One of the things that the Internet has provided is a lot of bad writing, writing that would not pass a freshman English course. I have generated some of it, but this is my little blog and I really don’t give a damn if people like it or not.
HuffPo is one of the larger sites on the net. I think that they have people there who edit stories, but maybe not. This gem is on the site today. It is an essay about circumcision. For those readers who were not around at the beginning of the Internet, there were issues on USENet that were guaranteed to start a flame war and circumcision was one of them.
The author of this post, purported to be a doctor, seems to be one of the people who learned from those flame wars.
Routine female circumcision, which has been practiced in some cultures, is completely unacceptable. Few people would argue otherwise. In fact, the United Nations has issued a decree against it. Circumcision is a form of sexual abuse whether it’s done to girls or boys.
The author wants to make a case about male circumcision and starts off with female circumcision. To call what is done to girls ‘circumcision’ is correct in that there is ‘cutting around’, but the removal of the clitoris and labia minora is not the same as removal of the foreskin. But she states the thing she is trying to prove, that circumcision is a form of sexual abuse, as an axiom, thinking that she is covered by referencing female ‘circumcision’ first. Fail. I can wrap up her entire essay in a few sentences: Circumcision is sexual abuse; if you don’t agree with me you are wrong. Wrong. Wrong. Wrong.
The authors biographical blurb is a gem too.
Christiane Northrup, M.D., a board-certified ob/gyn, is a visionary pioneer, beloved authority in women’s health and wellness, and the author of the ground breaking New York Times bestsellers….
Following a 25-year career in both academic medicine and private practice, Dr. Northrup now devotes her time to helping women truly flourish on all levels through tapping into their inner wisdom. Through her exclusive Women’s Wisdom Circle, Dr. Northrup shares cutting-edge medical and lifestyle advice.
Let me see if have this straight: she practiced medicine for only 25 years? Either she got a late start on it or she quit early. There is more to that story than she is telling. Visionary pioneer? Or just another flake who couldn’t stay focussed? Cutting-edge lifestyle advice? Like, what kind of shoes should I wear with my bald spot?
I think that people write on HuffPo because they are trying to drive traffic to another site, and HuffPo publishes these pieces without putting them through an editing phase. But I don’t know.