Michelle Roush – 5/14/07

This page was last updated on May 14, 2007.

Breast feeding [sic] isn’t offensive; Michelle Roush; Beaver County Times; May 14, 2007.

The purpose of this critique is not to come down on this issue one way or another. It’s to point out inconsistencies in the world of political correctness.

Below is a detailed critique of the subject letter.

“In response to Donna Vickodil’s letter to the editor (‘Keep breast feeding private,’ Thursday), I have to say that the comparison of breast feeding in public to going back to the times of Sodom and Gomorrah was ridiculous.

“While I do think that our society is not as modest as it should be and agree that there are things that should be kept private, I do not think that breast feeding falls into this category. I’m more offended by the teenagers or, even worse, adults, who wear clothes that display more than you would see at the beach. That’s not necessary and is done for the attention.

“But breast feeding [sic]? It is necessary. That is simply feeding my child, who will not take a bottle. (You will find this is true of many breast-fed babies.)

“You could be sitting beside me on a bench in the mall as I feed my son and not know it. I’m extremely discreet and do nothing to draw attention to myself.

“If you see a mom cuddling a baby across her lap and the thought that she could be breast feeding [sic] horrifies you, look away. All that mom is doing is feeding her child, not putting on a show.”

[RWC] If you were one of the millions of employees who had to attend your company’s harassment (racial, sexual, et cetera) classes, you learned the person claiming offense defines what is offensive. For example, if I compliment a coworker on her dress, my compliment is offensive if the coworker says it is. Therefore, in the world of PC, Ms. Roush is in no position to assert breast-feeding in public isn’t offensive. By PC definition, the activity is offensive because someone was offended.

The second point is Ms. Roush’s comment to “look away.” I don’t know Ms. Roush’s position on smoking bans on private property, but if “look away” is OK for public breast-feeding, why isn’t “don’t patronize or work at smoking-allowed businesses” OK?