Potential Discrimination Case

I started a thread about circumcision over on the Igaonica subforum, but Simple file shut it down immediately. When I asked why it was being closed despite being tied to religious customs, they just told me to move it over to the Religion section instead.

The circumcision thread:

It honestly confuses me why topics related to religion are allowed in this subforum at all:

Like infant baptism:

I’m just looking for some consistency here. Either both threads get closed, both get moved, or both stay open. I just want them to be treated the same way.

Alex Thomas27 said:I started a thread about circumcision over on the Igaonica subforum, but a moderator named Simple File shut it down immediately. When I asked why—considering it's tied to religious customs—they told me to move it over to the Religion section instead.

The circumcision thread:

It makes no sense to me why they allow religious topics on that subforum if that's the case:

Like this thread on infant baptism:

I’m just looking for consistency here. Either both threads get closed, both get moved, or both stay open. Just apply the same rules to everything.

Maybe it's because baptism is considered "play" compared to circumcision.🤷

hiddenmoose16 said:maybe because baptism is basically just "playtime" compared to circumcision🤷

But both topics share a common thread: religious customs. Shouldn't they be treated the same way?

For example, this topic definitely isn't "playtime":

But regardless, it doesn't seem to matter on Igaonica.

Besides, circumcision is a routine procedure; back when people were doing it here in the States, I never heard of any major issues.

Just kidding, but honestly, it feels like you took that a little too personally 😉

Alex Thomas27, you actually posted a link in that private thread regarding male infant circumcision—the one where people are actively debating the procedure itself.
If you feel like it, maybe you could ask the moms there why they choose that path for religious reasons (I'm sure there are some).

There really isn't any need to have two separate threads for this.

It’s really not about being discriminatory or anything like that; it’s just that the subject matter fits better under Pediatric Health than here in RiD. It was actually posted on our board before we opened up this PDF, and then we just moved it over to a more appropriate section, much like we've done with plenty of other topics in the past.

We’re talking about traditions here. It's basically the same thing as that whole discussion on baptisms—they're vibrating on the exact same wavelength.

Oh, absolutely, just go ahead and nominate her for the Lakers too—she’d be a perfect fit. And why stop there? Let's get her on the roster for MK, maybe even the Knicks, if we're feeling ambitious.☕🤣

Look, in the USA, circumcision isn't some religious rite performed by a priest, rabbi, imam, or even some village shaman—followed by everyone heading out to a restaurant for a celebratory feast.
It’s a medical procedure carried out in a hospital.
So, I guess this topic belongs in its proper place.

If we moved this to the Religion subforum, a thread about religious circumcision would just result in:
a) people bickering, arguing, and trolling
b) maybe a few comments from moms who chose the procedure for religious reasons
c) posts discussing the medical reasons behind someone opting for the surgery.

We absolutely don't need that first part here.
As for the second point, the Religion subforum is much more appropriate for you—you'll likely get the answers you're looking for there, probably faster and with better quality.
And regarding the third point, there is already an existing thread for that.

Emily Fowler52 said:Look, in the USA, circumcision isn't some religious ritual performed by a priest, rabbi, imam, or even a village shaman followed by a celebratory dinner at a restaurant.
It’s a surgical procedure done in a hospital.
So, the discussion belongs in its proper place.

If this were a thread about religious circumcision in the Playground section, you’d just get:
a) moral grandstanding, bickering, and trolling
b) a few comments from moms who chose the procedure for religious reasons
c) posts about medical reasons why someone opted for the surgery.

We definitely don't need that first part.
As for the second part, the Religion subforum is much more appropriate; you'd actually get the answers you're looking for, faster and with better quality.
For the third part, there's already a dedicated thread.

Then why is there a thread about baptisms on that PDF?

Fine. A thread about circumcision doesn't belong there.

But neither does baptism. Because that's a topic about religious customs.

If those moms wanted to talk about baby clothes and restaurants, they should head over to the kids' fashion and food threads.

But look, there really isn't much to debate here. The whole thread would just consist of maybe two or three posts saying they went to the hospital for the procedure because of their religion and tradition.
There aren't any godparents, fancy gifts, restaurants, or tipping involved 🤷

So, what exactly would people even be writing about in a thread like that?

