Was talking to an older woman sitting next to me (who was of Persian descent) and she suddenly asked: “Indians. I forget, do they circumcise?” (Penises are often on the mind at Harbin hot springs, for some reason).

I was like, “Not really,” and she said, “Good” and explained to me her theory that male circumcision is responsible for most of the violence in America because: a) Circumcision is itself an act of violence against the infant, and violence begets violence; and b) Circumcision means the head of the penis is desensitized and, as a result, the man requires more violent stimulation–this part of the explanation was interspersed with vigorous hand gestures to illustrate the heavy pounding she was talking about–in order to get off, and, as a result, the rest of life acquires a violent orientation.