Reoccurring theme

I think that a reoccurring theme in my blogs will be the overwhelming necessity for people display their ignorance and stupidity. I will be the first to say that I do not always do the right thing. I make mistakes aplenty and have no problem admitting to them. Just last week I realized that I had been going on and on about how the title of a movie was being pronounced wrong. I had, in fact, read the title wrong and the pronunciation was correct, silly me. Yes, most of my mistakes are much larger than the mispronunciation of a movie title but this was the most recent and I thought that I should go with it.
Today, as I do every day, I came home and read the news on my favorite website www.fark.com An article about a breastfeeding mother who had been asked to stop feeding caught my attention. That is an outrage you say? No, the mother was feeding her twenty-one month old child while swimming in a pool. Not a private pool where only your family swims (as if that would make a difference) but a public pool where anyone and everyone goes to relax. I fail to see any intelligent thought in this decision. When you enter a public pool you’re playing a scary game of odds, with all of the bacteria, urine, bodily fluids, other contaminants and chemicals found in a public pool, we should at the very least discourage the ingestion of any fluid while swimming. To breastfeed a toddler while swimming in what amounts to a large petri dish is not only unwise but disgusting.
Stupidity is natural and can be found in all life. As thinking humans we understand that when we’re “in the moment” stupid and often foolish reactions occur. As I read the comments after the article I was amazed at some of the comments of the readers who had the benefit of taking a step back and analyzing the situation. I think that some of the women readers stopped reading the article after they found out that the woman was asked to stop breastfeeding. These women then commented on how the rights of the lactating mother were being trampled upon without realizing that there might possibly be a reason for the request to stop feeding. Others commented on the benefits of breastfeeding and ignored the point that the woman was feeding in the pool.
I also want to say that I did find many well thought out posts from intelligent readers. There is hope out there for the human race but be sure that we are in the minority. I found one great comment from a “Louis G.” who wrote: I manage a fairly large swimming pool. There are far too many chances for bacteria to grow, believe me. We don't need to add to the problem. The local health department would shut this down pronto!
I feel that the lifeguard was well within his rights to order this woman out of the pool if for nothing else the safety of the child. I may be wrong here but I have to be honest, I don’t think so. You can find the article here and below I have included my comments for your benefit.



My goodness, people. Lets stand up for common sense. It’s one thing for a woman to be told that she cannot breastfeed her children and another for a woman to push her breastfeeding in places where it is unsafe for her, her child, and for others. A public pool is just one of many places where a woman should not breastfeed her children.
Just last summer there was a breakout of epidemic proportions of bacteria that causes severe diarrhea passed by swimmers in public pools. With all of the things floating around in a public pool we don’t need to knowingly add another body fluid. Maybe I am wrong. Maybe the smart thing to do would be to breastfeed our children in large community pools where people of questionable health and cleanliness go each day to relax their weary bodies. And since we all know that some children, no matter how much we may request that they do not, will urinate in a pool anyway, then why shouldn’t we eat and drink in it.
Use some common sense people (mothers). Breastfeeding, like other natural functions have a proper time and place. I may be just a MAN who cannot comprehend the bond that exists between a nursing child and its mother but I do know when enough is enough. Clearly the lifeguard was correct in telling this woman that she was not allowed to breastfeed her children in the pool. She should have gotten out and at the very least taken a seat somewhere and feed her children in a respectable manner. Remember that when you do not have respect for others you cannot have respect for yourself.