I was up all night stitching a mantle of guilt...
I haven't read LactNet since my post, but I couldn't apologize as
quickly as I would have liked.
I hope it did not appear that I was suggesting Lucas' or any other
particular research was racist, poorly-thought-out, misleading or
anything else. I was thinking of the kind of hate literature my husband
came across in his work, and have no problem attaching that label to
some of the racist, sexist and homophobic stuff I have seen. I was
trying to make a general statement about freedom of speech (a notion
that I am conflicted about, BTW). "Publish, publish, publish good stuff"
is good advice for breastfeeding research and for any kind of
information.
WBW this year is about "the information age". One of the clear stands we
can take, as a community, is to get as much good, valuable, and complete
information into the hands of as many people as possible. That can only
be a good thing. So is just keeping on doing what we know is right (in
this instance, helping mothers breastfeed, in my husband's case,
educating the community about aboriginal culture.)
I came across Lucas' name three times while studying last night and was
impressed by everything I read. I certainly would not suggest that there
is anything wrong with his research.
My father used to shush us when we talked about things we hadn't read. I
sometimes wish journalists had had the same experience, so that they
would try to present complete information. But it is up to the
researchers among us to present all of the implications to the
community.
Sorry for grandstanding.
Jo-Anne

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