Emily Fowler52 said:But look, there’s really nothing to debate here. A thread on this would just end up being two or three posts saying they went to the hospital for a circumcision because of their faith and tradition.
There aren't any godparents, party favors, fancy restaurants, or tipping involved here. 🤷

What exactly is there to talk about?

What would we talk about? Customs!
Here’s a link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brit_milah

And please don't tell me you could just Google Brit Milah, because you could just as easily Google baptism.

Anyway, here are some other topics that actually "deserve" a discussion.

Fine. You think a thread about circumcision belongs under religion. In that case, I'm asking you to be consistent: move all other threads about religion and customs, including the general one on baptism, over to the religion section. Because if circumcision counts as religion, then baptism does too.

Alex Thomas27, look, this topic actually lived over on RiD for about seven years because there just wasn't a better spot for it until we launched the child health PDF. There were plenty of chances to let it evolve into its own thing—we could have moved it to a dedicated religion thread, or even turned it into a discussion on customs and traditions so it could stay on RiD—but it just didn't happen. Honestly, the most vital part of this whole conversation is tied directly to the specific PDF where it's sitting right now.

Since RiD is his home base and the discussions there haven't quite reached the level of depth we're seeing here in this PDF, there’s really no point or need to go out and start yet another one.

rustydrifter10 said:Alex, this thread was already on the General Discussion board. It basically hung out there for seven years because there wasn't a better spot for it until we launched the child health section. There was plenty of time for it to evolve into a religion discussion so we could move it over to the Religion subforum—but it didn't happen. Or it could have turned into a deep dive on customs and stayed on General Discussion—again, didn't happen. At its core, the most important part of this thread is exactly why it’s sitting in the current section right now.

Since General Discussion is his home base and he hasn't sparked the kind of debate we see here, there's really no point in opening a whole new thread elsewhere.

In that case, just move the baptism thread over to religion.

Alex Thomas27 said:And then they just pivot the whole baptism conversation toward religion.

I’m not going to do that, because this topic isn't actually about religion.

rustydrifter10 said:I'm passing on that. This thread isn't actually about religion.

Then what's it about?

Alex Thomas27 said:But what specifically are we talking about here?

I’m talking about the standard procedures and the way things are traditionally done.

...to what end?
...are we looking at potential discrimination against other religions here in the States,
or is this just about your own possible animosity toward the first Holy Sacrament..?
...I’m bringing this up because I don't see how you can claim you're dropping your intention to force a topic where it simply doesn't belong,
only to immediately pivot and try to bury a different subject that you clearly couldn't care less about in the first place...
...honestly, I might actually be on board with your suggestion, but the absurd way you're going about asking for it makes it impossible...

rustydrifter10 said:It’s about the ritual and tradition.

So, we're circling back to religion. You could just as easily ask those same questions about faith itself.

loneraven25 said:...doing what exactly..?
...potential discrimination against other faiths in America,
or is this coming from your own potential hatred toward the first "holy" sacrament..?
...I'm pointing this out because I don't see you backing down from trying to force a topic where it doesn't belong,
only to then try and bury a different topic you don't even care about...
...I might agree with your suggestion, but the way you're asking for it is just absurd...

Look, I don't have any hatred toward the first "holy" sacrament. If anything, the first "holy" thing should be religion.

If the first "holy" sacrament can be discussed on the Playground, then I'm demanding that all religious customs involving child health and kids be moved to the Playground. If that's not allowed, then you're favoring one religion. I'm just asking for an equal playing field for all religious customs regarding children. That means if a thread about circumcision isn't allowed on the Playground, then a thread about baptism shouldn't be either. Equal footing.

Equal footing. Lock my thread if you want, but lock the baptism thread too. Because if the moderators treat that topic differently than they treat the topic of circumcision, then it's blatant discrimination.

Alex Thomas27 said:So, you’re basically saying everything boils down to religion. I guess you could argue that about faith too.

Honestly, things like which friend to pick as your maid of honor, what gift to buy, what to wear, how much to spend, or even which cake to order... those aren't religious dilemmas at all, yet they're the questions that actually take over the conversation. This thread isn't going anywhere, and I'm not looking to have it locked or moved.