_______________CIRCUMCISION IN AMERICA BY DEBRA S. OLLIVIER (10/26/98)
	Debra Ollivier's denunciation of circumcision reminds me of others I have read on the Internet. Invariably, all such articles have similar components. They all have detailed descriptions of the foreskin, reminiscent of an Operation Rescue pamphlet description of a 2-week-old fetus. They all attempt to demonstrate the agony the baby goes through during the procedure. Finally, they all quote Maimonides, taken out of context by about 700 years. You would think that with a sample size in the hundreds of millions, that scientists might have noted at least one negative long-term effect of circumcision. Since they haven't, it's up to Ollivier to demonstrate some. Since she can't, she must rely on the gross-out factor, going into detail about arteries and nerve endings. An appendix has lots of arteries and nerve endings too, but people live wonderful fulfilling lives without one of those as well. As far as sex and circumcision -- she's kidding, right? American men may have lots of problems with sex, but a diminished sex drive doesn't seem to be one of them. As to Jewish identity and the Covenant of Abraham -- well, let me offer an explanation: The Jews have a relationship with God popularly known as the Covenant of Abraham. Circumcision is an essential symbol of the relationship, not the relationship itself. It's right there in Genesis 17:11, should Ollivier or her assimilated friends care someday to crack open a Bible. If you don't want your kid circumcised, then don't do it. If you think it's an unnecessary expense in our bloated health care system, call your congressman. But don't get so defensive over your choice that you must attack those of us who want to continue a sacred 4,000-year-old tradition that has no demonstrable negative effects. -- Andrew Berman Seattle Thank you, Salon writers and editors, for the very factual and honest article decrying the horror of routine male circumcision in America. As a man who was "cut" at birth, I am most angry about the fact that my physical sexuality was changed forever: all those nerve endings, all that sensitive, sliding loose skin is gone forever. It's so unfair to lose one's foreskin due to convention. The prepuce is clearly a "natural sexual stimulation device" that myself and my partner could have used for another form of foreplay before intercourse. All this was denied me -- without my consent -- because I was born in 1955 when it was absolutely de rigueur to "cut" baby boys. This must stop. I sincerely hope the barbaric and totally unnecessary "procedure" will come to an end in this country in my lifetime. If I ever have a son, the world can rest assured that I will leave him intact as nature meant him to be. -- Michael Giamo Philadelphia In the article "Circumcision in America," Debra S. Ollivier twice makes the claim that "for thousands of years the only people who were circumcised were Jews and Muslims." This is a false statement. Circumsion is a well known cultural variant found in many other cultures besides Jewish and Muslim ones. -- J. Wongs
_______________THE DANGERS OF THE GAY AGENDA BY CAMILLE PAGLIA(10/28/98)
	Leave it to Camille Paglia, that most effective paragon of self-promotion, to take advantage of the murder of a gay student in Wyoming to trot out her tired litany of arguments against the gay/lesbian rights community and feminism. Even if she has some relevant points (which she does), her arguments are lost in her continual fog of self-referential triumphalism. Cheez whiz, get somebody that has something to say beyond, "I've always been right, and I'm going to keep reminding you so!" -- Raymond Garcia Lansing, Mich. Enough with Camille Paglia. Her jaw-dropping re-writing of the homophobic logic whereby the "consequence" of gay cruising is "death" should cap her ludicrous career. I stopped reading her column mostly because of her nails-against-the-blackboard self-aggrandizement and her thin-as-veneer "scholarship." I read this piece only because I could not believe that Salon would print a headline such as "How gay activists and the liberal media helped kill Matthew Shepard." Her work is assaultive and idiotic. Please hire a real thinker. Paglia has had her say, and it's time to send her on her way. -- Tyler Curtain I hesitate to further feed Camille Paglia's ego by commenting on her Oct. 28 column gratuitously attacking Matthew Shepard, but such slander cannot go opposed. There is no evidence that this young man was soliciting sex from the two men who attacked and murdered him. Paglia does what majority culture does (how mundane, Camille!) in looking at gay men and seeing only sex. For her, the issue is not murder and hate; it's the sexual habits of gay men. What kind of shriveled soul looks at the murder of a college student so young he was still wearing braces on his teeth and turns it into a discussion about "gay hedonism"? How pathetic of Paglia. And shame on you for giving voice to her venom. -- John R. Ballew Atlanta It is important for me, a retired psychotherapist, to acknowledge the excellent piece Camille Paglia wrote about Shepard's death and the many valid, in my opinion, observations she made about homosexuality. Her column moved me to get her great book "Sexual Personae: Art and Decadence From Nefertiti to Emily Dickinson" off the shelf and read it again for the third time. Thank you for giving us Paglia's work. -- Russell B. Donnelly Yes Matthew Shepard obviously left the bar in Laramie with his murders because he was hoping for a sexual encounter, not "cozy tea and conversation." But I can't see how the supposedly sexually liberated Paglia can see that as in any way providing a rationale for the murder that followed. He was in a bar, for God's sake. He wasn't cruising in some bus station or dark alley (though, again, even if he were it wouldn't make the crime any less horrible). People (straight, gay, lesbian, transgendered, whatever) often go to bars to pick people up. If a straight woman were to leave a bar with a man she'd met just that night, would that in any way minimize the heinousness of his decision to rape her? No, of course not, and again Paglia demonstrates that she'll twist logic and reason in her continued gay-bashing. Given that Salon is otherwise such an excellent online magazine (perhaps the best there is), it's unfortunate that you choose to provide a forum for Paglia and the homophobic bile (often rivaling that of the Christian right) that she spouts. That this woman is granted some credibility because she is lesbian makes the whole thing even more appalling and disturbing. -- John Newton Camille Paglia talks about the separation within the community of gay men and lesbians. After reading the article, I am convinced lesbians like her are exactly why the separation exists. She slams all gay men for "cruising." I hate to burst Camille Paglia's bubble, but lesbians go to lesbian bars and cruise. I know that must be a real "shocker" for her, but I have plenty of lesbian friends who "cruise." I also know lesbians who are in relationships and cheat on their lovers. I know plenty of lesbians who have slept with hundreds of women. I know lesbians that cruise at "straight" bars. There is no difference between gay men and lesbians in this regard except that gay men outnumber lesbians. Paglia makes broad generalizations of gay men just as the Christian Coalition makes broad generalizations of the entire g/l/b/t community. Just as with the Christian Coalition, Paglia is just as uninformed and ignorant. Are you sure she's a lesbian? She's doing a great job of dividing our community. -- Jamie Higgins Atlanta It was wrong of Camille Paglia to assume that Matthew Shepard was attracted to "rough trade," thereby causing his death at the hands of thugs. This was a college town bar, not a dungeon gay bar in Hollywood. Her statements were no doubt very hurtful to Matthew Shepard's loved ones and family. Has she no shame? She is like a gay Roy Cohn of the 1952 McCarthy hearings -- a traitor to her own kind. Camille raves on like a nut case, damaging your credibility as a magazine. -- Charles Merrill I've got to tell you that I think Camille Paglia is the most profound, thought-provoking and intelligent columnist I have read in the last several years. Her affiliation with you guys has placed you on my favorite bookmarks list. What's more, by going to your site looking for her column, I have become a pretty big fan of Salon, too. I even think I can forgive you for your defense of Clinton and unfair swipes at anyone that "gets in his way." Thanks to her, I'm becoming a convert of yours. -- Don Traeger SALON | Nov. 2, 1998

R E C E N T L Y+| PRAISE THE LORD AND PASS THE REMOTE BY JOYCE MILLMAN

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