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Re: REQUEST : Foreskin / circumcision
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To: soc-religion-hindu@uunet.uu.net
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Subject: Re: REQUEST : Foreskin / circumcision
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From: vivek@cs.rice.edu (Vivek Sadananda Pai)
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Date: 9 Sep 1996 18:47:16 GMT
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Newsgroups: soc.religion.hindu
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Organization: Hindu Students Conference, Rice Univ Chapter
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References: <ghenDwECG8.6BI@netcom.com> <ghenDwqLwu.Box@netcom.com> <5077j6$rda@news.ececs.uc.edu> <ghenDx64Hs.1yv@netcom.com>
In article <ghenDx64Hs.1yv@netcom.com>,
Dhruba Chakravarti <dchakrav@netserv.unmc.edu> wrote:
> Dear Vivekji:
>
>Thank you for following up. Pardon me, but I must say that you have no
>idea about the science of this subject. It is impossible to discuss
>science in vacuum. Therefore, I will give a reference for you to read.
>You will find the journal in any medical library.
Dear Dhrubaji,
Thank you very much for the nice reference, and I'll be sure to read
it some day when I feel the need for studying foreskin
science. However, if you look at my previous posts, I was not taking a
position at all vis a vis foreskins and cancer. In fact, I'll be glad
to admit that I know almost nothing about the subject.
However, what I do know about is how Indians often ignore things by
using bad logic. The AIDS epidemic in India, for example, is something
that could have been prevented, but so many people wish to assume that
there is no premarital or extramarital sex in India. As a result, they
assumed that the rate of sexually transmitted diseases was low, and
measures to prevent such things were ignored.
Likewise, in your earlier posts on the subject of foreskins and
cancer, I detected a tone of "it's not a problem in India, so the two
can't be linked". At the same time, you stated that you were not aware
of any studies that had been performed, but that you would be sure of
the outcomes.
It's one thing to say that from a scientific standpoint, the issues of
circumcision and penile cancer are unrelated. However, it's another
thing to say that we can conclude they are because of the situation in
India.
In the event that I've either misunderstood or misrepresented your
standpoint, I apologize, but the quote from your original post which I
provided earlier shows why I felt that you were promoting bad logic
coupled with a "if we can't see it, it must not exist" viewpoint. The
prevalence of such attitudes in India wrt sexual things is the cause
of many problems.
-Vivek
