Appalling article about breastfeeding in public from my local news paper!

LLB430

https://www.buffalonews.com/city/columns/donn-esmonde/article690280.ece?articleId=690280&pubDate=2011-12-30&order=T&page=2

I can't believe how ignorant people are! 

3003girl

OMG, don't get me started! There was a huge to-do on the local news channels Facebook page about this. people are ignorant and you can't convince the stupid that breastfeeding is a tad different than urinating in public. And if they are all for it, why don't they go eat their lunch in the bathroom? yuck. 

What it comes down too, though, is that it's a protected right and not an indecent act (at least in my state)

So they can go stick it.  

tokenhoser

I am irked by the in-your-face feeders, who act as if anyone offended is anti-nature or hopelessly puritanical.

I act that way because it's true.

[Deleted User]

When the solution to your problem is as simple as you turning your head, I have zero respect for your feelings on the matter.

[Deleted User]

tokenhoser:

I am irked by the in-your-face feeders, who act as if anyone offended is anti-nature or hopelessly puritanical.

I act that way because it's true.

And WTF are these "in-your-face feeders?"  These people cannot possibly have contact with actual nursing mothers.  The only reason I have ever seen a nipple in public is because I was admittedly looking way too hard.  This is such a manufactured issue.

tokenhoser

overture:

tokenhoser:

I am irked by the in-your-face feeders, who act as if anyone offended is anti-nature or hopelessly puritanical.

I act that way because it's true.

And WTF are these "in-your-face feeders?"  These people cannot possibly have contact with actual nursing mothers.  The only reason I have ever seen a nipple in public is because I was admittedly looking way too hard.  This is such a manufactured issue.

 So true. I know a lot of bf-ing moms and zero that want to go waggle their boobs at unsuspecting shoppers.

SVAQ11

solidio:

And if they are all for it, why don't they go eat their lunch in the bathroom? yuck. 

This is exactly what I was thinking. Does he want to eat his sandwich in a stinky public restroom?? And, really??? Bf'ing is put in the same category as pornography and curse-filled music as part of the decline of American civility? Wow. Just wow.

lisa5201

What a pompous @ss

I want to comment,but I have to enter all this info in order to do so and I'm a little too lazy and that probably makes me part of the problem.

UGH! People like him make me angry and sad 

C-Charm

overture:

tokenhoser:

I am irked by the in-your-face feeders, who act as if anyone offended is anti-nature or hopelessly puritanical.

I act that way because it's true.

And WTF are these "in-your-face feeders?"  These people cannot possibly have contact with actual nursing mothers.  The only reason I have ever seen a nipple in public is because I was admittedly looking way too hard.  This is such a manufactured issue.

I think "in-your-face-feeders" are the ones who ignore their crying, hungry child, put the tassles on their nips, undress from the waist up, do an erotic dance, THEN FINALLY proceed to take care of their child's need.

 Duh.  THOSE people.

boogerbearoriginal

C-Charm:

overture:

tokenhoser:

I am irked by the in-your-face feeders, who act as if anyone offended is anti-nature or hopelessly puritanical.

I act that way because it's true.

And WTF are these "in-your-face feeders?"  These people cannot possibly have contact with actual nursing mothers.  The only reason I have ever seen a nipple in public is because I was admittedly looking way too hard.  This is such a manufactured issue.

I think "in-your-face-feeders" are the ones who ignore their crying, hungry child, put the tassles on their nips, undress from the waist up, do an erotic dance, THEN FINALLY proceed to take care of their child's need.

 Duh.  THOSE people.

Wait....is that not how one is supposed to NIP? Oh boy I've been doing it wrong all these months....

Kristine Schilling

I bet he likes boobies for sex. Its those types of guys who get all huffy about BFing in public.

And its not like these women just "whip it out." They used nursing covers. So did the houston woman.

Comapring it to a guy urinating in public was totally completly stupidly inappropriate and he is going to catch alot of flack for this article.

Kristine Schilling

oh, and the part about using a changing station.. has he even seen a changing station? you know, the funky fold out table attatched to the wall? OMG. yeah a woman can sit on THAT to nurse.

