Posts Tagged With: child abuse

online support for Black / Afrikan sexual abuse survivors

Posted on July 3, 2012 by Kemetia M Afrika

The mission of the Black Sexual Abuse Survivors (BSAS) Web  site is to serve as an online support group for black, adult males and females  who were sexually abused as children.

BSAS is a non-professional,  not-for-profit resource, where its participants provide support to each other  online with their recovery from sexual abuse.

What is Sexual Abuse?
Sexual abuse is when a person (usually  an adult, but can be another child/teen)  forces or manipulates a child/teen into  sexual activity, or uses the child/teen for his/her sexual gratification. This can  include incest.

What is Incest?
Incest is sexual activity with a relative.
(Please note: Some individuals have expanded this definition to include non-blood-related, individuals who have a close relationship to the family or child/teen)

What are Sexual Abuse Survivors Recovering from?
They are recovering from being victims.

General Definitions
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): a psychological reaction occurring after experiencing a highly stressing event (i.e. wartime combat, physical violence, sexual abuse or a natural disaster) that is usually characterized by depression, anxiety, flashbacks, recurrent nightmares and avoidance of reminders of the event — abbreviation PTSD — called also post-traumatic stress syndrome.

Coping Mechanisms: The sum total of ways in which we deal with minor to major stress and trauma. Some of these processes are unconscious ones, others are learned behavior, and still others are skills we consciously master in order to reduce stress, or other intense emotions like depression.

Sexual Abuse Survivor: someone who has experienced sexual abuse but identifies his/herself as a survivor as opposed to a victim. A survivor has the desire to live and rebuild their life.

Perpetrator: A person who commits a sexual act against a child. This person can be a man, woman, child/teen. Despite a common myth, homosexual men are not more likely to sexually abuse children than heterosexual men are.

 RESOURCES FOR HEALING

Please note, the following lists are not comprehensive. Listed below are the
top 10 resources recommended by BSAS.

Top 10 books recommended by BSAS:
•“African Americans and Child Sexual Abuse,” by Veronica D. Abney
•“Boys into Men: Raising Our African American Teenage Sons,” by Nancy Boyd-Franklin, Pamela A. Toussaint,
and A. J. Franklin
•“Broken Boys/Mending Men: Recovery from Childhood Sexual Abuse,” by Stephen D. Gruban-Black
•“The Courage to Heal: A Guide for Women Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse,” by Ellen Bass and Laura Davis
•“I Will Survive: The African-American Guide to Healing from Sexual Assault and Abuse,” by Lori S. Robinson
and Julia A. Boyd
•“Lasting Effects of Child Sexual Abuse,” by Gail Elizabeth Wyatt
•“No Secrets No Lies: How Black Families Can Heal from Sexual Abuse,” by Robin D. Stone
•“Racism & Child Protection: The Black Experience of Child Sexual Abuse,” by Valerie Jackson
•“Sexual Abuse in Nine North American Cultures: Treatment and Prevention,” by Lisa Aronson Fontes
•“Stolen Women: Reclaiming Our Sexuality, Taking Back Our Lives,” by Gail Wyatt

*For a comprehensive list of books on sexual abuse, click here: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_b/
104-6485486-3943117?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=blacks+and+sexual+abuse

Top 10 web Sites
recommended by BSAS:
•Amanae: holistic non-touching bodywork specifically for those healing from trauma like sexual abuse. http://amanae.us/

•Black Women’s Health Imperative: national organization that focuses black women’s health. www.blackwomenshealth.org

•ChildHelp USA/National Child Abuse Hotline: a national organization that provides resources and support to abused children. www.childhelpusa.org

•Darkness to Light: a national nonprofit to designed to create public awareness and prevention of child sexual abuse. www.darkness2light.org

•Incest Survivors Anonymous (ISA): national 12-step support group for male  and female incest survivors. http://www.lafn.org/medical/isa/home.html

•Men Can Stop Rape: an organization to prevent rape and violence against women. http://www.mencanstoprape.org
•National Center for Victims of Crime: a national organization that provides resources and help for victims of crime. www.ncvc.org

•Rape, Abuse & Incest National
Network: one of the country’s largest networks for sexual abuse survivors; has 24-hour hotline (800-656-4673), has list of local rape crisis centers. www.rainn.org

•Survivors of Incest Anonymous: organization for male and female sexual abuse survivors. This organization may also include perpetrators. www.siawso.org

