FGM and Free Piglet

Couple of things have been bothering me lately.

1. Was reading the other day about a bill being proposed in Nigeria to ban female genital mutilation (FGM), otherwise referred to euphemistically as 'female circumcision'. Most people are in favor of this bill and, in my opinion, anyone with half a brain would be. However, there is a very vocal opponent to this proposed bill. This person is a doctor. This person wrote a very eloquent dissenting opinion, preaching the value of FGM as a cultural and religious 'tradition'. This person just happens to be a man. Now, may I ask, what does a man really know about this issue and having to live with it? He doesn't have to deal with the fact that he will never be able to fully enjoy sex due to being cut on. And as long as it's not happening to him, I can see where it would be irrelevant as to what millions of others want, especially if they happen to be just women.

This is the kind of attitude that a lot of governments around the world have and it is just sickening. I know that to a lot of people I sound like a man-hating feminist with an attitude problem. I assure you this is not the case. I just do not understand why so many areas in the rest of the world live in this backwoods existence and with the belief that women are no more important than, say....cattle or a loaf of bread. It's this kind of thinking that has so many little girls languishing in orphanages in places like China waiting on someone to validate their existence as humans. In this country we pat ourselves on the back for our 'progression' in the area of women's rights but how can we do that when we ignore so many little girls and women being mistreated, tortured and killed because of 'tradition'??

2. There is a group of Muslims in Great Britain who have complained about the use (advertising) of Piglet...you know Winnie the Pooh's Piglet..because they feel that because he is a pig, it is an offense to Muslims. And now, in response to this coercion, London and number of other cities are removing any and all images of pigs, i.e. Piglet, piggy banks, etc. You get the picture. Can we get off of it please???? I mean, Jews don't eat pork, 7th Day Adventists don't eat pork. But the difference is, they don't care if YOU do, as long as they don't have to. I can't pray freely in public or read my Bible on a street corner without getting harassed. If a pastor in Canada says that homosexuality is a sin, he runs the risk of going to jail for 'hate speech'. So why in the name of common sense are entire governments bowing down to one religion's wishes in the name of 'tolerance'? You wanna be a Muslim, be one. That's your business, but please don't think that I am going to set my beliefs aside to make you comfortable. Tolerance and forebearance work both ways and I am really having an issue with non-Muslims being expected to make all of the concessions here. (And yes, I have discussed this issue with my Muslim friends and most of them can't make heads or tails of it either). So, I guess the squeaky wheel really gets the grease huh? While the rest of us just get greased.

Okay, I am now going to finish painting my "Free Piglet" t-shirt while I cook a pound of bacon and feed my dog some S'nausages.

Peace alllll..........