Here’s the thing though, the progressive viewers just don’t watch TV the way conservative viewers do. Progressive Viewers, young or older bloc, are mostly getting their news through web clips or articles, facebook or other news aggregators (like Gawker, for example.)

I agree, however I feel corporate media is somewhat to blame because who wants to tune into station that is 90% coverage of purposefully incendiary programming and like 10% coverage of topical issues by rational and intelligent people?

I still remember (not so fondly) when my dad called me a “bitch,” though that may be because it was gendered. Not sure if asshole is different. Also, I think saying “you’re acting like x” is much different than saying “you are x,” which does seem like it can be scarring...something about the generalizing and force…

A fellow parent gave you the stink-eye for calling your kid a jerk? There is not a parent alive who hasn’t called their kid that or worse. I love my little boy dearly, but there are times when he’s a real asshole; I have no issue saying this.

Wait. How does the organizer knowing this woman has a baby equal knowing she would BRING the baby? Especially when, in the piece itself, the organizer says she would never have thought to bring her children with her [when they were babies]?

Right. Because children are an abomination, whereas refusing to mute your phone is the hallmark of the sophisticated.

Notice I said that we should all advocate for decent child care. I want that, not people arbitrarily bringing infants to conferences (which other people paid a lot to attend) or while they teach college classes (ditto on other people paying a lot of money)

Exactly. I agree that the childcare situation in this country is sad and we need better options for working-class women. I even agree that employers should be flexible about children in the workplace in emergency situations.

Preach. I’m happy you still comment occasionally. Sometimes white upper class feminists need to be reminded that their worldview is not all-encompassing.

I don’t know. And I get that day care is expensive and we need to fix that. But that doesn’t give parents a carte blanche to just bring their babies around wherever they want. The other day the aesthetician that was doing my waxing had her toddler in the room across the hall; he kept crying and at one point she had to…

Why are you so focused on the possibility that the author is lying about how loud her kid was? Listen, I know we all have our own personal examples of oblivious parents letting their screaming kids ruin our day, but that doesn’t have to be the case - and I think that focusing on that side of things, the mere…

It’s against feminism to pretend that you have to hide your children away because a woman’s conference must be divorced from kids and not present at all. Children make noise, but if your reaction to a baby being visible is “Get it out of here. This women’s conference about women’s lives is NOT about babies” is part of…

For me it comes down to one point: Did the author specifically ask whether she could bring the baby? If she did, then sentencing her to a breastfeeding room without warning is a jerk move on the part of the organizer, no question.

This is my reaction as well. My problem with bringing infants into the workplace is due solely to noise. Babies make noise: happy noise, upset noise, healthy baby noise. Why am I a bad feminist if I can’t concentrate around this and ask that it not be in my workspace?

I don’t have kids yet. Let’s get that out of the way. While reading this article I kept noticing how the author kept mentioning how quiet her baby was. That’s great, -if it’s true. But let’s not forget that we all tend to be biased towards our own. People never think their dogs will bite someone, or that their kids…

I agree, but it’s the not-so-self-aware moms that ruin it for everyone.

When your country decides to actually provide decent paid maternity leave, then perhaps we’ll talk. Till then....nope. You don’t get to whine about this.

I agree with you. I have a friend who is hoping to do as the writer and wear her baby to work and I just don’t think it’s going to work out. It would kill my concentration if I was her labmate. Infants sleep a lot but when they are not sleeping they take attention. And things that can sound like happy baby noises to…

But what about your sleeping infant? Most babies really aren’t constantly crying. It sounds like this woman has and had adequate childcare ready for both this conference and her teaching.

Look, I love babies. I like moms (some of them). But if I was invited to speak in from of hundreds of people, do a book signing, and participate in an intense professional conference, I’d arrange for child care for the day. No, you can’t bring your baby to work, sorry. That includes adjunct teaching. Advocate for…