in my opinion of course.
His opinion piece is here. In case you don’t want to link, the important part is here:
“Moms are often daunted from breast-feeding in public, but Bebe au Lait covers allow moms to breastfeed outdoors, protect baby from the sun …” Are they kidding? Moms should be daunted from breast-feeding in public. And I don’t think this blanket, for apparently that’s what a Bebe au Lait cover is, is going to make them feel less daunted. (”Bebe au Lait” apparently is French for “Baby Under Blankee.”) Breast-feeding, like most other bodily functions men and women are forced by nature to engage in, should not be performed in restaurants or in large groups of people.
He’s quoting an advertisement sent to him by Bebe au Lait, and that part is fine for him to pick on….but the last sentence makes me want to throw up. A bodily function? Thats a term mostly reserved for urine and feces not feeding.
In case you don’t get to read my letter to the editor in print (if they print it)…here it is:
As a life long reader of the Star Bulletin, and sometimes reader of Mr. Memminger’s column I was disappointed in his prehistoric views towards breastfeeding in a modern society. Although I found humor in the theme of his column, the idea that people selling items expect him to advertise for them, I find the opinion portion about breastfeeding to be very offensive.
Not only is breastfeeding in public perfectly legal (see HRS 489-21 and 22 approved seven years ago) but the idea that a child should be hidden while eating implies that all adults should eat in private. While Mr. Memminger might be a messy eater, he might also be a clean one who chews with his mouth closed - neither should stop his enjoyment of nourishment in public. Equally; a woman has the right to breastfeed in any location where she alone has the right to be - and if Mr. Memminger has a problem sexualizing the nipple or areola being exposed as a part of breast feeding (I assume the rest of the breast that may show does not offend him since more tends to be shown by the average bikini) then I suggest he find his own professional mental help.
Mothers and their children should not be publicly shamed from an act that is so widely understood to be in the best interest of the child and the community (as noted by the American Academy of Pediatrics, the World Health Organization and others). It was a disservice for Mr. Memminger to share his personal prejudices with the people of Hawaii through his position at the Star Bulletin and I request a public apology.
Papaya Mom Petzoldt
Kailua, Hawaii
And his response a few short hours later:
Thanks for your note. I write a humor column, not news articles so I sometimes use various writing styles to entertain and hopefully amuse, including overstatement, as in the case of poking fun at a pointless new product designed to take advantage of breastfeeding.
But I’ve learned that it virtually impossible to write a humor column about anything these days without someone being offended. So I will add your note to my growing file of “people who are offended by everything” where it will share space with self-described witches, lobster advocates, Gunsmoke fanatics, Sherl Crow fans who think using one square of toilet paper will save the world and many others who are just waiting to have their feelings hurt.
Aloha,
CM
And my response yet again, because having the last word is fun and I am not too busy today.
A humor column it is, and I found the overall theme very funny. I did however find it troubling that your personal opinion came off in such an inflamitory way as to make a new nursing Mother believe that nursing in public might be something comparable to using the lua in public. I felt that the other side of that opinion needed to be heard which is why I wrote my response as a letter to the editor and copied you.
At the same time - your humor is your job and if your intention was to show the insanity of a mother being made uncomfortable to nurse in public - then I am mistaken in my offense. And I would like to be filed far away from the Sherl Crow fans - anyone who is wiping with only once piece of paper is someone I’d rather not sit to close to.
Aloha,
Papaya Mom
ETA - a few days later he has now responded in full in a new column Keeping abreast of taboo subjects
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