[Newspoetry] U.S. poet laureate invokes troubling metaphor

[John]

I think I will focus on a miniscule side-issue to take my mind off the
larger issues momentarily...

A good analogy in my opinion must:
1) Refer to something necessarily violent
2) Refer to something that can (god forbid) happen again
3) Refer to something that can in no way be desirable

"circumcized" can be argued to fit #1, but many will disagree, and it
doesn't fit #2 or #3.  (unless, see last paragraph)

"losing virginity" really means "having sex for the first time" so it fits
#2 but not #3, and not #1   (unless it is done wrongly, but it doesn't have
to be)

I suggest one's first black eye.  It meets all three.  It's not sexual, but
who needs sex?  (rhetorical question, please, no hand-raising.)

And for the record: neither losing one's virginity or circumcision is
gender-specific.  Female circumcision even meets requirements #1 and #3,
with no arguments from this quarter.

> I think perhaps both phrasings are appropriate.  I'm sure someone's noticed
> the shiva-lingam aspects of these targets...one target is a pair of huge
> phallic objects, the other a large vaginal ring?  I can't be the only one
> seeing this...

>> I propose the gender-specific term that I think applies in this case
>> bets.
>> 
>> "America was circumcised."

>>> 
>>> NPR asked the U.S.'s poet laureate for some thoughts.  He described
>>> today's events as America "losing its virginity", so to speak.
>>> 
>>> ... aren't there some better metaphors we could use?