Yesterday I mentioned that my restaurant choice would not be Applebee’s if it was my birthday we were celebrating. Here’s why:

A friend of mine that lives in Kentucky shared the story, Mom pushes Applebee’s on breastfeeding. Basically the mom, Brooke Ryan, who was sitting in a booth in the back of the restaurant away from other customers discreetly breastfed her seven month old baby when he got hungry. Another customer complained so a waitress asked Brooke to cover up. It was hot so Brooke did not have a blanket. The waitress and the manager of Applebee’s pushed the issue and insisted Brooke cover up. Brooke ended up walking out in tears without her lunch.

You could pass this off as the manager and waitress of Applebee’s being a couple idiots, but it did not end there. Brooke wanted to let Applebee’s know that she had a right to nurse her baby, and that it wasn’t against the law nor was it indecent exposure to breastfeed in public. Applebee’s owner’s responded they would consider keeping blankets in the restaurant so that breast-feeding women could cover themselves.

So let me get this straight. This is ok:

And this billboard is ok:

But this isn’t?

Apparently so according to the incredibly asinine comments in this article, Breastfeeding moms take on Applebee’s which discusses the attention this issue sparked nationwide. Breastfeeding supporters protested last Saturday at Applebee’s restaurants across the country.

.. If I want to see a breast I will purchase a magazine.. use the internet.. or will rent a video.
If women want to show off their inflated boobs they may want to make a video and sell it.. otherwise cover it up.. nobody is saying that women cannot feed their children.. I do not feel I should have to look at inflated breasts while I am eating..

Inflated boobs? Sell videos? What. The. Heck. If you want to see a video, go watch this Fox coverage of the protest, Breast Feeding in Public. There’s several live images of women breastfeeding. I dare you to find even a glimpse of a breast.

If it was just one or two stupid comments on some of these articles it wouldn’t be a big deal but they have been filled with some of the weirdest and most bizarre crap I had ever seen when it comes to a mother feeding her baby:

… Just like smoking, some have a problem with it and some dont. Therefore they made smoking sections and eventually banned it in public places. And we always get the excuse from mothers saying breastfeeding is natural. Their right, and so is going pee, but they don’t see me whipping it out in public and releiving myself either. …

I cannot believe there are actually people who would compare breastfeeding in public to smoking or peeing in public??

Another considers breastfeeding in public “flaunting your goods”

… Applebees is also a family restaurant and some families may not appreciate flaunting your goods in front of their children. What happened to common courtesy and respect?

In another article someone mentions that bodily fluids such as breast milk have no place in public. I wonder if he ordered a milk with his dinner? Milk is a bodily fluid.. from a COW.

Stuff like this confirms my belief that people are getting dumber and dumber. And seem to be LESS educated about the human body, breasts, babies, etc. I hope these people don’t breed. I just don’t understand how people can seriously be that backwards in their thinking. Nor do I understand Applebee’s stance on this issue.

Whether people are comfortable with breastfeeding in public or not doesn’t even matter. Applebee’s broke the law. Fortunately the law is on a breastfeeding mom’s side on this issue in almost every state. So people just need to get over it.