Thought this would be interesting for you all to read, following up with what Janice in Canada posted. I found the link on Breastfeeding.com

      Heather in South Carolina

      http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/news/columnists/colmoroney08112002.htm







      Moms to Moroney: You're a boob 
      Sunday, August 11, 2002









      "Sir, you are an idiot," the indignant breastfeeding mama wrote. 

      It's been like this all week long, wave after wave of vitriol and venom from an army of furious mommies - and some daddies - after I wrote in this space last Sunday that breastfeeding in public is rude. 

      Local reaction was swift and strong, to wit, "You are a small-minded pig of a man." 

      If only it ended there. 

      Halfway through the week, some eager somebody posted my thoughts on the Web site breastfeeding.com. And, suddenly, the thundering herd went to DEFCON 1. 

      By yesterday afternoon, I had received 223 e-mails from here and around the world. 

      There were college professors, internationally certified lactation specialists (who knew?), breastfeeding counselors and even men. 

      Men! Can you imagine? 

      "I just want to say to you, man to man, Tom, (bleep you)." 

      I heard from British Columbia, Tokyo, a handful of southern states, Arizona and more. The most provocative message was from a woman who identified herself as a bigwig at the World Health Organization in Geneva, Switzerland. 

      Was she as erudite and civil as her title suggests? 

      "You are just ignorant and stupid," she said. 

      I guess not. 

      Others were plotting their revenge. If she sees me in public, one woman said, "Maybe I'll squirt you in the face with my breast milk." And maybe I'll have you up on charges, mommy, indecent assault and battery. 

      Another vowed, "When you have a few more years and have that bladder incontinence, we'll be sure to point out how gross you are." 

      Who says I don't have it now? People sure can be mean, can't they? 

      The most frequent complaint was that I had compared breastfeeding to another bodily function that most would deem to be just as natural and necessary, urination. 

      My point wasn't to absolutely equate the two (I do know the difference between eating and voiding), but rather to show that some bodily functions are simply unacceptable in public. And breastfeeding is one of them. 

      Look, I think breastfeeding is wonderful. I happen to know that, in the early going, mother's milk carries natural antibiotics that protect the child. It is also linked to prevention of diseases, stronger and straighter teeth and a host of other benefits. 

      I just don't want to watch. 

      Like me, a woman in Medway, who is for breastfeeding, said she didn't want to see it in a restaurant, store, or a even public pool. It was a reference to that woman in New Hampshire was told by a lifeguard to stop. 

      What's next? she wondered. "How about giving birth at the pool?" 

      Still, the outpouring from the other side was shocking. After all, most women I know do their breastfeeding discreetly, in a private room or the car, not for me or others. But for themselves. They don't want to be embarrassed. 

      Apparently that impulse is now to be interpreted as a sign of weakness or even a spiritual defect. 

      A woman writing from Fort Bragg, N.C., asked, "What do you think Mary did when she breastfed Jesus? Hide in a barn so as not to offend the locals?" 

      As a matter of fact, that's exactly what I think she did. What's the alternative? The mother of God sitting by the pool, nursing? 

      Some readers, after labeling me an uneducated jackass, lizard boy or just plain weird, went the extra step of recommending psychiatric help. 

      A woman in Tampa said, "Maybe you need to lie down on a couch and talk to your therapist about mommy for a while." 

      Finally, another woman said, "Aren't you a sick guy, staring at mom's breasts while she does her job?" 

      In order to purge my obsession, she suggested the following chant to be repeated silently, over and over: "That is not a sex breast. That is a food breast. That food breast is not for me. There is no need for me to get excited. Now I will turn my face the other way." 

      And I'm the weird one?
     


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