•Voices in Action: international organization for sexual abuse survivors; provides local referrals for help.
www.voices-action.org

Black Psychologists:

The Association of Black Psychologists: has
a national list of black psychologists. http://www.abpsi.org/listing.htm

Legal Resources:

Lawyers for Children America (LFCA)
151 Farmington Avenue, RW4A
Hartford, CT 06156-3124
860-273-0441 (phone)
CT@lawyersforchildrenamerica.org (e-mail)
www.lawyersforchildrenamerica.org

One Voice the National Alliance for Abuse Awareness
PO Box 27958
Washington, DC 20038
202-667-1160 (phone); OVoiceDC@aol.com
(e-mail)
Distributes a guide for survivors considering litigation and an attorney referral list.

Justice for Children
733 15th Street NW, Suite 214
Washington, DC 20005
202-462-4688
www.jfcadvocacy.org

***For a comprehensive list, go to:
http://www.dmoz.org/Society/Support_Groups/Sexual_Abuse/Survivors/
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=sexual+abuse
+support+groups

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white male fire capt. demoted for racist rant on Facebook

Posted on May 16, 2012 by Kemetia M Afrika

(Source: Miami-Dade Fire Rescue) Capt. Brian Beckmann

 “I and my coworkers could rewrite the book on whether our urban youths are victims of racist profiling or products of their failed, *expletive*, ignorant, pathetic, welfare dependent excuses for parents”

A Miami-Dade fire captain under fire for his controversial Facebook comments in the Trayvon Martin case has been demoted. Captain Brian Beckmann fell from the top of the command in his firehouse to the lowest rank of firefighter.
“The comments made by Captain Beckmann were reprehensible and will not be tolerated,” said Miami Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez, a former fire chief, after word of the discipline was made public. “We can’t have our employees, especially a supervisor, making such disparaging comments about any member of our community, much less one of our own employees.”

In addition to the loss of rank, the 17-year-fire department veteran’s paycheck will take a major hit because a firefighter’s salary is dramatically less than a fire captain. The amount is still unclear but CBS4 found Beckman made $125,616 as a Captain during a 2007 investigation done on firefighter salaries.

Before returning to work Beckmann will have to undergo a psychological examination by a county doctor and be required to take diversity training courses.

Beckmann, with the help of the firefighter union, is expected to appeal the demotion.

“Today the Fire Chief demoted Brian Beckmann by two supervisory ranks back to the rank of Firefighter. As union President, I believe this discipline is excessive,” said Rowan Taylor in a statement. “We will immediately file an appeal to an independent arbitrator. We anticipate that the case will be heard within the next few months. The decision of the independent arbitrator will be final and binding.”

Under county union contracts, that appeal will go to an arbitrator who may uphold, reverse, or offer up a new discipline order. The process of appeal could take up to six months. In the meantime Beckmann will have to work as a firefighter.

The disciplinary action against Beckmann stems from racially charged comments made on his personal Facebook page.

The Facebook post that started the firestorm of controversy claimed, “I and my coworkers could rewrite the book on whether our urban youths are victims of racist profiling or products of their failed, *expletive*, ignorant, pathetic, welfare dependent excuses for parents,” in cases like the shooting death of unarmed Miami teen Trayvon Martin.

Beckmann denied writing the Facebook message when interviewed by the Human Resources department. Instead, Beckmann said he copy and pasted the message from another website.

“I was reading things that evoked s response in me that made me want to share it,” Beckmann told an interviewer. These “were not my words.”

Miami-Dade Fire Rescue had launched an investigation into whether any county policies were violated by the posting, which critics said was racist.

In the county’s 11-page social media policy, there is just one paragraph regarding personal opinions that reads “do it on your own time, make clear that you are speaking from your own point of view.”

Beckmann has defended the post. He told CBS4 News partner the Miami Herald that he was a ‘private citizen and has the same right to freely express an opinion on any subject that anyone else does’.

Beckmann made the Facebook post on the same day State Attorney Angela Corey announced that Sanford neighborhood watchman George Zimmerman was being charged with second-degree murder in the Trayvon Martin shooting. Martin, a Miami Gardens teen, was unarmed. Zimmerman said he shot Martin in self-defense.

However, Mayor Gimenez believes the county needs to take strong action now to look at social media policy.

