My 19 yr old son is a US Marine and stationed in the Deep South. He is  at a 
mixed base of Army and Marines, the two do not mix well. As he was  walking 
through the base today he happened upon an Army Lance  Corporal breast feeding 
her baby. Her 'buddies'  were giving her  quite a difficult time, making 
comments about being next and such. My son, in  his Marine uniform which put him at 
considerable risk, sat down next to  this woman he had never met and began a 
conversation about the base. He looked  her straight in the face, addressed her 
as a person and every time one of her  'buddies' tried to intrude he just 
spoke right over them. This woman was quite  confused until her baby unlatched 
and he politely asked if she wanted  him to switch sides when her baby did. 
After a moment, the woman said yes  and everyone switched. Her 'buddies' were 
completely confounded by this and  left. My son sat with her until her baby was 
done nursing. She ask him why  he was so calm about her NIP and he told her that 
his mother is a LLLL and  nursed him and his sibs until they were 4. I guess 
they had quite a conversation  about NIP and then he called me.
 
My oh my, I don't think I've ever heard him quite so MAD. He wanted to know  
why men thought it was ok to ogle breasts whenever they wanted to. How  could 
guys watch a woman NIP and make a sexual relationship out of  feeding baby? 
Then he and I talked about how if it was ok to sexually  harass a woman who was 
NIP that our society should go the way of the Romans.  Like I said he was 
REALLY MAD. (This is the edited version; to say that he  scorched my eardrums with 
his tirade would not even begin to explain)
 
Then there was this long silence on his end and he said "Mom as long  as men 
think that women are second class citizens and there for their enjoyment,  not 
their companionship, babies will always be seen that way too." I asked  him 
why he thought this. He said that babies are seen as an extension of their  
mothers until they are able to fully communicate with society. So if women are  
second class citizens that makes babies even lower and therefore not worth the  
effort of giving time, resources, money or the sacrifice of a parent's  
consideration above their own existence. If a woman was fair game to sexually  
harass, then a nursing mother was doubly at risk because she was challenging the  
status quo by making her baby a priority. That NIP or breastfeeding in  
general would never be seen as ok until women were seen as people instead  of sexual 
toys and babies were seen as individual people instead of as  extensions of 
their mothers.
 
I thought his thoughts might be apropos.
 
Just a moment. I have to say it and I know it's bragging but I have a  pretty 
darn cool kid!  
 
Peace,
Maggie Payne, LLLL

Dream Now  so that your children Learn to Dream for  Tomorrow



 
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. 

 
 



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