SALON

Thursday, Aug 27, 2009 5:35 PM UTC

Limbaugh: You’ll pry my foreskin from my cold, dead hands

Circumcision -- tool of the coming fascist, penis-hating regime

By

Topics: AIDS, Healthcare Reform, Rush Limbaugh, Sex, War Room,

Limbaugh: You'll pry my foreskin from my cold, dead handsConservative talk radio host Rush Limbaugh attends a ceremony in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2009. President Bush was presenting the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Colombian President Alvaro Uribe, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and former Australian Prime Minister John Howard. Limbaugh, who suffered hearing loss as a result of autoimmune inner ear disease, wears a cochlear implant, a powerful hearing aid that is implanted in the inner ear of an individual with nerve deafness.

If you had to whip up a too-good-to-be-true story for the right-wing pundit class to freak out over, what elements would you include? There would have to be, of course, an element of command-and-control socialist-fascist invasion and regulation of the most private parts of our lives, in the name of some spurious “common good.” But that alone is a little pedestrian nowadays, so you’d want to add a nice dollop of male sexual neurosis to really kick it up a notch. Then  add just a hint of racial fear and beat to a froth.

What are we talking about here? Officials at the Centers for Disease Control, showing touching naiveté about the current political environment, are weighing an initiative to encourage male circumcision, with the idea that there are probably some minor health benefits. Says Dr. Peter Kilmarx, the head of epidemiology for the H.I.V./AIDS Prevention wing of the CDC, “What we’ve heard from our consultants is that there would be a benefit for infants from infant circumcision, and that the benefits outweigh the risks.”

Seems straightforward. Sure, there are reasonable people on all sides of the general arguments about circumcision, but if the CDC takes a rigorous look and decides to encourage the surgery, what harm can they do?

Only a little bit, it turns out, but in a place where it really hurts. Ed Morrissey of the conservative blog Hot Air writes, “If the CDC — which is part of the same government that will control health care — decides that circumcision is beneficial and cost-efficient in the long term, that same mechanism would create pressure on doctors and patients to perform them.”

Morrissey’s argument has the same basic flaw that animated the “death panel” fears: an inability to distinguish between advice and force. If this CDC proposal goes into effect, it, like the now-dead end-of-life counseling proposal, would make available some valuable medical advice. There’s nothing on the table to penalize doctors who don’t circumcise newborns, or parents who decline the procedure. To have a “mechanism [that] would create pressure on doctors and patients,” you need, well, a mechanism. Morrissey can’t come up with one.

But when was the last time that stopped these guys? Two days ago, Rush Limbaugh claimed, “It is President Obama who wants [to] mandate circumcision … And that means, if we need to save our penises from anybody, it’s Obama.”

So now that we’re talking about Limbaugh’s penis, all of a sudden, we’re in a world where the tiniest measure of government suggestion about sexual health equals a full onslaught against privacy. Expect to see the radio talker at the next march to protect abortion rights with a “Keep your government hands off my private parts” sign.

Gabriel Winant

Gabriel Winant is a graduate student in American history at Yale. More Gabriel Winant.

Next Article

You Might Also Like

More Related Stories

Featured Slide Shows

Gripping photos: The people of the Turkey protests (slideshow)

close X
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook
  • Thumbnails
  • Fullscreen
  • 1 of 11
  • The protests take on a festive element as police forces move out of the park and square. Wearing a gas mask, this young man dances to traditional Turkish music in front of Taksim Square’s Ataturk Monument.

  • In Gezi Park since March 31st, this protester, originally caught off-guard by the Government’s teargas and water cannons, went out and bought a Russian army mask from WWII, preparing for what was to come.

  • This rambunctious boy seems to be enjoying the chaos. After taking this picture he threw a stone at the already destroyed building in the background.

  • Forming a line, the police face off directly with protesters in Taksim Square. After a while, they retreated and there was a general cheer – a back-and-forth dance that has been common since the beginning of this protest.

  • An elderly woman in Gezi Park reads the news. The tent community occupying the park was violently destroyed on June 16th.

  • Many different groups had set up booths to promote their cause in Taksim Square and Gezi Park. Standing in front of one, this man waves his flag while posing with conviction.

  • Many home-remedies are used to minimize the effects of tear gas. This woman has put a milky solution on her face, removing her mask after the tear gas dissipated. Before sunrise, the police came again for another round of teargasing.

  • People capitalize on the uprising -- selling flags, beer, gas masks, sky lanterns and spray paint to name just a few of the popular items.

  • On Monday morning, June 11, the police execute a strong offensive. Many plain-clothed police officers, like the ones seen here, clash with protesters in the side streets away from the main stand-off in Taksim.

  • The authorities seem to be most aggressive in the night, pushing protesters away from the square and park. After being teargassed this young woman catches her breath with other protesters on Siraselviler Street.

  • Recent Slide Shows

  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook
  • Thumbnails
  • Fullscreen
  • 1 of 11

Related Videos

More Related Stories

Comments

 293 Comments

Comment Preview

Your name will appear as username ( settings | log out )

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href=""> <b> <em> <strong> <i> <blockquote>

follow salon

Most Read

Popular on Reddit

links from salon.com

From Around the Web

Presented by Scribol
listener_new_rect The Listener: "We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves": Growing up primate

Recommendations