 

I really like the idea of him eating in a bathroom for a week.

honkytonk_kid

"And if it makes other people uncomfortable, well, I guess that?s just too bad."

Yep! He pretty much summed it up right there.

Birdies08

C-Charm:

overture:

tokenhoser:

I am irked by the in-your-face feeders, who act as if anyone offended is anti-nature or hopelessly puritanical.

I act that way because it's true.

And WTF are these "in-your-face feeders?"  These people cannot possibly have contact with actual nursing mothers.  The only reason I have ever seen a nipple in public is because I was admittedly looking way too hard.  This is such a manufactured issue.

I think "in-your-face-feeders" are the ones who ignore their crying, hungry child, put the tassles on their nips, undress from the waist up, do an erotic dance, THEN FINALLY proceed to take care of their child's need.

 Duh.  THOSE people.

Nursing burlesque- I love it!

I am just so sick of this being an issue. People need to unbunch their panties and get.over.it. Parents are allowed to feed their babies in public. NIP is natural and legal. It is not rude, because it has nothing to do with anyone outside of the nursing couple. It is valid for people to feel uncomfortable or annoyed, in the same way I don't like looking at people wearing socks with sandals or pants that don't fit them and are too tight, but onlookers need to realize that is their issue, look away, and move on with their lives!

ETA: The comments are actually quite intelligent! I'm enjoying them  

shaindelr

At least most of the people commenting were appalled by it, too. The one man who implied that most women don't know the word "misogynist" about made me crazy! Ugh!

If I am going to be considered an "exhibitionist," I'm putting out a tip jar. College savings fund!

Kristine Schilling

shaindelr:

At least most of the people commenting were appalled by it, too. The one man who implied that most women don't know the word "misogynist" about made me crazy! Ugh!

If I am going to be considered an "exhibitionist," I'm putting out a tip jar. College savings fund!

 

LOL...

What i want to know is, does this guy have a problem with topless beaches? Or is that a completly acceptable use of female breasts?

bstrangely

lisa5201:

What a pompous @ss

I want to comment,but I have to enter all this info in order to do so and I'm a little too lazy and that probably makes me part of the problem.

UGH! People like him make me angry and sad 

i wasn't too lazy to find the contact info for the paper he works for:

If you have any questions pertaining to The Buffalo News Online Services website or would like to speak to a friendly Subscriber Services Representative please call us at:

(716) 842-1111
(800) 777-8640 (Toll Free)

Hours:
Mon - Fri 6:00am - 5:00pm
Saturday 6:00am - 9:00am
Sunday 8:00am - 11:00am

 

how many phone calls do you think it would take before we see his column on the nicest men's rooms to eat in? shoot, i might even call up the obituaries people and see if they think donn is a douche.

 

C-Charm

bstrangely:

lisa5201:

What a pompous @ss

I want to comment,but I have to enter all this info in order to do so and I'm a little too lazy and that probably makes me part of the problem.

UGH! People like him make me angry and sad 

i wasn't too lazy to find the contact info for the paper he works for:

If you have any questions pertaining to The Buffalo News Online Services website or would like to speak to a friendly Subscriber Services Representative please call us at:

(716) 842-1111
(800) 777-8640 (Toll Free)

Hours:
Mon - Fri 6:00am - 5:00pm
Saturday 6:00am - 9:00am
Sunday 8:00am - 11:00am

 

how many phone calls do you think it would take before we see his column on the nicest men's rooms to eat in? shoot, i might even call up the obituaries people and see if they think donn is a douche.

 

I honestly think they don't care. Otherwise they wouldn't have published it.  Like PP said, this is such a non-issue...even the newspaper knows it.  It's an online newspaper and they're happy to have the web traffic.

erbear

The comments are pretty pro-BFing.

I've NIP many many times and I've never had anyone even look twice. I don't know where these place are where people are having so much trouble.

erbear

C-Charm:

bstrangely:

lisa5201:

What a pompous @ss

I want to comment,but I have to enter all this info in order to do so and I'm a little too lazy and that probably makes me part of the problem.

