In the development of a person, how they were fed as an infant and child is
one factor.
Only in the last century have any large numbers of people been fed by any
other methods, and then only really in the latter part of the last century.

This means that throughout human history, most everybody was breastfed,
including all the combatants in every war, all the tyrants, all the
torturers who ever lived, and all their victims.  Most everybody.  If they
weren't breastfed they didn't grow up at all.  Breastfeeding was not then
(and in a many places is still not) a marker for a particular ideology or
style of parenting.  And many, many subscribers on this list are living
testimonials to the ability of artificially fed babies growing up to be
empathetic, caring, responsible warm and nurturing adults.

If the people behind the attacks in the US are the people we are being told
that they are, they may have been breastfed.  We don't really know.  Some of
the people being implicated (again, if we believe the media accounts, as I
would venture VERY few of us have first-hand knowledge and are able to
verify those accounts themselves) are quite young, and come from areas and
communities in transition between breast and bottle.  So, we don't really
know.

We have no grounds on which to assume that breastfeeding gives complete and
life-long protection against all factors contributing to hostile or
antisocial behavior.

There are plenty of reasons to breastfeed just the same.

Rachel Myr
Kristiansand, Norway

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