Circumcision - I Wouldn't Do It To My Child If You Paid Me To - PART TWO

Thanks for sticking with me on this, and for reading what I have put up so far.  It is a bit of a rugged road, and a most controversial subject.  My thought on this is that there are millions out there who are not fully informed about the whole subject of circumcision.  So here we go, on our road to information, part two.

There are several main methods which are used to circumcise an infant, and remember I am not talking about places like Africa where there is no real hygiene and they carry out mass circumcision - with dire results.

A warning if you are squeamish - some of the pictures are graphic.

The first one I will talk about is the straight out cutting method.  This is probably having  its death knell sounded, although religious practices still seem to require this method.  There really doesn't seem to be a standard for which method of circumcision is used, although some countries prefer the Plastibell and some the Gomco Clamp. 

The so-called "simplest" method appears to have varied little from the "traditional" operation.  The foreskin is pulled forwards and gripped in a pair of clamping or crushing forceps, which are placed at an angle to match the slope of the back of the glans.  The skin is cut off in front of the blades of the forceps, then the inner skin is pushed back and fastened, with  stitches, to the outer skin on the shaft. In infants, the stitches are often not used. Their main purpose is to close off blood vessels, and crushing with the forceps is often enough to accomplish this.   How complete the circumcision is depends upon how hard the skin is pulled forward before  clamping. Making the cut while the skin is pulled over the glans provides a safeguard against removing too much. Much of the inner skin remains, so the scar, after healing, will be well down the shaft. It is usually rather irregular but very inconspicuous.

NO ANAESTHETIC CAN BE USED

Lidocaine is used. Note it is for after the operation. According to several nurses at University of Michigan, it does very little or nothing to alleviate the pain of circumcision.

Betadine is used to swab the penis and scrotum to help prevent infection

The foreskin is sealed down to the penile head and must be torn off in order to be retracted in infancy.

The foreskin is pulled up, clamped for several minutes to prevent excess bleeding, and cut along the clamp with a scalpel.

What you see is not foreskin, but skin from the shaft of the penis. The edges stick together because they are still "raw".

The distinction between shaft skin and where the foreskin was cut away is obvious. The part of the foreskin that used to touch the glans ("inner foreskin") is what is between the shaft skin and the penile head in the picture

Excessive bleeding is the most common complication of infant circumcision.

After the inner foreskin is removed, notice that half the shaft skin has been cut away-- altogether,about 2/3 of all the skin of the penis.

The remaining shaft skin is pulled up to meet the glans and attached with stitching.

The penis now has 1/3 to 1/2 less penile skin to accommodate erections and the glans is permanently exposed. The glans will lose its shininess and dark red coloring as the site heals within the next week or so. What was before an internal part of the body, is now external and it will grow a sort of callous over the glans as part of the healing process.

 Pictures from http://www.circumcisionquotes.com/magcirc.html

The Gomco Clamp, is an invention of Hiran Yelland and Aaron Goldstein, from 1934.  It is reported to be based on the tyre lever used for Model T Ford cars.  It is a metal ball, and a flat plate with a hole in it placed over both, to define the position.  These are brought together by a screw and apply circular crush and fusing force - of between 8,000lbs to 20,000lbs.
Circumcision with the Gomco clamp and the Plastibell device have many of the same features. The foreskin is grasped with two mosquito clamps at the 10 o'clock and 2 o'clock positions These clamps are used to hold the foreskin up. A third mosquito clamp is used as a probe to destroy any adhesions under the foreskin from the 8 o'clock to the 4 o'clock positions and is then clamped about 2/3rd of the way between the foreskin opening and the corona. This action creates the crushed area for the dorsal slit. The third clamp remains in place for one minute. The dorsal slit is then cut through the middle of the crushed area, using tissue scissors. The foreskin is peeled back, and any additional adhesions are destroyed using a blunt probe. 

 
The Gomco clamp was designed to crush about 1 mm of the foreskin around the circumference, while the Gomco bell protects the head of the penis from injury during removal of the foreskin. The bell is placed inside the foreskin, and the dorsal slit is secured over the bell with a sterile safety pin. This allows the handle of the bell to pass through the circular opening of the clamp, without the foreskin slipping out. The foreskin can be brought through the opening by grasping it with sterile gauze. The thumbscrew is tightened until snug, and the visible foreskin is removed using a scalpel blade distal to the junction of the bell and the clamp.  The clamp should remain secure for a total of five minutes, to allow the crush effect to be complete. This step is designed to reduce the incidence of bleeding after the clamp is removed.

