Guest Post from Shelley Wright: Sunday April 13th 2014 Boardwalk Protest

What a great day for a board walk circumcision demonstration. Weather was warm, blue skies, tons of people and even a busy cancer event held right on the board walk. Although it’s been a minute since I went out last (besides DC) I had not been to the Ocean City board walk since last fall and honestly- I missed it. Even though I had missed going out with the wagon and educating, I was so still so nervous yesterday. Not sure why. I mean, I’ve done this forever it but I think it’s the long breaks away from it. Protesting more frequently seems way easier on the nerves. I had a good feeling, once I got to the Ocean City board walk. It was literally packed with people and I decided to stay rolling with the wagon for a while before finally settling on a location. Let’s face it, the locals are a hard sell this time of year, and things really were slow at first, but info was going out.

People sat across from me for an hour just watching me and watching other’s reaction to me. I had everything out. The screaming baby strapped to a board, the 16+ functions sign, the “For Sale” sign and of course the huge wagon with banner and stocked full of info. A guy in his 30’s came up and asked me about the cause and I gave him a quick run down. He immediately got it and was very supportive. He let me know about several of his causes also and where he has travelled for them. He was a government protester who is working on the BLM, Obama issues and news censorship. We exchanged conversation for a while and he shook my hand several times in thanks for what I was doing.

Shelley Wright with her Famous Signs for the Ocean CIty Board Walk Protest

A mother of an intact boy in her 20’s stopped by and asked me, “what is this all about” as she quickly proclaimed, “I did not do this to my boy, by the way, but I still wonder if I did the right thing?” I ran over the 16+ functions, how several medical studies show circumcision removes the most sensitive part of the penis, how circumcision is controversial and has been banned in other places. She gasped, “I can’t believe it!” as she glared at the baby strapped down. She continues, “everybody wanted me to do that to my son! My son’s father right there (points to him) is still mad, but I won’t do it! I just won’t!!!” I congratulated her for being a protective mamma, and she gathered almost every brochure on the wagon as she walked away. Her hubby however, (who stayed away) gave me a look of disapproval and shook his head at her upon her returning to him.

All day young children were fascinated with the doll on the circumcstraint. Kids would come up and ask their parents if it was real, if they could touch it and over and over I heard kids say, “OW! Why does that doll have scissors hanging from it?” Some parents let the kids up to look while most, scurried their kids away.

Many parents distracted children from even looking my direction, but not the next lady. A mother in her late 30’s came up with her 8 year boy next to her and said, “well, do you have any questions for this lady?” I said, “feel free to ask me anything.” The mother explained how in his school they just had a health class and talked about “circumcision AND uncircumcised.” I said, well great, so you know what this is about.” The boy looked like a deer in the headlights as his mom piped up, “he is just being shy.” I thanked them for coming but never did figure them out exactly.

A nurse in her 30’s with a heavy country accent came up and said, “I’d like to know about this because I’m a nurse and we were taught circumcision is good.” I gave her the run down, asked if she’s seen these global studies about circ harm, showed her pictures and reiterated how the child is being sexually assaulted and mutilated by force. I asked her, “when do you feel a male should own his own penis like she owned her vagina.” I then asked her if she could strap a 16 year old down also and forcibly disassemble his genitals?” She had no reply but this, “I am really going to think about this. I was not taught about the ethical complications or anything about natural male anatomy.” I gave her some Nurses For The Rights Of The Child info and she took about 6 other pieces of information.

Even though info was going out, I decided that the slightly northern location was too slow and decided to go back to the busy inlet and plant myself in my (new) favorite spot– right in front of the men’s bathroom/ police dept/ and ever growing Thrashers french fry line. Wow!!! What a location! It was not long before people were stumbling, running into other people and gasping at my circumcision demonstration. The Thrashers Fries line was backed up and moving slow. All those people were forced to endure my protest if they wanted a bucket of fries. A man in his 50’s yelled out at one point, “HEY! This is a family place, you don’t belong here.” I yelled back, “old enough to cut em, old enough to know about it!” Another lady strolled by and just said, “Out of all the causes. Ridiculous.”

Two ladies in their late 50’s planted themselves beside a bench right next to me and started talking about everyone who walked by. Between their comments about the people on the boardwalk, the one lady leaned over and asked me what my sign was all about. It was not long after talking to her about male/female forced genital cutting on children she came around and said, “I agree. It’s a thing of the past and needs to go.” She then started remaking on the fumbling people running into each other trying to read my protest. She thought the whole deal was a hoot. Upon leaving, her friend said to me, “you know why they say LATIN LOVERS right?” The other lady exclaimed, “because American men are assholes!!!” The other lady answered, “No, it’s because they have their foreskin, and the Latin men are so much better in the bedroom.” I giggled.

