In a message dated 99-01-13 02:47:44 EST, Stacey Bentz commented on Cathy
Bargar's discussion of LLL:

<<  Just by allowing that there are Leaders who'll pass judgement, whether
 "local" or not, may not be bashing but it's certainly not helping.  >>

I think it is time we all took the discussion of LLL private -- I am one of
the people with more ambivalence about the organization than most lactnetters
and would be happy to continue to explain why but I think it belongs off the
list.

However, on the more general question that Stacey's comment raises, the
question of whether it is appropriate to acknowledge the faults of people you
or organizations that are fundamentally good, I have to disagree.   Stacey,
here's a comparison that may help you see why I can't agree with you that
criticism of LLL -- or anyone else; this isn't really about LLL for me -- is
off limits.  If you told someone that, though you know MD's have helped
countless women and saved many lives, you yourself have nonetheless
encountered some whose effect, intentional or not, was to sabotage
breastfeeding,  would you consider yourself doctor-bashing or helping improve
the crucial, important, necessary, but definately imperfect system of
healthcare?

I'd think you were doing the latter, and I think that about Cathy's comments
too. "Just by allowing" that some people have been unhelpful is an unavoidable
step on the only way to ever help bring them toward helpfulness -- whether the
people we are talking about are neonatologists or night RNs or LLLLs (or moms!
or babies, even...).    You have to be respectful to people, but there's
nobody who is so perfect that we are forbidden to mention their imperfections.
It doesn't serve medicine well, it doesn't serve LLL well in the longer term,
and it sure doesn't respect the moms who have had this kind of experience.

Just my opinion, but a pretty strongly held one.

Elisheva S. Urbas in NYC (which I guess could be considered the world capital
of diversity of human experience... probably of criticism too ! :-)