>That's where most us are disagreeing.  we think the women who are 
>the volunteers, are just as intelligent and capable as everyone 
>else.  :-)



Well, yes.

Most of them will be absolutely fine, capable, intelligent and strong 
in most circumstances.

A few circumstances will flummox the finest, most capable, most 
intelligent and strongest of them (see Susan's post about the 
four-year-old being sued for a sad accident). Some of them will not 
be quite so fine, capable and so on -  as I wasn't, some years ago, 
when I got embroiled with a persistent caller and needed the backing 
of my organisation to bale me out. Or one of the volunteers I work 
with, who had a series of unpleasant and threatening contacts from 
someone who didn't actually have a baby (apart from the one in her 
head), and who needed the organisation's protocols, and, crucially, 
personal support, to enable her to use her intelligence, capability 
and so on (and not leave the organisation).
>
>Although there is quite a lot of evidence that the women setting up 
>this organisation, are not turning to women who have done the work 
>in other orgs, and sharing the collective wisdom, as they are being 
>fed up labelled as young, naive and too inexperienced to know what 
>they've gotten themselves into.

I won't continue to post publically about this, as I'm uncomfortable 
with the idea that I am somehow labelling anyone or dismissing them . 
EoF are probably aware of the risks by now if they have been reading, 
and think that because they can envisage dealing with them just fine 
(whatever the risks are? all of them?), there is no need to have 
support, already in place, for others.

To doubt the wisdom of that is not, I promise you, any reflection on 
my feminism (rock solid since the 1970s!), my belief in the value of 
woman-to-woman support and the potential of milk sharing , or my 
confidence in breastfeeding and in activism.

Heather Welford Neil
NCT bfc, tutor, UK

-- 
http://www.heatherwelford.co.uk

http://heatherwelford.posterous.com

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