UGH! People like him make me angry and sad 

i wasn't too lazy to find the contact info for the paper he works for:

If you have any questions pertaining to The Buffalo News Online Services website or would like to speak to a friendly Subscriber Services Representative please call us at:

(716) 842-1111
(800) 777-8640 (Toll Free)

Hours:
Mon - Fri 6:00am - 5:00pm
Saturday 6:00am - 9:00am
Sunday 8:00am - 11:00am

 

how many phone calls do you think it would take before we see his column on the nicest men's rooms to eat in? shoot, i might even call up the obituaries people and see if they think donn is a douche.

 

I honestly think they don't care. Otherwise they wouldn't have published it.  Like PP said, this is such a non-issue...even the newspaper knows it.  It's an online newspaper and they're happy to have the web traffic.

That would be ridiculous. It's an opinion page of the paper. What are you going to do, try to get him fired for writing his opinion? That's laughable. Just comment and be done with it.

C-Charm

erbear:

C-Charm:

bstrangely:

lisa5201:

What a pompous @ss

I want to comment,but I have to enter all this info in order to do so and I'm a little too lazy and that probably makes me part of the problem.

UGH! People like him make me angry and sad 

i wasn't too lazy to find the contact info for the paper he works for:

If you have any questions pertaining to The Buffalo News Online Services website or would like to speak to a friendly Subscriber Services Representative please call us at:

(716) 842-1111
(800) 777-8640 (Toll Free)

Hours:
Mon - Fri 6:00am - 5:00pm
Saturday 6:00am - 9:00am
Sunday 8:00am - 11:00am

 

how many phone calls do you think it would take before we see his column on the nicest men's rooms to eat in? shoot, i might even call up the obituaries people and see if they think donn is a douche.

 

I honestly think they don't care. Otherwise they wouldn't have published it.  Like PP said, this is such a non-issue...even the newspaper knows it.  It's an online newspaper and they're happy to have the web traffic.

That would be ridiculous. It's an opinion page of the paper. What are you going to do, try to get him fired for writing his opinion? That's laughable. Just comment and be done with it.

I agree.  They're not passing it off as investigative reporting.  To be honest, I wouldn't be surprised if what he wrote isn't truly reflective of his actual opinion.  I think the "reporter" really just wants the hits to that article.

lanie30

overture:

tokenhoser:

I am irked by the in-your-face feeders, who act as if anyone offended is anti-nature or hopelessly puritanical.

I act that way because it's true.

And WTF are these "in-your-face feeders?"  These people cannot possibly have contact with actual nursing mothers.  The only reason I have ever seen a nipple in public is because I was admittedly looking way too hard.  This is such a manufactured issue.

Sadly, the only "in your face" breastfeeders seem to appear at nurse ins. I dont' blame the guy for being horrified. The nurse in crowd near me are disgusting.

C-Charm

lanie30:

Sadly, the only "in your face" breastfeeders seem to appear at nurse ins. I dont' blame the guy for being horrified. The nurse in crowd near me are disgusting.

I remember that you've said something along these lines before.  What I've observed in person and on the news seems to be the exact opposite of your experience.  I'm still dying to hear what "outrageous" behavior you've witnessed.  (https://community.thebump.com/cs/ks/forums/thread/59685157.aspx)

The most recent local nurse-in here involved moms sitting around and talking...then feeding their children as needed.  (Which sounds like any typical lunch or coffee shop gathering with me and some mom friends.)  The local businesses gave them bottled water and snacks and invited LLL in to do some outreach/education.  It sounded like a win-win-win situation to me.

Also, the reporter didn't address whether he had a problem with nurse-ins.  Instead he said that NIP in general was problematic for him. I think that really is pretty uninformed and immature stance. Most people who get upset about NIP have never actually witnessed it...or they've witnessed it and didn't even realize it.

lanie30

Oh I saw a slew of horrifying sights. Completely topless nursing, a woman attempting to force her breast (over and over and over again) into a 2 year olds mouth (kid wanted down and to play), a woman literally flashing people who walked by and laughing, as well as a happy display at a local pool which involved milk dripping into the kiddie pool. (This was because the no eating in the pool policy also applied to nursing mothers who were asked to sit on a chair at the side of the pool instead of nursing in it (OH THE HORROR --cue nurse in!).