Gomco Clamp

When the thumbscrew is loosened and the bell gently removed from the clamp, the foreskin will stick to the bell because of the crushing. The foreskin can be loosened by gently peeling with a gauze swab to liberate the glans and show the final result. The edge of the foreskin and the corona of the penis are then gently wrapped in precut petrolatum gauze, which remains in place for 12 to 24 hours.
 
The Plastibell is designed to cause circumcision by cutting off the blood supply to the end of the foreskin. Dead tissue falls off 7 to 12 days after the operation. No advantages of the Plastibell technique over other techniques have been documented, except "ease of use." Some studies have shown a small increase in the incidence of infection with the Plastibell device.

 
Ensuring that the correct size of the Plastibell is used is important. (N.B This is done by trial of different sizes) A fit too small can cause tissue strangulation and necrosis, and one too large may result in too much foreskin being removed and the penis being denuded of skin. After making the dorsal slit as outlined for the Gomco technique, the Plastibell device is placed on the glans and the cut foreskin is pulled over the top of it. 
The cut foreskin is brought over the top of the Plastibell until the tip of the incision is above the string placement guide on the device. The foreskin is clamped across the top of the Plastibell with a straight clamp. The string is placed around the foreskin and the Plastibell device in a groove that acts as a placement guide. The string is then tightened and tied in a simple square knot. An adequate result is obtained when the skin just distal to the string blanches without the string breaking. The excess foreskin is trimmed from around the bell using iris scissors . The handle is then broken off the device. 

Plastibell device

 
The Mogen Clamp - A blunt-edged probe is used to separate the glans from the preputial lining, taking care not to traumatize the frenulum. The prepuce is lifted upward and outward by the hemostat. This action causes the glans to retract towards the scrotum, preventing accidental amputation of the glans. The open jaws of the Mogen clamp are placed around the prepuce (grooved side facing the glans) as it is lifted upward.  The clamp is closed for one to one and one-half minutes. If the infant is more than six months old, the clamp should remain closed for five minutes.

Mogen Clamp

While the clamp is closed, the prepuce is cut away distal to the clamp. The clamp is then opened slowly and removed. Downward pressure is applied to the  skin around the corona, until the skin-mucosal seal is broken and the glans is liberated.  A blunt probe is used to remove any additional adhesions. Petrolatum gauze is applied to cover the operative site. The preputial skin around the corona of the glans will often have a "dog-eared" or asymmetric appearance. As the infant grows, this aspect becomes less prominent.
There are other methods used, e.g. the Tara Clamp, the SmartKlamp.  I believe the above will give you a fair idea of the procedure, without going into further clamp details.

 
Of course, the infant has to be restrained, and lo! there are manufacturers who have come up with the perfect solution.  One of these if Olympic Medica's very own 
 
Infant Immobilizer Circumstraint. Fast immobilization of newborns 4-16 lbs. Use during circumcision, transfusion, minor surgery, x-ray. Complete with four adjustable Velcro straps for securing arms and legs.
"In less than 30 seconds, a nurse can immobilize the struggling infant securely in the correct position with Circumstraint. It works on a proven principle of positive 4-point restraint. Soft wide Velcro straps encircle the infants elbows and knees, depriving him/her of leverage. "

 
"Circumstraint's comfortable contoured shape positions the infant, hips elevated, perfectly presenting the genitalia."
 
"He's held safely and securely without danger of escape."
 
"Always a fast, easy means of immobilizing newborns for circumcision..."

 
And the Stang

This light weight chair positions the infant comfortably while providing surgical access the the operative site."

"Newborn pain management is an issue of concern to many health care professionals today." 

"Any physician or nurse who has attempted to extend the arms and legs of a term neonate to strap him into a rigid restraint, realizes the resistance to extension that all neonates possess.

Positioning of the baby in the Circ Chair allows the infant to sit with his hips abducted and flexed, knees flexed, and head elevated at various positions up to 30-45 degrees. Soft velcro straps adjust to the baby's size. The instrument platform is designed to accommodate commonly used circumcision clamps."

