Should we tolerate cultures that do clitorectomies? How do we protect these women? How to do it within the Constitution? How to do it with respect for humanity? What did Alice Walker suggest? What about beating and killing women because they go to school or work? Education. Science. Rational thought. Reasoning. (The same things that many U.S. people need - such as the Greens, Sierra Club, New Agers, etc. that "believe" so kooky things too). Answer: EDUCATE. TEACH CRITCAL THINKING!!!

By treating nations dominated by cultures that follow this barbaric practice, we are, in an indirect manner, encouraging the practice.

However, we are not the rulers of the world. We have neither the right nor the ABILITY to control everything in the world. If we tried to throw our weight around, we'd be accused of being IMPERIALISTS.

So, we're damned if we do, damned if we don't.

We're either indirectly supporting the practice or we are acting like bullies.

Faced with this dilemna, each administration has tried to do a balancing act between encouraging countries to come into the 21st century, without being imperious about it. There's no way, however, to strike this balance to the satisfaction of everyone in the world.

It's about time we respected other cultures and not judge ours as a baseline for normality. It is a double standard to meddle abroad because a culture practices clitorectomies, without expecting them to meddle because we circumcise males. People, where is your sense of fairness?!?

Tara -- the argument could be made that Chinese culture has long accepted the notion of killing female babies because they are perceived to be simply a burden on a family.

I'm not going to "tolerate" that!

An argument could be made that it is a wife's obligation to immolate herself on her husband's funeral pyre, as was a traditional practice in certain regions of India.

Sorry.

Arriving at a universally accepted notion of right and wrong is perhaps impossible.

However, there are certain actions which must be universally condemned. Baby killing certainly falls in that category.

Does mutilating a woman's genitals fall into that category?

Yes.

What can we do about it? That's the tougher question.

Let the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights handle this. The U.N. and international courts are the agencies with LEGITIMATE JURISDICTION over international matters. If a country is practicing clitorectomies or otherwise violating people's human rights, then lodge a complaint with the U.N. Human Rights Commissioner by e-mail at: webmaster.hchr@unog.ch.

Once you start meddling in another's cultural practice becasue you find the particualr practice so onerious that it can not go unchallanged - where do you stop? What makes anyone on earth the decision makers regazrding what is right and what is wrong? People who are inclined to meddle always come up with an example that they think is cut and dry - no patracide, for example. All fine and good but you have rationalized the legitmacy of 'correcting' behaviour, wher does it stop? Think about this for a moment, what is to stop someone else from making a case for correcting behaviour that is not quite so extreame? If you can't tell me before hand what the limits to meddling are, then how can I be assured that that an attack against eatuing with chopsticks will not be your next target? Least you think that an absurd example please know that I have heard talking heads on the TV speak about going to Islamic countries and teaching them about christianity. There is always someone out there bigoted enought to suggest something that inane. Once you opened the floodgates of patronizing cultural manipulation be prepared to know where it will end!

The U.S. is apparently only required, by God of course, to meddle in the affairs of other countries if there is substantial financial gain involved for the dictators of our country. If the foriegn trade of clits ever takes off I'm sure we'll do something about it.

Our foriegn policy SHOULD be "hey, leave us alone, we're to busy taking care of our own people to tell you how to run your country."

Meddling for humanity or profit is still meddling; and is the root of our current "terrorist" problems.

Lobby the U.N. and Amnesty International about.

That's a humogous cop out.

I don't have the answer as to which battles we fight and how hard we fight them.

But to simply say: "Well, I wrote a letter to Butros Butros Golly, I'm done," is cowardly.

Speaking of critical thinking, check out this site:

http://www.ctheory.com/flesh/tf007.html

Vulvas With A Difference, Faith Wilding/subROSA