A short petite lady in the fry line eye-balling my demo and briskly walked over demanding the 16 functions. When I went around the back of my wagon to get my clipboard, she walked away and yelled back to me, “NO, I WANT TO HEAR IT FROM YOU!!!” I answered, “but you walked away!!!” Her friends muttered under their breath and I decided to hold my clipboard up and count each of the 16 functions slowly but loudly. The board walk drew to a halt and everyone looked at me. The lady cut her eyes, and pretended I was not there any more, then things resumed on the board walk. An older couple in their 70’s stopped by to tell me they both believed in circumcision and that it was in the bible. I said, “Actually it’s denounced several times in the New Testament.” I ran over a few verses with them, and the guy piped up and said, “Yeah, I knew it was not in the New Testament.” His wife said, “Yeah, but I’m still for it.” (Editor’s note: circumcision is in the Old Testament (Torah for Jews) only. Christians, in fact, are bound by the New Testament, which supersedes the Old Testament if ever there is any incompatibility. Since the New Testament is clearly against circumcision or other mutilations, it follows that Christians must follow the New Testament and must NOT circumcise. See the information section of http://www.facebook.com/galatians5 to learn more.)

Two young boys who were 15 came up and one was extremely sarcastic but both were obviously out of this world smart. The tall sarcastic one started in with jokes and dismissing everything I said about circumcision. His friend, actually listened and I could tell was thinking about it. The boys were playful and inquisitive about me and came back several times to hang out at the wagon. The tall sarcastic guy,who looked like a teen model was doing everything he could to be funny. From shoving things in his pants to telling me about his crazy boardwalk adventures. These boys kept me on my toes and were actually great company even though not too into the issue. Either way, seeds were planted.

While the boys were gone, a short mother in her 30’s came up glassy eyed. “I’m so upset. I know when my son was done they screwed him up. It does not look right even today. They just sent him back to me like nothing ever happened, with a completely messed up penis that’s barely there!! I’m so heartbroken” she said with tears in her eyes. Before I could even say anything, she continued, “and now I see that I did not even have to do it. It had 16 functions, that baby on that cutting board was MY OWN SON!!!!!” I spoke gently, “I’m so sorry. I don’t even know what to say other than no, you did not have to do it, but many parents think they are doing the best thing for their son. I know the doctors did not show you this (pulled out my clipboard of studies and pictures) and you made an uninformed decision that has now cost your son’s sexual organ.” I continued, “But do know this. You can contact ARCLAW and talk to them about what to do next for your son. You may be able to settle for money from the person who did this if you comply within a timeline. It’s not fair this happened to him, but he can also possibly restore and you can educate him, so he does not take the same chance on his own son.” She sighed and hugged me and took every single piece of info from my wagon. Her heart was broken and my heart broke for her and her mutilated son.

This is circumcision my friends. It breaks people’s hearts and tears away at that parental instinct to protect children from harm. Instead they inflict harm and become a crippled society ready to sexually assault the child of their choice. With knives bared, male/female and intersexed children are not safe all pending on where they live in this world. If your lucky enough to be born female in America, you’re protected, not the same for a male child. Go across the pond to Europe who generally think all of us are crazy for cutting ANY child’s genitalia.

In Africa and Ethiopia there are circumcision celebrations for female children meanwhile, Africa has a new male circumcision agenda going on there, (America and Bill Gates promoting reduced HIV infections, instead of simple condom use) and young boys are now up for grabs. In fact, right now in the Philippines it’s Tuli season which lines little boys like swine on long tables. An assembly line forms where anybody can be trained to dismember a male child’s penis. Many times the young boys get candy as a reward or told that they are “real men now.” Some Christian churches (erroneously) fund these Philippine child cutting festivals, with such big names as Tim Tebow having participated in 2008 during his spring break. Tebow himself says, “The first time, it was nerve-racking. Hands were shaking a little bit. I mean, I’m cutting somebody. You can’t do those kinds of things in the United States. ” Well wrong Tebow, you can do it easily if you were forcibly circumcised as a child yourself and don’t mind forcing it onto another child.

As if Athletic celebrities promoting forced genital cutting weren’t enough, right down the street from any of us could be a Jewish temple where mohels (non doctor religious people who preform circumcisions) are holding down eight-day-old male babies, cutting their genitals in the name of region and some forcing them to drink wine while possibly have their penis sucked by the mohel (an orthodox Jewish ceremony called Metzitzah B’peh.) Curious how you would feel if this were a female child, getting held down and circumcised only to have oral sex preformed on her vagina? All cutting cultures seem to have their minds made up that their children’s genitals, are up for dibs. In fact, those that cut girls say it’s wrong to cut boys and vice verse. All cutting society’s give every reason under the sun as to why they have a right to inflict this damage onto another person’s genitals. From “it’s cleaner”, to “I think it looks better” to “my religion requires a blood sacrifice”, I’ve heard it all. I think it simply comes down to this. We forcibly circumcise children, because we can’t forcibly circumcise adults. Question circumcision. For more info on this subject visit:
http://www.thewholenetwork.org/
http://www.intactamerica.org/
http://cirp.org/