Circumcision Debate?

I'm probably opening up a *huge* can of worms here, but here goes:

My son is circumcised. We're Jewish. I was still against it all together, but agreed for several personal reasons. I do not believe in it and if I were to have another son, it would be a huge issue (considering all the people I've met and all the information I've gathered in the years since Laszlo was born.)

I was at the beach today and was talking to an expectant mom who I went to high school with. She has 2 daughters and found out that this is a boy. I asked if she's going to have him circumcised (she and her husband are Jewish as well.) She said she was. Then her stepfather started in, saying how all boys should be circumcised because it's not healthy to be intact. He said that the rates of cervical cancer in the wives/partners of uncircumcised men are much higher. I'm too tired to do actual research tonight, so I figured I'd open this up to you intelligent people.

He also said that his father owned a hospital around WW2 and that all the military were forced to be circumcised before they left for battle, no matter how old they were. Is this true???? Also, he said that the few men who were not, came down with urinary infections. This guy said to me, "It leads to higher rates of infections even in normal situations, imagine how bad it is in the trenches."

I know I'm naive about all of this, so forgive me. I just found this man to be a total moron, but I did not have the information to back up what I was saying, so I just said that there's a huge movement to leave baby boys intact and that there seems to be no problem with that at all. I was angry that I wasn't able to argue with him because he's a jerk and it would have been fun to put him in his place, but far be it from me to have an argument when I really don't know what I'm talking about!

So, what's the deal? Cancer rates increased? I know the infection thing is bullshit.

People really are stupid

...and another thing...in the last week, people have said such stupid things to me about breastfeeding.

One woman I know from the park just had her third child. I asked her if she's nursing. She said, "No. I give them life, then it's up to them."

A father of a new baby was at the park with his older daughter. I asked him how the new baby is. He said, "He's great, but he's got acid reflux and he's not a great sleeper." I asked if his wife was breastfeeding. He said, "Oh, no."

I got my hair cut this afternoon and my haircutter (for 20 years almost) knows that I breastfeed. She told me that she recently visited Hershey Park and that there is now a kosher section there for eating. She said that there was a religious woman "right there in the open" breastfeeding. "Why couldn't she cover up or turn around or move to the back of the group?" I told her that she was asking the wrong person because I have very strong feelings about breastfeeding. Then she went on to say how she knows it's best and healthiest for the baby, "I just don't need to see it."

Can you believe this shit? It's one of the few things I despise about where I live. NOBODY breastfeeds. Not even 10 percent. It's appalling.

I hope miss Lily nurses til she's 3.

In public.

:-)