Alex Renton is an evangelist for circumcision. His breathless proselytizing of a procedure forced on him and to which he has clearly attached a good part of his identity is the subject of his Sunday Observer article.
Appropriately, his sermon runs in the Life and Style section. Indicative of the hype he employs to peddle the alleged medical "benefits" of circumcision is plenty of hyperbole, such as the use of huge, vast, millions, and "clearly," among other superlatives and adjectives of extremism, to describe the alleged benefits and "no-brainer" he thinks circumcising an infant is with no clear indication for a decade and half or more (assuming his beliefs were grounded in truth on the HIV issue) and without consent.
He trots out the usual suspects, Halperin from the United States and Pisani from the UK, along with a few unknowns, such as one Dr Ondiek, a South African circumciser in the field, to attach punchy quotes to. He also does the country by country comparison without any deep analysis of the significant differences in populations and the myriad factors that impact the epidemics in disparate regions of the world (low heterosexual HIV rates in Indonesia? They're Muslims and Indonesian Muslims, apart from circumcising both males and females, don't have a lot of heterosexual sleeping around).
Of course, his piece wouldn't be complete or well-rounded without a presentation of the United States' circumcision history and the UK's NHS as the baddy in failing to pony up scarce funds to provide circumcisions on demand.
Lastly, and sadly, Renton brags of his powers of persuasion with a tale of tragic success in convincing his cousin to circumcise his newborn baby - against the better judgment and more cautious approach of the NHS in Scotland, a private hospital and even a local mohel.
When the poor child turns to dad and asks why a part of his penis is missing, who will he blame, Uncle Alex or dad? Either or both, the medical establishment of Scotland can rest with a clear conscience.
Keep the pressure on the editors of Mr. Renton by email or phone call:
- Contact Life & Style editor lifeandstyle.editor@guardianunlimited.co.uk
- Report errors or inaccuracies: reader@observer.co.uk
- Letters for publication should be sent to: letters@observer.co.uk
- Call the main Guardian and Observer switchboard: +44 (0)20 3353 2000
Link: Alex Renton on circumcising your children for health reasons | Life and style | The Observer.