The patient cannot understand, consent, refuse or escape.

And the 'struggling infant'  - hmm.  No anaesthetic.  Which I will cover in my next part of this blog, Part Three.

 
 
 

When Stress Happens

Stress is important and natural, and makes positive contribution to our normal performance, at work or at home.  There is a point, however, where we can feel that we are stressed excessively - this is something we need to be on the alert for, as excessive stress has many ill effects.  

Sometimes we actually don't have enough stress, as strange as that may sound.  This is probably as bad as too much, and will have the same negative effects on our health, both physical and mental.

So what do we do to relieve stress?  There are some neat ways to get that awful feeling out of our bodies, and even though it may take a little planning sometimes, and a little effort on our part, it is well worth digging deep and finding the resources within us to take action - and turn negative into positive.

To simplify, I will list in bullet points:

• Slow, deep breathing.  Concentrate on your breathing only.  Do this for perhaps ten to 15 times
• Distract your thoughts - perhaps by counting backwards, or using a relaxation technique you have (listening to classical music, perhaps)
• Take a break.  Go outside, go for a walk.  Take time for yourself, and enjoy what is around you.
• Exercise!  A good practice is to make a time each day to do some  exercise, and set that time aside just for yourself.  It doesn't have to be strenuous, just get the blood flowing and energise the body.
• Complete relaxation through meditation, listening to music, laughter, singing, anything that works for you.
• Be positive.  When you start thinking negative thoughts - sweep them into the cupboard!   You are the one who knows what you are thinking - and it is ONLY a thought, which you can change!  Praise yourself for your achievements this day.
• Talk with someone you trust about how you feel.  Often just letting the feelings out and letting them go will be enough to reduce that stress.
• Manage your time - there are only so many hours in a day, don't try and find more!
• Prioritise!  Make a little list even, of the most important things to do, and do them one by one.  Nobody can do everything at once.
• Eat well, give your body nutritious food and you will gain energy and be able to heal faster. 
• Avoid negative people.  Speaks for itself.
• Get enough rest.  Get enough sleep.  If you are tired, trying to tackle problems will be twice as difficult.
• Plan!  Get some order into your life, make plans about what you wish to do and when.  If you feel disorganised you will feel stressed.

Hopefully this will be of some help to you - the main thing to remember is that there is only one of you, and you cannot be 'everything to everyone'.  The most important person in your household is YOU!

Circumcision - I Wouldn't Do It To My Child If You Paid Me

This will be a series of blogs, I hope you will read them all, and that I will be able to explain many things of which you may not have been aware. 

A young friend asked if I would do a blog about circumcision.  In my complete ignorance I replied "of course!"  Little did I realise what was in store.  This blog has been months in the making, and has given me more nightmares, tears and headaches than I anticipated.   The debate amongst the medical fraternity about male circumcision runs hot and furious. 

As a layperson I looked at what statistics are quoted, anecdotal evidence presented, and reams of learned submissions online.  And at the end of it all my heart says the same as it did before I started.  I do NOT believe in male circumcision.  At all.  Reading of the complications (many of them hidden - more on this later) and of the deaths and mutilations from 'routine' circumcision has made me feel ill, and made me weep.  This is just in USA and Australia, not in somewhere like Africa.

My friend actually pointed me to a very informed blog (anti-circumcision) and for a moment I was quite disheartened.  The blog said many of the things I had planned, quoted similar statistics and the like.  When I stepped back for a minute it occurred to me that this is a 'so what?' situation.  My voice can be heard as well, and if we are on the same side, all the better!

I do understand that circumcision has been undertaken for religious and cultural reasons for thousands of years and is an important ritual in some religious and cultural groups. It was interesting to see that there is actually a movement amongst member of the Jewish religion, to stop circumcision of their young boys.

In Australia and New Zealand, thankfully, the rate of circumcision has recently declined, and it is estimated by the RACP (The Royal Australasian College of Physicians) that  in 2010, ten to twenty percent of newborn male infants were circumcised.  This is, thankfully, a much lower percentage than, for example, in the 1960's, when there were 70% of boys circumcised.

