Absolutely we should know our competition. And Rachel I agree with you in so many ways. That being said I will state this: Many of us do not have the time nor experience or skills to know what to do with the bigger issues - the worldwide ones. It is overwhelming and we are already overwhelmed because we are working our butts off on the issues at home - ones that for some (apparently) seem silly or trite or not worth the time. But for us it IS worth the time. And we ARE doing a good and positive thing. We are saving mothers and babies one at a time on a smaller scale. We all need to do what we can where we can. While I tell people about Nestle and the boycott and why they are so bad and unethical, my focus is not on Nestle - nor should anyone tell me where my focus should be. My focus needs to be on where I feel best making a difference. For me that is directly in my own community working to clean up train wrecks caused by others 'inflating' their credentials and practicing outside their SoP. For others who are more entrenched in the worldwide struggle that is where they feel most comfortable and I support and appreciate their efforts deeply. However - when one of our esteemed tells us to stop infighting, and in effect sit down, shut up and do something positive or go bathe someone's cat...I take exception to that as I find it to be highly disrespectful, as did many others. The better message in my opinion would have been to give some ways to deal with our issue, applaud us for being so passionate about it and for holding the IBCLC credential up and working to protect it. OUR work to do that is just as important as the work anyone else is doing on fighting against Nestle and other ABM companies. It may be small potatoes to some, but without those particular potatoes we won't have a full meal. We all should be applauded for what we do - NOT dismissed as we were. We should be encouraged to do what we can in our communities on a smaller scale and worldwide on the larger scale. But never should we be told not to fight for our profession. Warmly, Jaye Jaye Simpson, CLC, IBCLC, CIIM, MoM Breastfeeding Network www.breastfeedingnetwork.net *********************************************** Archives: http://community.lsoft.com/archives/LACTNET.html To reach list owners: [log in to unmask] Mail all list management commands to: [log in to unmask] COMMANDS: 1. To temporarily stop your subscription write in the body of an email: set lactnet nomail 2. To start it again: set lactnet mail 3. To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet 4. To get a comprehensive list of rules and directions: get lactnet welcome