“In order to avoid this from happening in the future, I have directed my staff to revise the appropriate policies dealing with this issue. It is important to reiterate my position that public servants have a responsibility to uphold the highest levels of integrity and decency, especially when you consider our multicultural, multi-ethnic community. There’s no such thing as being off-the-clock; we are public servants 24/7 and must conduct ourselves with the utmost professionalism at all times.”

http://miami.cbslocal.com/2012/05/14/miami-dade-fire-capt-demoted-for-controversial-facebook-rant/?hpt=us_bn5

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18-Year-Old Alan Blueford, black male, executed by Oakland cops

Posted on May 16, 2012 by Kemetia M Afrika

A Skyline High School senior is dead after Oakland police profiled and opened fire on him.

The summary execution of 18-year-old Alan Dwayne Blueford happened near 90th Avenue and Birch Street in Oakland early Sunday morning. Mr. Blueford and two friends were standing outside waiting for some young lady friends to come pick them up. According to Oakland police, two of their cops “believed one of them were carrying a hidden gun.” It is unclear how this was determined based on their looks, nor is it clear why that would matter in a country which prides itself on gun ownership rights.

Police say the young men ran (obviously fearing for their lives in the face of paid, constitutionally-protected killers) when they approached them. One of the cops, whose names are being protected by the city of Oakland, ran after Mr. Blueford for two blocks before recklessly firing a gun at the young man, killing him instantly. The cop struck Mr. Blueford three times and shot himself in the foot once. Of course, the killer was rewarded with a paid vacation (aka “paid administrative leave”), despite the long-standing U.S. Supreme Court decision in Tennessee v. Garner, 471 U.S. 1 (1985), which specifically outlaws police shooting at fleeing suspects without probable cause.

Watch a report about the execution by ABC-7 in San Francisco.

Following standard protocol, state-run media outlets have reported extensively about a so-called “criminal record” of Mr. Blueford, which is their way of justifying and encouraging summary executions by police. An attorney for Oakland Police, Harry Stern, said the summary execution was “100 percent” justified and in line with police policy. Though there is no way of knowing the truth regarding this execution, if what police say is true, Mr. Blueford should have used the alleged firearm to protect himself from the state organization members who know the policy of paid vacations when they murder Americans. The entire situation should have and could have been avoided had the cops not profiled these young men by approaching them for absolutely no reason except for harassment.

The family of Mr. Blueford has hired an attorney for a possible civil suit, however the killer will not be charged and should be back on the streets after his foot heals from the self-inflicted, reckless gunshot wound. Mr. Blueford was scheduled to graduate in June.

 http://opnateye.com/?p=489

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Romulus and Remus

Posted on May 15, 2012 by Kemetia M Afrika

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white male FBI special agent charged with possessing and distributing child pornography

Posted on May 15, 2012 by Kemetia M Afrika

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click picture to watch video

 

A former FBI special agent, who worked on some of the bureau’s most high profile cases including the 9/11 attacks and the Oklahoma bombing, faces twenty years in prison after being arrested on child pornography charges.

Donald Sachtleben, 54, who served the FBI as a bomb technician for 25 years, was charged with possessing and distributing child pornography.

The Indiana resident was arrested after the FBI and an Internet Crimes Against Children task force began investigating another individual who was allegedly trading child pornography online.

That individual, identified as Jason Nicoson from Illinois, was arrested in January.

After searching Nicoson’s computer, investigators were able to trace illegal activity to Sachtleben’s home in Carmel.

After obtaining a search warrant on May 3, police allegedly discovered approximately 30 images and video files containing child pornography on the hard drive of his laptop computer.

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Charged: Sachtleben, 54, faces thirty years behind bars if convicted of the child pornography possession and distribution charges

Police interviewed Sachtleben’s wife, who denied knowing anything about the images on her husband’s computer, according to an affidavit released today by the U.S Attorney’s office in Indiana.

The indecent images found on Sachtleben’s computer allegedly match those which were discovered on Nicoson’s.

If convicted, Sachtleben faces up to 20 years behind bars for the distribution charge and up to 10 years for the possession charge.

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Successful career: After retiring from an illustrious career in the FBI, Sachtleben began working in the Forensic Science department at Oklahoma State University, where he has been employed since last October

Both charges carry a fine of up to $250,000 and a lifetime supervised release.

‘Today’s announcement […]should make clear that no matter who you are, you will be brought to justice if you are found guilty of such criminal behavior,’ said US Attorney Joseph Hogsett.

