:41:36 -0700 The Stranger
Tell that to the Christians and Muslims in Palestine.
Posted by i'm sure they'd love to hear]]> Sat, 15 Sep 2012 21:38:54 -0700 The Stranger Posted by BrotherBob]]> Sat, 15 Sep 2012 16:11:56 -0700 The Stranger Posted by originalcinner]]> Sat, 15 Sep 2012 08:40:43 -0700 The Stranger

Posted by Gonesouth]]> Sat, 15 Sep 2012 06:16:04 -0700 The Stranger
@42 - if you read the relevant article in the Times, you'd know that he is, in fact, putting his mouth on that baby. This practice is limited to the Ultra-Orthodox, since every other grade of Judaism is sane enough to see what a terrible idea it is, but they still do it - and they're hopping mad that the city government is taking the remarkably mild step of trying to make them have the parents sign a consent form warning them about the risks.
Posted by I have always been... east coaster]]> Fri, 14 Sep 2012 22:58:20 -0700 The Stranger