There is a growing public movement against female genital mutilation, which has many prominent  figures (including the model Waris Dirie)speaking out, making films, media appearances etc.  Why then is it fine, and apparently largely accepted to perform male genital mutilation? This is what it amounts to, and I don't see how anyone can argue their way around that.  The male foreskin is there for a reason, no?  Else why would men be born with a foreskin?  Women have the labia, which is like our own foreskin - and there for a specific reason.  The scarring caused by circumcision is not just physical either.  There are serious psychological problems in many men who have been forcibly circumcised.

I say forcibly deliberately - circumcision of  a neonate, or a young boy equates to a serious breach of human rights, and to me is totally unethical.  If a child is too young to be given the right to consent in a case of non-therapeutic surgery then that surgery should not be carried out.

Reasons parents have given for having their baby circumcised vary from "it is healthier"  and "it is cleaner" to something along the lines of "all the other men in the family are circumcised" - and similar.  Very few of them seemed to be informed beforehand of the dangers associated with circumcision, and many of them were told something along the lines of "it's only a little snip and it's done".  NOT SO.

In Australia, we apparently followed the lead of England and the USA, where doctors, in the Victorian era of prudery, espoused the belief that circumcision, hysterectomy and clitoridectomy (removal of the clitoris)would prevent or cure various illnesses.  These included masturbation, mental illness and tuberculosis among others.  There was, however, a dissenting group of British doctors, and in 1867 circumcision of females was banned.  At this time it was recognised that it was a woman's right to make decisions about her own body.  Male circumcision continued into the 1900's, with physicians misguidedly believing that both sexes could thereby be protected from sexually transmitted diseases, and cancer, and that all cases of phimosis in male infants made circumcision necessary. When will we recognise that it is a man's right to make decisions about his own body?

 
Before I go further I will just put in a little about the foreskin, and the penis, so that we understand the full horror of what is done to the baby during circumcision. 

Simply put : The foreskin covers the tip of the penis, or the glans. It extends from the skin that covers the shaft of the penis, and it has a thinner and more sensitive inner surface.  This inner surface is attached to the shaft of the penis where it joins the glans.  The foreskin protects the inner surface as well as the tip of the penis. Under the foreskin,  the skin of the glans is moist, and thin. At birth it is normal for the the inner layer of the foreskin to be attached to the glans.  The foreskin cannot be retracted (pulled back) at this age. There is a very sensitive band of tissue called the frenulum which connects the inner foreskin to the glans,  under the penis.  This is often referred to as the male G-spot. As a boy grows, the inner skin separates and the opening becomes more elastic, so that by the time he is grown, he should be able to retract it without discomfort.  This separation can occur at between 3 to 13 years of age. 

From Circumcision Reference Library

The foreskin (prepuce) has a sheath of smooth muscle tissue inside the skin which is called the peripenic muscle. The muscle fibres are arranged in a whorl at the end of the foreskin to form a sphincter. The muscle fibers keep the foreskin snugly against the glans penis. The outer surface of the prepuce is skin, however the inner surface is mucosal membrane although it resembles skin in appearance. There is a muco-cutaneous boundary just inside the tip of the prepuce. The prepuce normally covers the glans penis and protects it from foreign matter, friction, drying, and injury.

The prepuce is usually tethered at the bottom by the frenulum. The frenulum's function is to provide pleasure by stretching during sexual intercourse. In fact, the frenulum is colloquially known as the "sex nerve" in France and perhaps throughout Europe. By destroying this stretching action, circumcision completely destroys this fundamental means of sexual pleasure in the human male. There is a hypothesis that stretching of the frenulum during intercourse provides stimulus for ejaculation.

As with other neurologic structures such as the brain, the tip of the prepuce is richly supplied with blood by important vascular structures. The glans penis receives blood through the frenular artery. The prepuce serves as a conduit for several important veins. Circumcision may contribute to erectile dysfunction by destroying these blood conduits.

The prepuce is naturally equipped with several defenses against infection. The infant prepuce has a pronounced tight tip with a sphincter formed by the whorl of muscle tissue that stays closed to keep out foreign matter but opens to allow the outflow of urine. The sub-preputial wetness contains lyzosyme, a secretion that acts to destroy harmful microorganisms. The prepuce contains Langerhans cells which may provide resistance to HIV infection.