Sachtleben retired from the FBI in 2008, after working on cases including the Unabomber case, the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and the USS Cole bombing, reported ABC News.

and currently works at Oklahoma State University in the Forensic Sciences department, where he has been employed since last October.

He is expected to appear in court on Thursday.

 http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2144546/Top-FBI-special-agent-charged-possessing-distributing-child-pornography-faces-20-years-bars.html#ixzz1uwJBHY7i

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ban on mixed-race adoption deprived thousands of decent home life, says equality chief

Posted on May 15, 2012 by Kemetia M Afrika

Sadness: Trevor Phillips, Chairman of the Commission for Racial Equality, said he regretted failing to challenge race rules

Sadness: Trevor Phillips, Chairman of the Commission for Racial Equality, said he regretted failing to challenge race rules

 

Thousands of children have lost the chance of a decent life because of the ban on mixed-race adoption, the state equality chief has admitted.

Trevor Phillips said it was his greatest regret that he failed to challenge the race rules which denied children the chance of a loving family and instead left them at the mercy of a failing care system.

Changes could have been made 10 years ago if the race relations watchdog had called for an inquiry, Mr Phillips said.

The acknowledgement by Mr Phillips of the damage done by the ban follows the Coalition’s decision to legislate to sweep away race rules.

The new law will reinforce guidelines already handed to social workers that tell them the need to find a family for a child is more important than their longstanding doctrine which says, for example, it is bad for a black child to be brought up by a white family.

For more than two decades adoptive parents have been strictly screened on race grounds, with many rejected because they have been judged the wrong match.

Social workers have been trained to believe that black children lose self-esteem and pride in themselves if they are not brought up by parents of the same colour.

Critics have said there is no evidence to support this theory and that race has been used as an excuse to depress the number of adoptions.

Mr Phillips, who is to step down as chairman of the Equality and Human Rights Commission this summer, said he should have challenged the race ban when he was appointed chief of its race relations predecessor, the Commission for Racial Equality, in 2003.

He told the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show: ‘If I had to pinpoint one single thing I would say that I wish when I took over at the CRE I had been more aggressive on the issue of transracial adoption.

‘If I had ordered an inquiry, an investigation, it would have shown pretty clearly that the life chances of children would have been much much better in a family of any race compared to staying in care.

‘I would have then be able to essentially change the policy in local authorities 10 years ago.’

Mr Phillips added: ‘My personal regret is that hundreds of children, maybe thousands of children, would now be in families who got stuck in the care system. If I had to go back and do something different, I would do something about that.

‘Being in care is the surest indicator that you will end up in crime, in drugs, that you will end up unemployed, and your children will repeat your experience.’

He added: ‘I think if we had been more aggressive on this issue we could have transformed the lives of very many children. But these are things we know in hindsight.’

It was the first time Mr Phillips is thought publicly to have criticised the ban on mixed-race adoptions, although critics of the system have long held that adoption was the last area of public life in Britain in which authorities were prepared to support open racial discrimination.

History: In 2000 Tony Blair suggested that the bar to transracial adoption should go

History: In 2000 Tony Blair suggested that the bar to transracial adoption should go

In 2000 Tony Blair suggested that the bar to transracial adoption should go, and his Government began to publish figures illustrating how long black children had to wait for new families because of the race rules. But his 2002 Adoption Act had nothing to say about race.

Mr Phillips was the leading Labour figure on the London Assembly at the time. He went on to head the CRE and then the EHRC when it took over from all the state equality bodies in 2007.

Social workers have long been criticised for failing to back adoption for children in care, preferring to see them brought up in the care system which often means life in a children’s home or shifted repeatedly between different foster parents.

Middle class couples hoping to adopt have long been rejected on a series of flimsy grounds, including their age, their smoking habits, or their beliefs.

There are currently around 65,000 children in the care system, with numbers rising because more children are being taken into state care following the Baby P scandal in 2008.

Last year just 3,050 children were adopted from state care, among them only 60 babies under a year old, the lowest total since 2001.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2144516/Ban-mixed-race-adoption-deprived-thousands-decent-home-life-says-equality-chief.html#ixzz1uwCPtpk3

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white female ex cop conned colleagues for 2 years with claims daughter had cancer… to pay for equestrian jumping lessons

Posted on May 15, 2012 by Kemetia M Afrika

Rachel Hewitt outside court today in Hull. She pleaded guilty to fraud after conning fellow police officers

Rachel Hewitt pleaded guilty to fraud after conning fellow police officers

A former police officer is facing up to 12 months in prison after admitting she conned cash out of her colleagues by claiming her daughter was suffering from leukaemia…when she was actually show jumping.

