On Television: "The Rosa Parks Of Exposed Breasts"

Chris Berg invited me to participate in his Friday roundtable discussion on Valley News Live last night, and as always I was happy to oblige. Our topics of discussion for the show were the Island Park lurker controversy, the breastfeeding controversy in Moorhead, and the seemingly cozy flood diversion buyouts happening on Oxbow.

The breastfeeding issue from yesterday has earned me a lot of blowback, with a lot of people jumping to the conclusion that I’ve got something against women breastfeeding in public. But I really don’t. After our son is born next month my wife will be breastfeeding in public. I hope that nobody gives her grief over that.

Rather, my problem with what happened in Moorhead was the social media outrage and the decision to organize a protest because someone politely asked a mother to maybe be a little more discreet the next time she’s feeding her child at the public pool. I’m more than a little weary of this indignant and self-righteous attitude which many adopt when they are confronted with the fact that not everybody sees the world as they do.

Is a little common courtesy and accommodation too much to ask? I’m glad the law expressly allows for breastfeeding in public, and those who gawk or leer at a breastfeeding mother need to get a life, but I’m not going to have a lot of sympathy for someone posturing themselves as the Rosa Parks of exposed breasts.

The lady was asked to maybe use a towel the next time she breastfeeds. It’s not like anyone told her to go sit in the back of the bus. A little perspective would be nice.

The whole show is above.