The Random Crap Thread 2: It Hits the Fan.

TommiR

TommiR

Vrii said:
It's right around the point where you assume that the people who are shocked or offended by the sight of the baby eating in an entirely natural way are actually negatively impacted by it in any meaningful way. Add the fact that you're suggesting that the mother should physically move to a different place, and that that's a smaller inconvenience than for the other people to just not watch.
Click to expand...
I doubt sensible people have a problem with a baby eating. Some sensible people may have a problem with something they consider indecent exposure.

To my mind there is no actual harm done when a woman is breastfeeding openly, and neither have I claimed there to be. The same can be said of the majority of things that go against social taboos present. For instance, a drunk urinating in front of a wall on the street causes no real harm, and indeed the reaction of most people is to look the other way and walk past. It doesn't mean what the drunk is doing is actually ok, particularly if there happens to be a public toilet ten meters away where such natural needs can be taken care of in private.

I see this as an issue of the convenience of one versus the comfort of possibly several others. I'm not saying mothers can't breastfeed, but what I am saying is it would be really nice if they took some reasonable steps to reduce any possible discomfort to others nearby. Most (?) women do that, and that is very good. Some don't, and the attitude seems to be that everyone else should conform to their convenience. I'm not sure I fully understand that thinking.
stienman said:
Before I approach your question can you help me better understand what negative feelings are raised when people see a nursing baby?

Is it disgust? Embarrassment? Arousal?

In what way are these feelings a problem for society? What actions does this force spectators to take that result in harm?

What inconvenience occurs to others when they are in the presence of a nursing infant?
Click to expand...
I hope the above serves to answer your query. If not, please say so and I'll be happy to clarify further.
 
ZenMonkey

ZenMonkey

I have a three-step suggestion.

1. When you see a mother nursing a baby and are deeply offended, move your eyes, head, body, or any combination of the three so that you do not have to look at her.
2. Get over it.
3. Repeat at 1.
 
GasBandit

GasBandit

Staff member
I'm all in favor our nation getting the hell over its puritan hangups about sex and nudity.

 
PatrThom

PatrThom

GasBandit said:
I'm all in favor our nation getting the hell over its puritan hangups about sex and nudity.

Image not included, go back a post to see it.
Click to expand...
Ah, the penis. It is the bald-headed mouse to America's Puritanical elephant in the room.

--Patrick
 
TommiR

TommiR

stienman said:
Unfortunately it seems as though you haven't answered any of my questions. It seems like you are speaking very generally in a hand-wavy sort of way that suggests the possibility that in some cases some people might experience some discomfort, and then you conclude that mothers and babies should bear the burden and make certain that this unspecified, ambiguous "discomfort" is never caused.

You indicate that this is a "social taboo" and that it is "indecent exposure" and yet you still fail to explain what the deal is. Perhaps if you addressed my questions more directly, one answer per question, I might better be able to understand the problem:
Click to expand...
I'm sorry if I was not able to sufficiently explain my position. I'll try to answer your questions better this time.
What negative feelings are raised when people see a nursing baby? Is it disgust? Embarrassment? Arousal? Something else?
Click to expand...
Objections to breastfeeding in public are usually made on the grounds that it is analogous to indecent exposure, so I assume (and only assume) that the negative feelings involved are the same as when witnessing indecent exposure. I am unsure as to how those feelings are properly categorised, seeing as I lack anything more than basic formal education in psychology. Embarrassment, perhaps? As far as formal and accurate definitions go, I don't think I am able to help you there.
In what way are these feelings a problem for society at large?
Click to expand...
So little as to be termed insignificant for society at large. The same applies for most kinds of socially inappropriate behavior where no actual harm is done, the scale of negative effects to social dynamics is so limited as to be insignificant. Even some things that are against the law, such as clear indecent exposure, cause no real harm, and the only thing a person needs to do to avoid them is to look the other way and forget it ever happened.

I doubt any actual harm is produced by seeing a breastfeeding woman, much the same as the actual harm produced by disapproving looks directed at her. It is embarrassing, possibly induces feelings of shame, but not much more than that and certainly no real harm.
What actions do these negative feeling force spectators to take that result in harm?
Click to expand...
No particular action is forced upon spectators. I assume the desire of the ones who have a problem with it is to not witness it, and to not have what they see as inappropriate behavior taking place. The first part can be remedied by either walking away or, where that is not possible, to look the other way and pretend it's not happening. Solutions to the second part that immediately spring to mind of the individual are the same as when seeing inappropriate behavior taking place.
What inconvenience occurs to others when they are in the presence of a nursing infant?
Click to expand...
I suppose the only inconvenience that takes place is witnessing something they may term as inappropriate behavior. Whether or not they hold breastfeeding in public to be inappropriate depends on them, of course, with the probability depending on the social norms held by the population of the locale.
Also, are you seriously suggesting that nursing an infant in public is similar to urinating in public? I could go on about the public health dangers of that practice, and demonstrate actual societal harm, on top of which there are definite laws and rules in most places about it. It's no where near a similar activity, nevermind the subtle implication that nursing is a disgusting activity worthy of the same scorn that one might give a drunk pissing on the street.
Click to expand...
I posit that the pattern and mechanics of negative emotions associated with witnessing the behavior in question are similar in both cases for those who disapprove, and I suggest nothing more.

Though very much a superfluous aspect to the topic at hand, I am interested in your take to the health dangers and actual societal harm associated with urinating in public. I thought the urine of a healthy human is non-toxic, scatters and evaporates on the street to a degree that odors are nearly imperceptible to a human with standard olfactory capabilities unless they get very close, and the visible stain is not significantly different to that produced by the accidental spilling of a glass of lemonade. I am under the impression that most hazardous aspects of human urine are associated with quantities far in excess of what a single bladder can hold.
 
LittleSin

LittleSin

Jet handed me a nerf sword today and looked at me expectantly.

I asked him he wanted to fight. No answer.

So I told him to kneel. He was confused but he did. I then knighted him. "Sir Jet Adam Mark Miller of Avalon."

He grinned, stood, and I handed him back the sword...

He immediately attempted to skewer me with it then ran away laughing.

Alas, slain by my bravest knight.
 
Tress

Tress

LittleSin said:
Jet handed me a nerf sword today and looked at me expectantly.

I asked him he wanted to fight. No answer.

So I told him to kneel. He was confused but he did. I then knighted him. "Sir Jet Adam Mark Miller of Avalon."

He grinned, stood, and I handed him back the sword...

He immediately attempted to skewer me with it then ran away laughing.

Alas, slain by my bravest knight.
Click to expand...
 
Gusto

Gusto

LittleSin said:
Jet handed me a nerf sword today and looked at me expectantly.

I asked him he wanted to fight. No answer.

So I told him to kneel. He was confused but he did. I then knighted him. "Sir Jet Adam Mark Miller of Avalon."

He grinned, stood, and I handed him back the sword...

He immediately attempted to skewer me with it then ran away laughing.

Alas, slain by my bravest knight.
Click to expand...
Sounds familiar.

 
Frank

Frank

I went to a local metal show last night, and it was a pretty good time. Now, when they say that a metal show is an awful place to pick up women....well, they're absolutely right. There were scads of cute rocker chicks everywhere, each one of them attached to a greasy, little jeans wearing long hair.

I don't think I was their type anyway, I was employable.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top