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Regarding Breastfeeding and iParty.
Apr. 26th, 2007 02:39 pmThe iParty this happened at is about 3 miles from where I live, so I feel extra compelled to comment on this. It's been all the news can talk about today and it's driving me batfrakking crazy because everyone's making it about breastfeeding. It's not!
Yes, the woman in question has every right to breastfeed her child. I support that, even if it's not my cup of tea. What she does not have the right to do is plunk her ass down in the middle of an aisle and cause a fire hazard.
If I were to plop down in the middle of an aisle, I would be asked to get up and move or be told to leave the store. The media wouldn't care that I was tossed because I shouldn't've been sitting in the middle of an aisle in the first place.
If I were the manager of that store, I would likewise have informed the woman, baby or no, breastfeeding for no, that she could not sit in the middle of an aisle. If she gave me a hard time about a safetly rule, I would have asked her to leave, much as I imagine this manager did. I would've done this doubly so if she had a baby because it's NOT SAFE to sit on the floor of a shop with an infant in your hands.
This isn't about lactivism, it's about safely, plain and simple. Could the store manager have handled things better? Maybe. Could this woman have used a whit of common sense? Definitely.
For the record, when I was working in retail in different levels of management, I've had a few women breastfeeding in the store and I've never asked one to leave. I have asked many, many people to leave for abusing safetly policies, such as climbing things, horsing around, and yes, blocking aisles up.
Yes, the woman in question has every right to breastfeed her child. I support that, even if it's not my cup of tea. What she does not have the right to do is plunk her ass down in the middle of an aisle and cause a fire hazard.
If I were to plop down in the middle of an aisle, I would be asked to get up and move or be told to leave the store. The media wouldn't care that I was tossed because I shouldn't've been sitting in the middle of an aisle in the first place.
If I were the manager of that store, I would likewise have informed the woman, baby or no, breastfeeding for no, that she could not sit in the middle of an aisle. If she gave me a hard time about a safetly rule, I would have asked her to leave, much as I imagine this manager did. I would've done this doubly so if she had a baby because it's NOT SAFE to sit on the floor of a shop with an infant in your hands.
This isn't about lactivism, it's about safely, plain and simple. Could the store manager have handled things better? Maybe. Could this woman have used a whit of common sense? Definitely.
For the record, when I was working in retail in different levels of management, I've had a few women breastfeeding in the store and I've never asked one to leave. I have asked many, many people to leave for abusing safetly policies, such as climbing things, horsing around, and yes, blocking aisles up.
