of other people!
Update 2: Texas law on breastfeeding (h/t tom 47)
Texas Law on Breastfeeding
Sec. 165.001. LEGISLATIVE FINDING
The legislature finds that breastfeeding a baby is an important and basic act of nurture that must be encouraged in the interests of maternal and child health and family values. In compliance with the breastfeeding promotion program established under the federal Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. Section 1771 et seq.), the legislature recognizes breastfeeding as the best method of infant nutrition.
Sec. 165.002. RIGHT TO BREAST-FEED
A mother is entitled to breastfeed her baby in any location in which the mother is authorized to be.
(emphasis mine)
Update 1: Rec List, seriously? I feel like Steve Martin in "The Jerk," when he gets the phone book and finds his name in it - "I'm somebody now!" All joking aside, the honor is not for me, but for the women that are so important in our lives and rarely get the recognition they deserve - in my case, my lovely wife.
That is the title of a
Matt Walsh blog post that my wife sent me.
What kind of message does it send when we tell mothers to hide in dark corners or cover themselves in burlap if they wish to provide natural nutrients to their offspring? We know what the message is: Breastfeeding is gross, shameful, embarrassing. I especially enjoy the grown men who suddenly become squeamish school boys when the topic turns to breastfeeding. “Eeeeewwww, get it away from me! It’s weeeeeird!”
Good Lord. Grow up, people.
With the strange paradox of our permissive sexual attitudes contrasted with our uptight whining about breastfeeding, I shudder to think about what other inconsistencies I might find in the public psyche should I dig deeper. I mean, hell, next you’re gonna tell me that in a country where millions take prescription narcotics, we still won’t allow cancer patients to smoke marijuana in most states.
emphasis mine
In case you may not have heard (and that is the only reason I am posting this diary is that I did not see any other coverage of this "crisis" on the Great Orange Satan) a TX Mom was at a rec center in Burleson Texas stood her ground (in a good way) against a woman who works at the center that approached her, twice, telling her to cover up while feeding the 16-day old baby.
Fortunately for her (and for all of us that care for reason) her husband was there to video the harassment and the Youtube video has gone viral (over 1.1 million views as of this post).
It even sparked a 'nurse-in' in Burleson to raise breastfeeding awareness (video of nurse-in is in this article) Some of the wittier signs at the nurse-in said stuff like:
"This baby needs my milk, not your approval"
and
"I don't eat with a blanket over my head."
There is plenty of criticism of the attitude (that results in something as natural and innocent as a woman breastfeeding her baby in public), but sadly many of the comments are still aligned with the American Taliban on this. Of all the comments, I titled my diary with Matt Walsh's blog post title as he has some of the best invectives against these bigots:
What the hell is wrong with us? We’ve made porn into a billion dollar industry, we put sex into everything from fast food advertisements to family TV shows, we allow our daughters to idolize teenage pop stars who dress like hookers and sing about fornication; we are a culture that is permissive, hyper sexual and overtly hedonistic, yet, in spite of all of this, BREASTFEEDING is somehow offensive to us. We suffer from a special brand of insanity, so unique that it needs its own name: Progressive Puritanism. For the most part we carry on like we’re living in Sodom or Gomorrah, but if someone goes really crazy and decides to feed their child in sight of other humans, all of the sudden we turn into Victorian prudes. It doesn’t make any sense.
emphasis mine
Yup the same people that are so offended by this "act" are also just fine with Viagra & Cialis commercials on TV at any time when kids are watching (and believe me, my kids want to know what those commercials are all about).
Walsh offers a few thoughts on the “issue” of breastfeeding:
1) Breastfeeding isn’t sexual. If you see it that way, you’ve got issues. Like, serious issues. Like, you-should-probably-be-on-a-registry type of issues. I actually had someone tell me today that women shouldn’t feed their kids in public for the same reason they shouldn’t conceive their kids in public. This is to draw a direct parallel between breastfeeding and sex. Again, issues. Serious issues.
emphasis mine
Really, in my view the real pervert and sicko is the person that can turn something so natural and innocent into a perverted act that kids need to be shielded from.
2) I’ve encountered breastfeeding moms in public. Not once — NOT ONCE — have they ever ripped their shirt off and run through a crowd screaming: “Look at me! Look at this! I’m breastfeeding!!!” I’ve never seen that happen. ...
Maybe some of you have and you can post about it in the comments?
3) What exactly is so offensive about breastfeeding? Is it the amount of breast exposed? It’s hard for me to take that objection seriously. Right now, as we speak, there are millions of dads out there letting their daughters leave the house wearing outfits that are DESIGNED to highlight, expose, and sexualize that part of the body. ...
emphasis mine
What will the American Taliban demand next? Burkas for breastfeeding women? Outlawing breastfeeding altogether? It sure is schizophrenic to objectify women and girls in the image of Hollywood/Disney when something so innocent can become so "offensive and act" (at least for them).
As Matt Walsh said:
Grow up, people.