Mother of two Rachel Hewitt falsely obtained money from fellow employees at North Yorkshire Police and neighbouring West Yorkshire force between 2009 and 2011, telling them her daughter Natasha, 15, was undergoing chemotherapy after having tumours removed.

The 39-year-old, from Ash Grove, South Elmsall, West Yorkshire, pleaded guilty at Hull Crown Court today to a charge of misconduct in public office and separate charge of fraud.

Officers raised hundreds of pounds on two separate appeals from Hewitt.

She showed no signs of remorse as she pleaded guilty to a charge of wilful misconduct, amounting to an abuse of the public’s trust without reasonable excuse or justification.

The charge said she repeatedly claimed her daughter Natasha was ill with a form of cancer, had had a tumour surgically removed and required chemotherapy necessitating Mrs Hewitt’s absence from work.

As a result she received time off work and was given a sabbatical.

Another charge of fraud – from claiming that she required a career break to look after her daughter – was denied.

Crown barrister Simon Batiste said the second charge was covered by the first, which she had admitted. 

Mrs Hewitt will be sentenced at Hull Crown Court. She faces up to 12 months in prison

Mrs Hewitt will be sentenced at Hull Crown Court. She faces up to 12 months in prison

Defence barrister Heidi Cotton did not make an expression of remorse for the policewoman, but said ‘Mrs Hewitt is of previous good character’.

Judge Michael Mettyear will sentence Mrs Hewitt on June 6.

Hewitt, who was on a career break from the force when she was arrested last year, lives with security guard husband John, 44, and daughters Natasha and Jessica, 12 in West Yorkshire.

The family are well-known to the show jumping world as both the girls compete, with Jessica riding at a professional level.

The family are said to own at least six ponies and their home has stables and a paddock as well as practice jumps for Jessica and her sister.

A spokesman for North Yorkshire Police said: ‘Because this is an ongoing case it is inappropriate to comment further.’

 http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2144360/Ex-policewoman-admits-conned-colleagues-claims-daughter-cancer–pay-jumping-lessons.html#ixzz1uw3gBXLI

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another unarmed black male teen murdered by cops

Posted on May 13, 2012 by Kemetia M Afrika

Kendrec Mcdade

Many are already calling him another Trayvon Martin. His name is Kendrec McDade, shot and killed by police in Pasadena, California on March 24 almost one month after Trayvon in Sanford, Florida.

19-year-old McDade was unarmed when police reportedly fatally shot him after receiving a call about an armed robbery in progress. Later police learned that the 911 caller had lied about the teen having a gun.

This shooting death has escalated the tension in Northwest Pasadena where African-American residents reportedly say they were repeatedly treated unfairly by the police.

According to The Daily Beast , police say this case doesn’t compare to Trayvon Martin for McDade was allegedly acting as a look-out while his accomplice attempted to break into a cash register at a local restaurant. Lt. Phlunte Riddle of the Pasadena police department reportedly said race was not a factor in the killing but a, ” response to an armed robbery that had just occurred with a full description.” He added that his officers felt their lives were in danger and were “highly upset” by the incident.

The 911 caller who lied about the gun was 26 year old Oscar Carillo who alleged told police that two Black men had stolen his backpack and computer from his car at gunpoint. He also told police he was following the men and that the two had split up–one running West on Orange Grove Boulevard and the other going North on Raymond Avenue.

Police reportedly caught up with McDade in an alley and opened fired on the teen for they thought he was reaching for a gun in his waistband. The 19 year old who had no gun, was allegeldy shot multiple times and later died at a local hospital.

Kendrec McDade was a college student and football star with no police record or gang affiliation. Those who knew him say he was a good kid “the apple of his mother’s eye.” The other teen, 17 year old was arrested and charged for robbery. Police say they cash register attempted robbery happened before the backpack, computer alleged heist.

Carillo, the caller who lied because he said he thought the police would “respond faster,” was also arrested and jailed on “suspicion of manslaughter,” and he is reportedly being held on $25,000 bail. No one is sure if charges were actually filed. Carillo was arrested after community activists protested and pushed hard on the authorites to arrest him for filing a false police report.

