There are ideas so absurd that only an intellectual could believe them,” goes a paraphrase of philosopher Bertrand Russell. Some of these ideas, however, have been voiced by political candidates.
This became apparent recently with Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed (D-Mich.) during an appearance on the commentary show Jesse Watters Primetime. Addressing his support for child “sex-change-oriented” treatments, El-Sayed delivered what’s been dubbed the “‘ding-a-ling’ defense.”
When asked: “So you think it’s okay for a parent to slash his kid’s ding-a-ling off?” by Watters, El-Sayed replied: “Are you circumcised?”
Watters clarified that circumcision differs from castration. El-Sayed then stated: “It’s a problem that you think you get to decide what happens between a parent, a doctor and a patient.” He added: “I’m just saying that, yes, circumcision is surgery on a kid’s ding-a-ling.”
The comparison has drawn criticism for its implications. In 2019, Nathaniel (last name withheld) described regretting the child sex change treatments he underwent after having “bottom surgery” at age 18. He called it a life-rending mistake — an irreversible one.
Critics note that circumcision and castration are fundamentally distinct procedures. A civil rights attorney stated: “Abdul El-Sayed just compared circumcision to chopping a kid’s entire penis off. Circumcision and castration are not the same.”
For Jews, brit milah is a 4,000-year-old covenant traditionally performed on a baby boy’s eighth day of life. In Islam, circumcision is an ancient practice rooted in the sunnah.
This shared ritual between two major faiths has raised concerns about El-Sayed’s comparison, particularly as it may alienate Michigan’s substantial Muslim population.
The text highlights cases where individuals have regretted sex change treatments at a young age, including 12-year-old Australian Patrick Mitchell and others. Additionally, financial incentives have been implicated in some gender clinics, where girls claimed they were meant to be boys and received recommendations for procedures without proper medical evaluation.
Alan Finch, an ex-MUSS individual, warned decades ago: “Transsexualism was invented by psychiatrists.” He added that one fundamentally cannot change sex.