Speak The Language Or Your Fired And Breastfeeding Sucks

I apologize in advance for the (mini)rant that's about to occur.

Freedom of speech. We talk a lot about it in this country, but do we really believe in it? Think about it for a minute. Our democracy was founded on the principle of accepting all sorts of different people and insuring that those differences could not be trampled by the majority. We have freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and the right NOT to be discriminated against based on race, religion, sex, etc.

Our laws intentionally place very few restrictions on speech. We have the right to express our opinion even if we are a minority of one. We also have the right to tune out the opinions of others if we don't want to listen. But freedom of speech has subtle enemies everywhere. For example, the political correctness movement has at its heart the notion that their is a "correct" way of saying things. Others are viewed with disdain for failure to conform to the politically correct standard. This is just a simple example of the broader "that's not the way WE do it" mentality that creates an us vs. them dynamic.

Don't misunderstand me. I respect your right to your own opinion. I respect your right to choose to be around those with similar beliefs to your own. Even if we disagree, I will defend your right to say what you wish to say. Censorship, in any form, is evil and a threat to the very fabric used to create this country.

That is why the two stories I read today pissed me off!

The first story was about 4 hospital nurses from the Philippines who were fired for speaking in their native language while on their break. Read the story here. This followed a 2005 case where a hospital fired 5 hispanic housekeepers who said "hasta la vista" (see you tomorrow) as they left work for the day. In both cases, the hospitals had a policy that only English was to be spoken.

The second story involved the deputy editor to a parenting magazine who offered a dissenting article with an explanation why she did not want to breastfeed and her strong personal feelings against the practice (including calling it creepy). Read the story here. This one really stirred the pot within the breastfeeding community.

Who cares what language is used to shoot the breeze on a work break? Who cares about a dissenting opinion on a topic of interest to parents? Have we really gotten so weak that we cannot stand any ideas/actions/people different than our own?

Seeking to fire the nurses or the editor simply because they are different is just wrong.