The prepuce is profusely innervated (has many nerves) especially near the tip in the ridged band area where the muco-cutaneous boundary occurs. It is now understood that this junction is the most sensitive and erogenous part of the penis.   The accumulation of sensation triggers the ejaculation reflex. Diminution of the available nerve supply would make achievement of orgasm more difficult. 

The ridged band is located near the tip of the prepuce on the inner layer of the foreskin near the muco-cutanaeous boundary. The ridged band merges smoothly with the frenulum. Taylor states that the ridged band is sensitive to motion. The foreskin slides back and forth over the glans during foreplay and intercourse. Typically, the ridged band area of the prepuce is stretched when it passes over the glans penis and, by this stretching action, the multitude of pleasure sensors in Taylor's ridged band are stimulated.
 
The ridged band area, which is stimulated by motion, is the most highly innervated and pleasure producing region of the prepuce. They clearly have an important, but not yet well understood, function in human sexual response.
 
The prepuce of the typical complete male may protect the corona from direct stimulation during intercourse and so tends to prevent premature and unwanted ejaculation. 
 
Other primates. Cold and McGrath described the variations in the prepuce between human males and females and other primate species, concluding from an evolutionary perspective that the prepuce is highly evolved and has a specialized function in each species.
In summary, the prepuce is a unique specialized structure with important immunological, protective, mechanical, erogenous, and sexual functions. The prepuce is essential to normal copulation.
 
The word "circumcision" comes from the Latin circumcisione, from circum (meaning "around") and cædere (meaning "to cut").

In  infants, circumcision is an operation which involves tearing the foreskin away from the glans of the penis,  then cutting along the top of the foreskin,  clamping the foreskin, and cutting it off.  The amount of foreskin removed from one circumcision to the next can be very different, and no two circumcisions are the same, as the skin of the penis is movable, a sheath with no clear indicator as to where it should be cut.

The amount of skin to be removed is estimated.

The next blog will be about the methods used to circumcise a baby boy.

Amazing Things About Getting Older

Strange that I should remember having small bazookas.  Mind you, they weren't anything to put on Page 3, and looked like a cushion stuffed in a too small pillowcase if I ever tried on a shirred top.  But they were kind of nice to have, you know?  Small means you don't have to worry about buttons popping open and stuff.   Getting older means that I am getting larger.  Rounder everwhere.  Bit like a cushion all over. And instead of looking for a 34B I have to ask if the bra shop has a 38 long.  gawd.   As for the pretty stuff, well wouldn't the wrinkles look an absolute treat in one of them - all bows and flowers, and the bits inside need ironing..........(sigh)

Hair is another amazing thing about getting older.  The hair on me head is kind of the same but it is a strange sort of greyish colour now.  It used to be really dark with lots of red in it, and was quite ok. I thought it was, anyway.  And I could actually spend time on 'doing' my hair.  Now?  Try ten minutes and my elbows and shoulders ache so much I have to quit. Half a head is not better than none!  And the other hair?  Well some you win some you lose.  You probably don't know (unless you too are getting older), but the underarm hair sort of ....goes away?  Yippee!!! But the drawback is that your - ssssh - pube-lic hairs do too! (laughter offstage).   Yeah, they just ... go away and don't come back ... um... no, I dunno why.   Once I had a choice of shaving, or depiliatory creams or bleaching or waxing my legs.  Now I have the same choice, but for my chin and upper lip!   Hey! I bet I know where the pube-lic hairs go!
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Another bonus of being young is being able to laugh or sneeze or cough without going into a panic.  You heard me - a complete panic.  The first thing on your shopping list is always, but always Tena Lady Pants Liners.  Oh the shame. 

Teeth?  We really need to discuss teething.  I'm all for yanking out teeth at their first appearance and installing false ones.  That way we would go through life without a care, especially if we used that stuff you superglue your fangs into your mouth with.  What's it called?  Damned can't remember.  My teeth just don't want to be with me any more, they keep breaking and I have this stubborn dentist who will simply not yank 'em out and give me falsies.  Swine.  Think of the smiley smile I could give with falsies!  Oh I don't want whitey whites (what? no, I am not talking about underwear) - I would just like teeth that stay there when you need to have a good crunching chew on something - like a marshmallow fr'instance.   And ones that when you looked at them didn't remind you that it is illegal to shoot animals for ivory nowadays.

