To the Burnt-out Intactivist

Take heart intactivist.  The war will be won!  There's no losing this war, just quitting it!  There's no bad press, it's all good.  I say this with confidence because the first thing my wife showed me when we started discussing the topic for our first son was the reasons that support removing the prepuce from the penis (aka circumcision).  THAT is what got me to say "what?!"  Let these people that promote the procedure attempt to promote it; it's just going to make people question it even more.  In the day my parents made the decision to have my prepuce removed, there was no argument, no protests, no contention in the media and no information super-highway.  If people question it, more often than not, they're going to see the truth.

I know it seems like a daunting task.  Think about the numbers, though.  There are over 300 million people in the USA.  We know that many of those are ignorant to the anatomy of the intact penis and have been accustomed to the "circumcised penis."  Let's just say 2/3 of that are people that need to be reached (not children or others that wouldn't have an impact).  Now, lets say half of that is currently for removing the prepuce.  That is still 100 million people!  The main Facebook group for Your Whole Baby only has around 30k in it.  But, the movement is growing faster and faster!

There are plenty of people that laugh at us.  But, that just means we're irritating them.  We're getting them thinking.  Even if they disagree with us, there's really very little cost to them to just say "give them what they want."  I know, I know, there are the doctors that are afraid of admitting wrong-doing and risking legal repercussions.  There are the men that think it means that giving into the movement means admitting that there's something wrong with them.  There are parents that think it means they made the wrong choice.  But, think about other movements in history.  The slave owners had a ton invested in their slaves; not that I think this will ever have to go as far as blood-shed (even though it's blood-shed that we're fighting against).  But, doctors can find plenty of other work.  Men don't have to go public with their choice to leave their son(s) intact.  Parents, well, that's a tough one; they may just have to apologize for their choice.  However, if they continue to push the procedure, they will just make themselves look heartless.

I have been watching and participating in this fight for over 13 years now.  I've seen intactivists get negative.  I've seen intactivists become dismayed by some of the other intactivists that become very aggressive, rude and disrespectful.  While I know some people run the other way when encountering these kinds of intactivists, and that can be disheartening because we may feel that we've lost that person. I'd much rather keep people engaged rather than see them run away.  But, either way, we actually have not lost them.  The more people like this see anger about the issue, the more they're just going to want to leave children intact!  The anger over children having their genitals mutilated needs to over-shadow any anger that exists for not getting the children "circumcised."

If you need a break, definitely take a break.  I just hope that these words help the break be just that: a break.

Seriously, there is NO losing, just quitting!

Thank you for speaking out for the next generation!