Keren writes:
“our mere presence has already validated the product
in a way that could never have been achieved by words
alone”

Well said.  Reminds me of simple, brilliant advice
given to me as a child, and repeatedly as an adult:

If someone provokes you, don’t listen. Don’t respond.
The person will stop.
After all s/he wants a response.
Don’t give it.  Irritation goes away.

True enough.  From playground taunts to
ill-intentioned sales reps.

Another concern I have is that I do not wish to put
myself in front of frivolous propaganda.  Not only
does my presence encourage and condone the activity,
but there is the danger I will be influenced by it.
The more I “tolerate” the presence of unethical
activity, the more I “accept” it myself.

Once when my daughter was younger we encountered her
first bottle at the park.  She asked what it was and I
explained.  “But why would the mother do that?” she
asked, seriously tearful.  I looked at her and
thought, if only we could have waited.  Imagine if she
were 10, 15, 20 years old and encountered artificial
feeding for the first time, what would her reaction be
then?  And what would I learn from her then?  The only
conversations I’ve ever had about artificial feeding
have been with others like myself who “accept” it as a
contemporary cultural norm.  None of us know how
completely shocking it is to babies, or to women.

Seems to me publicly sidestepping propaganda is a step
in the right direction.


Susan Johnson  MFA, IBCLC
Salt Lake City, USA


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