Now.  Facelifts.   See, I had this - well I still have it - mole.  It was tucked nicely away under my chin where you didn't see it.  Now it is sort of inches down from where it was, and everyone remarks "what's that on your neck?" aaaagh!  It's a mole!  Shut up!  Bitch!  Gravity sucks, and it is sucking parts of me southward at an alarming rate.  So.  No I won't have a facelift.  Firstly I am scared to death and secondly I wouldn't worry about firstly if I was rich enough to have one!   I did think about using sticky tape, cause once upon a time models used to use it for all sorts of nips and tweaks.  You know, stick a bit on face and up into your hair to improve the sag?  With the amount of southward travel I have experienced, however, I believe it would require superbond duct tape.  And I think you might just notice bits of it here and there........

The really really sad thing about getting older is all the young people around me.  Oh they aren't sad, don't get that twisted around.  It is me that is sad!  I look at the pretty young clothes and shoes, and sigh.  You bet I could buy stuff and wear it and holy moly gee whiz wouldn't I look a bloody sight!  The latest thing I am totally taken with is the way the manicures are done, with pretty flowers and all sorts on the fingernails and toenails.  I can't even SEE my toenails.  But I digress.   How jubilant would I be to have one of those manicures!  And how absolutely dim would I look with pretty daisies on my nails, that is if you could find them amongst all the age spots ha!

There are things I haven't mentioned though.  Getting older means that I could wear the young gear and have my nails poshed up - and the young ones would just think I was a bit eccentric!   After all, I am an older person, and we are entitled to be just that bit dotty now and again!

And being this age means that even YOUNG fellas will gladly help me out with heavy shopping, for example, and with a smile!   Oh! they even offer to help!  How's that? 

I can talk to anyone and they will answer me, because it is not polite to be rude to your elders!  Well, mostly!
And the greatest thing of all?   I have almost 64 years of life experience and hopefully the wisdom to put that experience into words to help the younger ones when they have trials of their own.  And I can, usually without reservation, just love the hell out of all the young ones around me.   And rejoice in their triumphs, cry with them when they are sad, hug their babies (even if by internet) and pass on any knowledge I happen to have if they need me to.

Sometimes there are amazing things about getting older.  Even if you can't see your toenails.

To The Abusers Of The World

I am so sick, so weary of hearing the excuse that so and so committed rape or is a sexual predator, or an abuser or whatever the hell because they were young victims of the same treatment.

Come on - you weaselling sacks of shit - everyone on earth sees straight through you, and you all use the same old tired 'reasons' for your self-indulgent actions.  There is NO excuse, NO justification, NO reason for anyone to perpetuate the torture they endured in their past.  Having been victimised does not excuse you now that you are the perpetrator.

Bloody well get real.  Out there in the teeming millions of people on our planet there are also millions who have endured the worst childhoods imaginable.  Many of them worse than anything you suffered.  And the vast majority want better for their children, and work their backsides off to ensure their children's present and future is not a repeat of pain and abuse.

Look, most countries have access to media of some description, have education available to them, and there are very few humans who do not have peers of some description.  Either neighbours, family or friends.  We all learn from these, and especially from our peers.

You must know, I am convinced that you bloody well do know that what you are doing is abhorrent, abnormal behaviour, that it is not how decent, moral, clean folk live their lives. But YOU?   It is self everything with you.  Self-centred, self-indulgent, selfish.  Add arrogant and malignant to that scoreboard please.  You don't give a damn about anyone else, all you care about is self-gratification. You don't bother to even attempt to exercise one iota of self-control. 

So your father beat your mother? You knew it wasn't normal. You were terrified, your siblings were terrified, your mother was terrified.  Why, knowing and experiencing this, do you now feel it is right for you to follow in your father's depraved footsteps?  Does it make you feel like a big powerful person to terrorise your family, your helpless and innocent children?

News Flash - it makes you the exact opposite - a small, petty, vicious and nasty bully.  A person with a shrivelled soul.  Abusing women or children is not powerful.  Your colleague?  He had the same sort of childhood.  His goal in life is for his family to only ever experience security, love and safety within their home.  They return that love unstintingly.  HE is the GIANT. Of the two of you, he is the one who has made a LIFE for himself.