And I live in a breastfeeding utopia. I think the point of nurse-ins makes breastfeeding a public spectacle instead of a healthy, normal event. And that's sad. I think it puts the movement back, and hurts the cause. I've never seen an effective nurse in that didn't completely repulse the community or at the very least cause eye rolls.

I'm a big fan of the protest, but the nurse in? Ends up hurting the cause. 

C-Charm

lanie30:

Oh I saw a slew of horrifying sights. Completely topless nursing, a woman attempting to force her breast (over and over and over again) into a 2 year olds mouth (kid wanted down and to play), a woman literally flashing people who walked by and laughing, as well as a happy display at a local pool which involved milk dripping into the kiddie pool. (This was because the no eating in the pool policy also applied to nursing mothers who were asked to sit on a chair at the side of the pool instead of nursing in it (OH THE HORROR --cue nurse in!).

And I live in a breastfeeding utopia. I think the point of nurse-ins makes breastfeeding a public spectacle instead of a healthy, normal event. And that's sad. I think it puts the movement back, and hurts the cause. I've never seen an effective nurse in that didn't completely repulse the community or at the very least cause eye rolls.

I'm a big fan of the protest, but the nurse in? Ends up hurting the cause. 

That's too bad.  I guess what you witnessed is on one end of the spectrum of politeness--to--rudeness.  What I'm familiar with is on the other end of the spectrum (https://silverspring.patch.com/articles/downtown-silver-spring-receives-education-on-breast-feeding).  I'm going to go out on a limb and say that most nurse-ins are somewhere in the middle and probably more along the lines of what I've witnessed.

Even if the Target moms had behaved rudely, it doesn't change the fact that the opinion piece is about a woman's right to feed her child as needed, not about whether nurse-ins are effective.  He compares nursing a child to an adult urinating in public and to a parent changing his/her child's diaper in public.  Seriously?  I know you don't agree with that, lanie.  You think that he's so "horrified" by NIP that he is justified in comparing it to changing a diaper?  The last I checked waste is exact opposite of food/nourishment.

Plus, how realistic is it that every time a woman has to feed her child that she heads to a "private area?"  Where are these magical private areas?  I certainly never saw one when I was commuting on the train with DD when she was a baby.  i didn't see one at the car dealership when DH and I were choosing and buying a car.  The reporter might as well have said that a nursing mother has no right to leave her home in order to carry on with day-to-day activities of life.  How practical is that?  He is certainly entitled to his opinion, but I'm not sure how anyone who's had to nurse a hungry child could defend or justify his ignorance.

bstrangely

erbear:

C-Charm:

bstrangely:

lisa5201:

What a pompous @ss

I want to comment,but I have to enter all this info in order to do so and I'm a little too lazy and that probably makes me part of the problem.

UGH! People like him make me angry and sad 

i wasn't too lazy to find the contact info for the paper he works for:

If you have any questions pertaining to The Buffalo News Online Services website or would like to speak to a friendly Subscriber Services Representative please call us at:

(716) 842-1111
(800) 777-8640 (Toll Free)

Hours:
Mon - Fri 6:00am - 5:00pm
Saturday 6:00am - 9:00am
Sunday 8:00am - 11:00am

 

how many phone calls do you think it would take before we see his column on the nicest men's rooms to eat in? shoot, i might even call up the obituaries people and see if they think donn is a douche.

 

I honestly think they don't care. Otherwise they wouldn't have published it.  Like PP said, this is such a non-issue...even the newspaper knows it.  It's an online newspaper and they're happy to have the web traffic.

