Let's Find Something Real to Argue About

As many of you may know, Afghan President Hamid Karzai recently signed a law that took women's rights in his country back to the days of the Taliban. People around the world are outraged, especially those countries who have been an integral part of the war in Afghanistan. After all, if this is what the "friendly" government is going to do, then what exactly are we fighting for?

This past Friday, Naomi Lakritz had a great column in the Calgary Herald on the subject. She commented on the huge disconnect between women's rights in the first and third world, and how what we call an injustice pales in comparison to what millions of women around the world have to go through on a daily basis. We don't have to worry about being able to go to school, we can leave the house without a man's permission, we can marry who we want to, we don't have to worry about being killed for being raped. The list goes on and on.

So I found it particularly ironic that the same day Ms. Lakritz's column ran, that one of the big news stories of the day here in Calgary was about women being asked to leave City pools to breastfeed. I don't mean that they were asked to leave the pool facility, no, they were asked to stop breastfeeding their baby while they were actually in the pool. They admit that they were told that they could breastfeed on the deck, but apparently that's not good enough.

I don't know what I found more upsetting, the fact that these women are being so ignorant or the fact that the City just rolled over and was all apologetic, "Oh no, they can breastfeed wherever they like". Being asked to leave the pool and sit on the deck to breastfeed is not an injustice. If you think that it's an injustice, then you obviously need to get a life.

I think what some people forget is that living in a tolerant, accepting society, doesn't mean that everyone is allowed to do whatever they want all of the time. There are limits. As one lifeguard said, "No one is allowed to eat in the pool." So take your baby, sit on the deck and while he's eating, think about how you might use some of your time to help women who really need it.