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Lactation Information and Discussion <[log in to unmask]>
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Thu, 12 Feb 2009 13:47:39 -0500
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Wow. Didn't realize. Guess I don't deal in hate.

My original point was, most of the problems we have seen mentioned here
(told to leave Denny's, told to leave the pool, told to leave the mall -
typical American anti-breastfeeding scenarios) did not involve physical
assault. They involved humiliation and shame, which is not exactly the same
as being thrown against the wall. It is still abuse, it still requires
*written* documentation of the incident. 

Babies not allowed to breastfeed at the mall, at the pool, in Denny's, are
not in the same risk category as babies who are fed with dirty resources or
contaminated formula donated from rich countries. Expressing the same level
of fury tends to make people not take us as seriously.

Especially in America, we have the resources to make things right. Should we
hold the same outrage of being told to leave Denny's equal to the outrage we
feel learning about babies in China being fed formula contaminated with
melamine, or learning that American companies are donating expired formula
to people lesser fortunate? Having the high level of outrage is like
stretching a rubber band all the time (or living under the high "terrorism
level"). Eventually, we get tired, relax, and let down our reserves. Being
shamed or humiliated can create an opportunity to create change, fix a
wrong. It is a powerful incentive. Expending energy related to these
feelings of shame and humiliation could otherwise be harnessed to create
change seems to me a lost resource. *Why* would I feel shame and humiliation
because of someone else's stupid rules? Work to change *that* to feelings of
empowerment to change stupid rules! As Morgan mentioned, change the focus.

And regarding hateful comments, I can choose not to buy into these. There
are hateful comments about any subject on earth. People are entitled to
their opinions, whether pleasant or hateful. It's like commenting on hateful
posts on blogs. As unpleasant as they are, my opinion isn't going to change
their opinion, and they will be hateful whether or not I read their posts.
When I spend my energy worrying about their hateful opinions, it is energy
that I am not using in changing the lack of education in my corner of the
world. (plus, it's so painful to read hate, it drains all of my ability to
create change.)

Document, document, document. And let your precious energy focus in a
direction that will do the most good.

Best wishes,
Sam


We're going to Candy Mountain, Charlie!


Sam wrote:


> While I agree that being told not to breastfeed is a difficult,
> embarassing situation, it is not a dangerous, nor painful experience. It
> creates a lot of strong feelings, but for the most part, people are not
> physically injured.

People are physically injured, and people are killed. The horrendous
vilification* of breastfeeding mothers is a strong disincentive to
breastfeeding altogether. When breastfeeding is made much more difficult
then artificial feeding, mothers stop doing it. And babies die from not
being breastfed every day.

Lara Hopkins

* This isn't hyperbole, as Morgan Gallagher's blog post on the subject
makes abundantly clear:

<http://one-of-those-women.blogspot.com/2009/02/lactaphobia-language-of-
hate.html>

 

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