Sunday, March 11, 2007

Oh Boy

I've got a bee in my bonnet over this incredibly myopic article about breastfeeding: "Nursing Mothers Don't Appeal to Everyone."

Here's a summary of his opinions (taken from one of the comments to the article):
1) "I don't like the way you eat, so you should eat in the bathroom."
2) "Mother's milk is like poop."
3) "Only brown people in third-world countries breastfeed."
4) "Some nursing mothers were rude to me after I gave them dirty looks."
I have lots of adjectives swimming around in my head to describe this man's attitude, but I had best not post them in a public forum.

I can't wait until Hathor the Cow Goddess gets her hands on this one.

11 comments:

  1. Wow. That's so ridiculous that I seriously wonder if it might be satire. (especially the bit about the woman "asking" for his help! WTF!) The really sad thing is that there ARE people out there who think this way.

    I'm glad there were some thoughtful, intelligent comments although personally, I don't think this kind of filth even deserves a response.

    -Jill

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  2. I think, well actually I am pretty much sure, that it was serious. But you're right, it would have been a hilarious satire piece.

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  3. Well, in that case, he sounds like a sad excuse for a person.

    "Hmmm, who can I piss off today - Oh, I know! Nursing moms! Oh, this will be a piece of cake!"

    What a douche.

    -Jill

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  4. "I once had a stranger seated next to me on an airplane ask me to help her breast-feed her child.

    When I recoiled in horror [...]"

    In HORROR????

    "People don't want their food stored next to your body fluids."

    They are fine with ingesting the bodily fluids of an assortment of other-species large mamals whom they never met (cows). They'll even take it with their coffee.


    I know he's nuts and yet I am so irritated.

    Oana (some random lurker who enjoys your page)

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  5. Aww, c'mon, you all can picture this old fashioned grump. Most definitely older, privileged (should I dare take a wild guess that he is white?) quite likely relatively well off, too. After a lifetime of ego boosting by the prestige of his social standing, he has been deluded to think his opinions are insightful and entertaining. Forgive my cynicism. I see more than my share of people like this around here.

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  6. Um, yeah. I'm speechless (me - can you imagine?!). I have nothing to add to the rest of your wonderful comments, but I am going to cut-and-paste part of one of the responses to the "man's" response, just so everybody here is sure to see it - I thought it was simply brilliant :)
    "There is a nursing cover called Peek-a-Boo B Covers intended for women who prefer to nurse in private (www.caydencreations.com) so that folks with your viewpoint do not stare. Since seeing women breastfeeding is so offensive to you, maybe you and others who are offended by this sight can buy one and keep it with you in places such as airplanes or other places where you cannot get away from the offender. When a mother who is comfortable nursing in public starts to breastfeed, you could offer to save yourself from the awful sight....just put it over your head until she is finished."

    That might be the best use I've ever heard for a nursing cover!

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  7. I loved reading the comments to the editorial, esp. the nursing cover one. Yes, he should have gone to the airplane lavatory himself until the baby was done nursing since it sounds like he was the only one offended. To pressure a mom to take her feeding baby in there? That's low. And DIRTY. I hear more states are passing laws lately which fine 200$ for interfering with a breastfeeding woman in public. :)

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  8. Dude I couldn't even read the whole thing. Jerk.

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  9. A PUBLIC NUISANCE??? He acts like a breastfeeding mother is similar to someone masturbating or exposing their genitals in public! I am so annoyed at this article too. His comment about mothers pumping and storing their "biohazardous" milk next to food really set me off. Sorry, but when I come back to work after having my baby I am going to pump so that my baby can have breast milk! If ANYONE even DARES say anything to me about putting breast milk in the refrigerator next to their lunch I will go off on them!

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  10. I didn't care for the tone of the article at all. (I definately felt my 'hackles' rise!) But, I absolutely LOVED how the readers rallied together for BFing mommies & their babies!! I didn't read all the comments, but I thouroughly enjoyed those that I did! For several years, I've READ that BFing is on the 'rise' here in the 'Lowcountry' of South Carolina, but you couldn't prove it to me. I rarely see a mother BFing in public... When Austin was an infant (5 years ago), I BF in public & was always VERY discreet (extra-large, light-weight receiving blanket over him). Would you believe that strangers had the gall to actually lift the corner of his blanket, to get a look at my 'sleeping' baby, only to find that he was contentedly nursing and would give ME dirty looks?? (laughs) Often I'd overhear comments from others around me about sitting in the car (in August, no less), or in the restroom, to nurse because I was making them 'sick'... I usually made it a point to 'catch' their eye & would give them a big smile & say something sweet to them (kill them with kindness- KWIM?)... I find it so funny that some folks will speak their opinion loud enough for the 'offender', & others, to hear them, but lack the 'guts' to speak directly to that person! If anything, this article has only strengthened my resolve to do WHATEVER it takes to protect my babies NEEDS to eat wherever/whenever they have to. Thanks for sharing, Rixa!!

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  11. SC-momma- you want to hear what happened to one of my friends? She was at the mall and her baby was hungry so she sat down at one of the benches at the mall and while she was TOTALLY covered by a blanket breast feeding, this woman who had just finished eating at Chik Filet walked by her and threw her DIRTY, greasy, napkin on her and said, "Here, you might want to cover up!" Can you IMAGINE?? Throwing trash at a nursing mother?? Urgh, it's bad enough that people make rude comments! Who knows what this crude trash throwing woman would have done had my friend been breast feeding without a blanket over herself!

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