Modesty and breastfeeding in public.

Modesty is an underutilized concept these days. Seems any and everything is permitted as a way of "expressing yourself", "being yourself", etc. Probably a holdover from the "do your own thing" thinking of a few decades back. Whatever.

Maybe I'm turning into a crank with age. I don't know. But it seems part of going along to get along is not being needlessly provocative. So some behaviors are out of bounds, some are to be done with discretion and some are always okey-dokey. The sensibility of the majority rules (what a concept).

So if the majority feels there's no problem with a nondenominational prayer at a public event, fine. If the majority feels "wardrobe malfunctions" shouldn't take place during prime time that's how it should be. Period.

What got this particular rant going is a recurring item over at Catholic Dads. Seems some woman was breastfeeding her kid in public at an Applebee's restaurant. She was asked to cover up. You can figure out the rest. To her credit she's not suing, but that's about the only thing you can give her credit for. Before anyone starts complaining how everything is sexualized, I've seen an interview photo of this chick. Tell the truth and shame the Devil; she looks like a pig they put in clothes. No sexual attraction there!

The initial post on this came up about a month ago. A lot of responses were generated, the War Department got into it with a "breastfeeding consultant" student/wannabe. It got humorous when the WD invited the wannabe to her blog, My Wonderful Life, to discuss it further. The wannabe walked into a shitstorm, not knowing she'd get taken apart by the WD's friends. Whining about her "Catholic beliefs" got her nowhere. The WD is a very cheerfully committed Methodist and most of her friends aren't Catholic either. The funniest part was watching the few Catholics who DO post there lay into this clueless chick! Seems they didn't like their religion being hijacked to further someone's personal opinions.

But now that topic is back and yours truly doesn't know enough to shut up so it might gain some new life. It's not a particularly exclusive site, anyone who wants to mosey over and make a few comments should go for it.

IMHO if you want to stick a boob in a kid's mouth, fine. It's a great way to feed an infant. Just don't flaunt it in public. Be discreet.

Talking about how boobs are out for public view in other cultures is idiotic also. I've been in some of those cultures and believe me, not all boobs should be seen. Go to an Italian topless beach and watch the 50-60 year old grandmothers there, then come back and argue the point if you're of a mind to. Lottsa luck!

And if we're going to cite other cultures we should go for the whole enchilada. Italians see nothing wrong with copping a quick feel off a woman's butt when she passes on a city street. Want that to be done to your wife/sister/daughter/etc. ? I didn't think so. So selectively cherry picking behaviors to emulate is baloney. We're American and we have certain values and standards we live by. Personal modesty is one that should be reinforced, not torn down. These days ANY modesty is getting more difficult to find, we don't need to accelerate it's disintegration.

I recall watching a program about George Washington some time back where a number of middle school students were taught about him and how he believed a gentleman lived his life to provide happiness for others. Kinda has a vaguely Christian ring to it, right? Anyway, these kids were completely lost with that line of reasoning, felt the Father of Our Country should have been more about himself than selfless service. How telling on the current state of our culture. It falls into the whole idea of modesty because we try to be modest, in part, out of consideration for others. We want to treat them as we ourselves wish to be treated. I know I've better things to do than have to avert my eyes from "Junior" slurping down his latest meal off Mom. For those who don't know or have forgotten, babies can be very sloppy eaters.

As a parting note I'd like to say that breastfeeding CAN be done discreetly in public to the point of being virtually unseen by anyone. That leads me and some others to believe the Applebee chick had an agenda going on. The WD can do this discreetly, as can most women of my acquaintance. But like anything else, you have to know your limitations. As an example;

these ladies should probably refrain. Just my opinion.