That would be ridiculous. It's an opinion page of the paper. What are you going to do, try to get him fired for writing his opinion? That's laughable. Just comment and be done with it.

why don't you read what i wrote? i don't want him fired, i want him given a special assignment that would get even more page views. the man has a right to his opinion, but i don't have a right to rebut it anywhere that matters. none of us do. so your choice is to either do nothing, to leave a comment that will appear on the page for about 5 minutes before it gets archived... or call the paper and let them know that this kind of editorial gets a lot of attention.

seriously, that guy is getting paid for saying we're awful attention whores for feeding our kids. i don't want him fired, but i do want him engaged in a discussion. do you have a better idea for accomplishing that?

mrscarnell

desmonde@buffnews.com

I am emailing him to find out how many kids he has and how many of them he breastfed. 

akl0506

Oh my gosh.  That man is so ridiculous.  Why don't you go eat your sandwich in a public restroom, sir?  A public bathroom, for the most part, is not a perfectly suitable place to breastfeed.  Where shall I sit in the Target bathroom?   On the toilet where God only knows who has been hovering and thus peeing all over?  Thanks, no.  The only bathroom where I have ever thought it was ok to BF DS was Nordstrom at the Mall of America (2nd floor, for anyone who may visit).  They have a lovely sitting area before you actually get into the bathroom, it is quiet, clean and comfortable.  In fact, when DS was little, I would go far out of my way to shop at the Mall of America b/c of this reason. 

I do appreciate a cover, but that's just me.  I am a modest gal.  I don't care if others want to BF in public.  The comments on articles such as this are the best, such silly people.  I wish folks would just mind their own business.  Don't worry when others wean their children and don't push women & children into filthy restrooms.  It is bad enough that those changing stations are (for the most part) so nasty, I hesitate to lay my child down on it.  But, I should feed him there?   No way. 

lanie30

C-Charm:

lanie30:

Oh I saw a slew of horrifying sights. Completely topless nursing, a woman attempting to force her breast (over and over and over again) into a 2 year olds mouth (kid wanted down and to play), a woman literally flashing people who walked by and laughing, as well as a happy display at a local pool which involved milk dripping into the kiddie pool. (This was because the no eating in the pool policy also applied to nursing mothers who were asked to sit on a chair at the side of the pool instead of nursing in it (OH THE HORROR --cue nurse in!).

And I live in a breastfeeding utopia. I think the point of nurse-ins makes breastfeeding a public spectacle instead of a healthy, normal event. And that's sad. I think it puts the movement back, and hurts the cause. I've never seen an effective nurse in that didn't completely repulse the community or at the very least cause eye rolls.

I'm a big fan of the protest, but the nurse in? Ends up hurting the cause. 

That's too bad.  I guess what you witnessed is on one end of the spectrum of politeness--to--rudeness.  What I'm familiar with is on the other end of the spectrum (https://silverspring.patch.com/articles/downtown-silver-spring-receives-education-on-breast-feeding).  I'm going to go out on a limb and say that most nurse-ins are somewhere in the middle and probably more along the lines of what I've witnessed.

Even if the Target moms had behaved rudely, it doesn't change the fact that the opinion piece is about a woman's right to feed her child as needed, not about whether nurse-ins are effective.  He compares nursing a child to an adult urinating in public and to a parent changing his/her child's diaper in public.  Seriously?  I know you don't agree with that, lanie.  You think that he's so "horrified" by NIP that he is justified in comparing it to changing a diaper?  The last I checked waste is exact opposite of food/nourishment.

Plus, how realistic is it that every time a woman has to feed her child that she heads to a "private area?"  Where are these magical private areas?  I certainly never saw one when I was commuting on the train with DD when she was a baby.  i didn't see one at the car dealership when DH and I were choosing and buying a car.  The reporter might as well have said that a nursing mother has no right to leave her home in order to carry on with day-to-day activities of life.  How practical is that?  He is certainly entitled to his opinion, but I'm not sure how anyone who's had to nurse a hungry child could defend or justify his ignorance.

Right. But the opinion piece came from witnessing a nurse in. I'm going to go out on a limb and suggest that had the nurse-in/spectacle not occurred, he'd never have an opinion in the first place since most women are capable of nursing a child without flashing boob at anyone or being obnoxious. Its not worth having an opinion on something that you never see/don't experience as a challenge. 

CurbsideProphet

I do not understand why people think a restroom is an acceptable place to feed a child. The suggestion to just go to the bathroom really annoys me. Do you want to eat in the bathroom?