The Booby Channel

Well, looks like we're talking about it again - this whole breast feeding, not breast feeding thing. I just heard people in my office talking about it. When I left home, the Today Show was talking about - the news update I just saw is talking about. And now I'm thinking, why are we still talking about it at all??!!

The newest outrage is some expert somewhere said something that people disagree with (baby formula should be by prescription only to encourage breast feeding) but that's always what it is, isn't it?
Some expert saying something, it takes up time in the morning shows, people argue about it at work and the next day it's forgotten. So much so that within a week we can have the same argument again and not remember the last time at all. It's all got to do with that anger brain again, getting outraged at something and losing the ability to think rationally. And I myself have fallen victim to joining in the argument at times, especially that of breast feeding in public and it's only just now that I have realised the trap I have fallen into.

Now truthfully, I personally am a big supporter of children being breast fed as long as possible. Not only is there well documented evidence that it is better for the physical and mental health of the baby and their development later in life, but it's a special bonding relationship that is unique to mothers and their children, which I think is incredible. It is a beautiful exhibit of our evolution into these amazing creatures called humans, it grounds us into remembering exactly what we are and the highly unlikely nature of our very existence.
And I think that there is really no case for being against breast feeding in public - seriously people, get over it. We've all seen breasts before, haven't we? I don't really know what our lives would be like without them to be frank - they bring so much joy to the world! And really most of the time, breast-feeding women are quite descrete about it. I don't really like watching old people eat in public - so I don't watch them eat. I kindly look away and let them slop food around their chops (really watching anyone eat is not great). The point is - we're animals, it's natural, stop being precious and accept it.
The flip side of supporting breast feeding is knowing that it's not always possible, or practical, or positive to the health of the mother and baby, so a little acceptance on both sides wouldn't go astray. Raising children is hard enough without extra judgements on top, especially at this very early stage, and the health and wellbeing of everyone is important. If it's your choice to stop breast-feeding, or not do it at all, then so be it.

And now that I've had my rant, I'll get back to my point. This is just an issue, raised by morning TV and current affairs broadcasta (mostly commercial stations, you know it) to get you outraged and watching. If they can keep your attention a little longer and get you interested in what you're seeing, it'll be easier for my kind to flog wares to you in the ad breaks. The issue above was only talked about a couple of weeks ago, and as if by magic everybody forgot, they start talking about it again and we do actually forget to notice. I think there's a room full of media "experts" coming up with ways to talk about the same things somewhere and having worked with marketing people, I genuinely believe that may be true. Common topics lately are anything relating to child rearing: breast feeding, obesity (yawn!), immunisation (this is a biggie and another ridiculous topic we should not even be discussing any more), controlled crying; and other things like climate change (as long as it's based on opinion and not science), terrorism (I hope I can type that without being arrested), and oh yes - boat people. Don't even get me started on what a wasteful and distracting topic this is - is this really one the biggest issues we face today????

The biggest issue really is that we crave this debate, this argument, and so in turn we fuel it. But the media only sell this to us because it is what we want - it is the product we seek from the media. It is the reason our government is the way it is, because they're just trying to please us, and what we want is conflict. So I guess the point is: become aware of the games being played on your brain, let's starting looking for new information, new actual science, new topics and ideas we haven't discussed a million, billion times before. See the debates for what they are and ask for something more. The entire industry is reactive - it's not a conspiracy, it's just good business....



Please note: the name of this post came from my daughter who misheard me when I said something to my wife about the Movie Channel, and proceeded to go around our house for the next hour talking about the Booby Channel. It sounded very interesting so I thought I'd use it.....