Shocked - did anyone else see BBC Look East - breastfeeding........

[HRHQoQ]

story??? just found the story here .

Some of the commments from people about the story (which they apparently had at lunchtime too) were absolutely shocking - "it's disgusting" were among ones that stuck out at me. Not wanting to get into a huge breast/bottle/formula advertising debate about it (as I'm going to work tonight so won't be around to partcipate until tomorrow afternoon/evening.

But I'm sure it's attitudes like that which have a bigger impact on a woman's decision to breastfeed, than some formula advertising.

i don't think its about the police doing the wrong thing mummydear - its about society's attitude towards breastfeeding. I felt outraged about that policewoman's death, but didn't comment because there is nothing i can say. This affects the health of all our children, and it is still permissible to complain about it. Its crazy.

I agree. My anger and sadness is all directed at the person complaining in the first place, not actually at the PC trying to deal with it.

Apprecaite your comments Skyler and Ruty, but ther has been some strong words used about the police otherwise known as bastards on this thread. Probably I'm a bit to senstive especailly in view of what happend last week.

I suppose I see it from two points of view , being a mother who breastfed and a police officer.

I don't want the thread to be about the wrongs and rights of the police just felt I had to post after some of the comments made.

Yes, the person complaining is a sad tosser but the policeman is the person who humiliated this woman. She wasn't doing anything illegal! I told a policeman that I didn't like the way someone was dressed, do you think he would pop over and 'warn' them about it?
Oh, this makes me go off POP with fury!

And I still think this policeman is a bastard.

Aloha, I agree with you that the police man humilated the woman. No doubt he will be spoken to about it and maybe disciplined but he will not get lose his/her job.

Also agree about the member fo the public - there are so many sad tossers about and the police unfortunately get to meet most of them !!r

I am so sceptical that he will be disciplined, sadly. I rather suspect he will be patted on the back and told that it is all a lot of nonsense. In the meantime the damage is done.
Part of me wishes that this hadn't been publicised as it will put women off breastfeeding. But on the other hand, how else will things change?

sadly, it will certainly put women off breastfeeding in public. Unless we all rise up like the raving feminists we are!

I think this will have the opposite effect, I think women will contiune to breastfeed as it highlights that it is natural and should be accepted. the officer was wrong and the public need educating, more reports like this highlight this issue .

If a women feels breatfeeding is right for her then she will do it.

absolutely disgusting and shocking. Well done Enid on your message to them. Bloody idiots.

MD, you and me both

Matthew Wright has just been discussing this. Never thought I'd say 'Thank god for Anne Diamond and Giles Brandreth' - the ones who stood up for breastfeeding. Even some of the breastfeeding callers were a disappointment.

LOL! No, not a sentence I've often thought of uttering! What did they say? Was Matthew Wright suitably scrunch-faced at the thought of norks in public?

The policeman should be fired? oh FFS - get a grip.

He was scrunch-faced. Lots of utterances about do some women deliberately do it ostentasiously. Well, some might. Just none that I've ever known or seen. And that Scottish Fame AScademy bloke was a tw*t. Why would he want to see it when having a businessmen's lunch at the Ivy? Don't look then, you fool.

I agree - the copper shouldn't be fired. Think things got carried away here. He does need to appreciate that his intervention was inappropriate however.

I'm more annoyed with the Norfolk Policy Authority in general since their press release does not acknowledge any mistake

This thread is totally out of control imo and a complete overreaction - the policeman made a mistake by pointing this out to the woman but it's hardly a sackable offence! I thought we wanted more police officers on the streets, not less?

Good God, I cannot believe this has illicited such a ridiculous response - a police officer was shot dead last week leaving young children behind and how many people responded to that (and 'nothing to say' is rubbish - there could have been a discussion about better protection for police officers for example)....or the other 6 million horrific things that are happening to people every day all over the world.

G'gook, Wouldn't you feel upset if I complained to a police officer that it was highly offensive to me to see you bottlefeeding your baby because I felt it was unnatural & disgusting? And insisted that the officer go tell you as much, that you should hide yourself away while you do that shameful thing with your child?

I read something about that in the paper today Gdg, how a senior police officer visited the dead pc's house and was completely stopped in his tracks by the sight of the 4 year old dd's unopened birthday presents. She had been waiting until mum got home before starting her party....

Why is it that whenever there's a thread about breastfeeding that gets a lot of responses, someone ALWAYS posts to say why aren't you posting about more important things?

Of course I'm extremely sad about the policewoman who was murdered, my heart aches for her poor little girl whose birthday will always, always be the day her mother died - but it's not the kind of topic I usually post about, except to say how sad I am.

I don't have strong opinions on how to better protect police officers, I know that bullet-proof vests are heavier to wear than stab vests, I believe that arming all police officers would be a spectacularly bad idea, but I do think more of them should have training, and perhaps there ought to be more armed response vehicles. However, in this case, I'm not sure what would have helped.

But there's a large number of subjects I don't post about - 4x4 vehicles, for instance - I'm not interested enough to post or read the 600+ post threads that that subject generates.

However, breastfeeding and the right of a woman to do just that, uninterrupted by bigots and mentalists - yes, that does interest me. And I will post on it whether I am told there are more important things to post about or not.

But I don't think the policeman should be sacked, just given a painful wedgie. I'm kind like that.

lol at painful wedgie!

An enormous apology from the Norfolk Constabulary is what I'd like to see.

I feel gutted for that 4yo child of the dead policewoman, too. But there's no argument there (well, whether police should be armed, but that's not come up directly). We know who did what wrong on the day, there's not a lot of disagreement; no one will publicly defend robbers & police killers.

But there are people out there who genuinely believe this woman was in the wrong to feed her baby in public, and they won't listen to reason about it.

Zebra - yes I'd think it was a bit silly but I wouldn't want the officer sacked or disciplined and I wouldn't make a great big fuss about it in the press - I'd just think it was silly and then get on with my life. I wouldn't lose any sleep over it and I certainly wouldn't baying for blood - I just think this is a gross overreaction.

I think an apology to the lady concerned is reasonable but I don't think it really needs to make national news.

So it's not important that women should be allowed to feed in public without fear of people asking them to move along (asking via police officers, fgs)?

sacked? - bloody hell! I can hear the knitting needles clacking from here.