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black residents offended by home owners association email warning: “If you see any group of young black males in the neighborhood after school, chances are they are up to no good and should be reported as suspicious persons”

Posted on May 12, 2012 by Kemetia M Afrika

Residents offended by home owners association email warning of 'young black males'

A Neighborhood Watch sign stands outside the gated The Retreat at Twin Lakes community where Trayvon Martin was shot by George Michael Zimmerman while on Neighborhood Watch patrol March 20, 2012 in Sanford, Florida.

A home owners association (HOA) in Walnutbend Texas sent an email to its members asking them to report “any group of young black males” to authorities. The email was motivated by an assault at a local convenient store that occurred Monday night.

The email described in Mondays attack as being black, and went on to request of its members that, “If you see any group of young black males in the neighborhood after school, chances are they are up to no good and should be reported as suspicious persons to the Constables.”

Samantha Howell, a resident in the neighborhood who has four sons that walk to school, is concerned that her sons will be profiled and have the police called on them for simply trying to make it to school. “That’s very disturbing,” Howell said, “because they’re not doing anything. They were just walking home from school.”

Other residents in the neighborhood didn’t seem to mind the tone of the email stating that, if a crime has been committed in the neighborhood, residents should do whatever they can to limit other assaults.

http://www.thegrio.com/news/residents-offended-by-home-owners-association-email.php

Categories: c.o.w.s., child abuse, crime, false arrest, law, murder, physical assault, police brutality, racism, religion, the religion of white supremacy, war, white supremacy | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

white female breastfeeding 3 year old on TIME Magazine cover “illustrates attachment parenting”

Posted on May 12, 2012 by Kemetia M Afrika

click photo to watch video

In the provocative new cover story of its May 21 issue, TIME Magazine taps into a two-decade-long parenting conversation that has boiled over in recent months. Journalist Kate Pickert reports on the rise of attachment parenting, a set of techniques popularized by Dr. William (Bill) Sears in “The Baby Book,” his 767-page treatise published in 1992.

In the article, Pickert explores who Sears is and why controversy surrounds his theories — the biggies are baby-wearing, extended breastfeeding and co-sleeping — but it’s TIME‘s photographs of real mothers breastfeeding their toddlers that has everyone talking. (Scroll down for reactions on Twitter.)

The cover shows Jamie Lynne Grumet, a slim blonde 26-year-old California mom, breastfeeding her 3-year-old son. TIME photographer Martin Schoeller also shot three other families on the same day.

2012-05-10-time.jpg

On left: Jessica Cary and her 3-year-old daughter. Right: Dionna Ford with her 4-year-old son and 5-month-old daughter. For more from the TIME cover shoot, visit TIME LightBox.

“When you think of breast-feeding, you think of mothers holding their children, which was impossible with some of these older kids,” Schoeller said in an interview on TIME.com. “I liked the idea of having the kids standing up to underline the point that this was an uncommon situation.”

One notable mom who follows Dr. Sears’s advice does not make an appearance in Pickert’s piece. Actress Mayim Bialik, who recently published her memoir “Beyond The Sling”, is a vocal advocate for attachment parenting and recently came under fire for writing about breastfeeding her own 3-year-old. While Bialik ignited big discussions about how much is too much when it comes to motherhood, TIME‘s story is elevating the conversation to a national debate.

The usual questions that come up when mothers are called out for breastfeeding in public (which happens often) include: Is breastfeeding indecent? Or natural? The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that all mothers breastfeed for a full year — or longer if the mother so chooses, so how can we shame women who are just following the advice of the country’s foremost medical establishment?

There is no doubt that the TIME cover strikes the public as shocking. But, as Pickert points out, the women featured are at one extreme end of this always-controversial discussion. On the other end, she says, are mothers who “endorse the idea of maternal closeness (who doesn’t?) but think Sears is out of his mind.” And the writer goes on:

“A third category includes mothers caught in the middle. These parents try to achieve Sears’ ideal of nursing, baby wearing and co-sleeping but fall short for some reason and find themselves immobilized by their seeming parental inadequacy. They suffer from what two New York City parenting consultants call “posttraumatic Sears disorder.”

Her point, in writing the in-depth profile of Sears, seems to be that there are many parents out there left wondering what’s right, what’s wrong — and most important — what makes sense for their families.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/10/jamie-lynne-grumet-breastfeeding-time-magazine-cover_n_1506096.html

Categories: c.o.w.s., child abuse, racism, religion, the religion of white supremacy, white supremacy | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

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