You KNOW you have problems, trouble with self-control and anger?  Get help!  Simple as that.  If you can't move forward by yourself, ask for and expert to help you.  You get a mechanic to fix your car, don't you?  So what's the difference?  After all, it's the first step toward becoming a man...

What? What right have I got to berate you?  Every right in the world.  Fellow travellers is what we were. My childhood?  A father who was an emotional cripple, whose idea of fun was mental torture and verbal abuse, unrelenting abuse.  He was a drunk, a bully and a total coward around other people - but not so with his family.

My goal for when I 'grew up'  was to never be like him, in any way.  So yes, I have a right to hold up a mirror to you.  Who do you see when you look into that mirror, I wonder?  Does your family despise you as much as you despised your father?  Do they live in terror of your arrival home?

Me?  I sure hope my goal has been achieved.  Judging by the love I am given by family and friends it seems I have.

Think about it.

Why In Hell Should We Pay For Migrants To Have Holidays Back 'Home?

Rant alert!   Some things make me angry, and some things make me fly into a rage.  This is one of the latter. I have just read an article in The Telegraph, dated Sunday 13 February.  The article states that The Islamic Women's Welfare Association has said that our Federal Government should give subsidies to new migrants to 'visit overseas relatives' and we should also consider how to 'facilititate the purchase of homes for new migrants' - because they would like to live near their 'own people'.

There is a lot more about compensation from the Government 'to retain migrants in their country of adoption'.

Look, I don't care if you are black, white, brown, green with blue spots, are catholic, muslim or a bloody frog worshipper - this is surely the biggest piss-take of all time.  Compensation?  Facilitation? Get real for pity's bloody sake - you wanted to come here to live, presumably because you will now have all the benefits of a first-world country, including education, medicine, housing and food, and a wonderfully free way of life.

Living near your 'own people'?  Oi! You!  You are living in AUSTRALIA - does that not mean that Australians are now your OWN PEOPLE?  And as for the bit about facing a lot of sacrifices "such as having to travel long distances to visit relatives, spending on communication costs, missing out on some events occurring in native countries etc."  well, I am so crying for you.  I really am.  You surely thought of this before you decided to come here to live, didn't you?

Hell's bloody bells - I went and lived in England for donkey's years - we didn't even have a damned telephone to keep in touch with family - and as for asking for government handouts - NEVER.  I had a normal dose of self-respect and pride in myself, and made my own way, thank you very much.
Why should the Australia Taxpayer hand money to anyone, no matter who they are, for such things as this?  Ever heard of writing a letter you women?  Or are you just being totally way out to get yourselves noticed?  

If you were so worried about keeping in touch and missing out on events in your own country then how come you decided to live here in the first instance? Please tell me that?  I really would like to know your reasoning.   You could always be like the Germans, I mean they have Oktoberfest everywhere they go.

As for this little gem? "Its submission also said that migrants should be free to build their own places of worship "without prejudice or discrimination from the communities they live (in)".  Since when did anyone stop you building your mosque?  First we ever heard of it.

The thing that really makes me seethe about all this, well amongst all the rest of this absolute tripe and bullshit, is that you come here to live and yet you want to still live in the country you arrived from????  Why is that?   You ever heard of integration?  I would guarantee that 99% of other migrants integrate - they become part of this country and the people who are so proud to call this home.

This goes up on the board with the disgusting comment in the lead-up to Australia Day that anyone who flew the Australian Flag on Australia Day is a 'racist'  - get outta here, Australia Day is all about Australia - yeah it IS racist!  And proudly so.  Without Federation we wouldn't have this country the way it is. 
You don't like it?  You know what you can do, and I guess you have heard that before - so I will say it again.  You don't like it?   Don't come here, or don't stay here, because guess what?  People like you are NOT welcome.

As I said, I don't care what religion, race or original nationality you are, when you emigrate you integrate. There are not parts of this country that are new settlements for foreign countries, with laws, religion etc of their own. Get off your arse and work and save like everybody else does when they want something. That's why they call us the 'Aussie battlers'. 


THIS IS AUSTRALIA.