You’d think in 2016, a mother would feel safe breastfeeding her hungry baby while on a shopping trip.
But this viral video of a man verbally assaulting a mom who was nursing her 4-week-old baby in a Target cafe proves we’ve still got a long way to go.
Jessie Maher, a mother from Connecticut, posted the disturbing cell phone footage to Facebook on June 13. In the caption she wrote: “Before the video started rolling he looked at me and said (very angrily), ‘Can’t you do that somewhere else? That’s f***ing disgusting. You are nasty.’ I responded with, ‘I am feeding my baby, and I have the right to do it here.'”
At the beginning of the clip, you can hear Maher say, “Because I’m feeding my baby, this man is going crazy. I’m shaking.” Thankfully, a fellow mom and a herd of Target employees jumped in to defend the nursing mama.
The tense, but inspiring video has been viewed more than 7.5 million times and has over 81,000 shares. See for yourself.
The first time I watched this video, I was shaking with rage at the way this terrible man was treating a new mother with a baby in her arms. But by the end, I was practically in tears because of the other shoppers and Target employees who stepped in to protect her. That’s what we need more of in this messed up world: People taking a stand to defend those who need it.
I think the mom in the green, Sarah Pasquariello-Pera, said it best: “Don’t ever be ashamed of feeding your baby. Of all the horror in the world, this is the last thing he needs to be worried about.”
Amen.
Featured screen shot via Facebook/Jessie Maher
What do you think of this video? Have you ever been harassed while breastfeeding in public?
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