Nicholas Kristof has written extensively about Darfur in his NY Times column. Today's piece is a call for action, citing the success of modest international interventions in restoring hope to the village of Labado, Sudan. It is a painful piece to read, because it describes specific and heinous atrocities. The closing paragraph is particularly powerful:
"Mr. Bush values a frozen embryo. But he hasn't mustered much compassion for an entire population of terrorized widows and orphans. And he is cementing in place the very hopelessness he dreads, by continuing to avert his eyes from the first genocide of the 21st century."
Another great article from today's NYTimes describes a Lactivist Nurse-in outside of ABC's headquarters yesterday, in response to rude anti-breastfeeding comments made by Barbara Walters on "The View." The article cites several examples of nursing mothers being hassled and/or evicted from public spaces. This surprises and saddens me. I breastfed my son, who will turn 8 this summer, for 18 months. I nursed on planes and trains, in waiting rooms, malls, grocery stores, libraries and parks in Europe, the United States, and Canada. The closest I came to being "harassed" was on the train from Milan to Vicenza. I was attempting to be very discreet and covered my son and my torso with a blanket. I was still quite new at breastfeeding, and I didn't want to offend the Italian sensibilities of the distinguished-looking businessman sitting across from me. He told me, "Take that blanket off! You'll suffocate your baby!"
When we returned from Europe, I had the good fortune to find myself living in New York, which was the first state to enact specific laws protecting the civil rights of nursing mothers and their babies.
Shame on you, Ms. Walters. I wish I had a TV so that I could boycott you!!
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