Man started yelling at a mom breastfeeding at Target — then staff and shoppers' response left the mom surprised
Some people get mad at the most natural things because they are not "publicly acceptable" in their opinions. Many moms have to face such issues when they try to breastfeed their babies in public. Similarly, a new mom named Jessie Maher who was breastfeeding her baby at a Target cafe experienced something similar when a stranger started screaming at her and telling her to feed her baby somewhere else. Thankfully, the employees were quick to defend her. She shared the incident in a Facebook post.
"Before the video started rolling, he looked at me and said (very angrily), 'Can't you do that somewhere else?... That's f***ing disgusting. You are nasty,'" the mom shared in the caption. The man also said a few other things under his breath as Maher was trying to feed her kid at the restaurant. Maher simply told him, "I am feeding my baby and I have the right to do it here...walk away..leave me the alone." As the video began, the man was arguing with an employee as they told him that she was just feeding her baby and he should leave her alone. "Because I am feeding my baby, this man is going crazy and I am shaking," she admitted. The man even asked for a refund from the place because someone was breastfeeding her baby there.
Maher revealed the man even walked close to her while calling her "disgusting," but then the employees and shoppers stepped in to protect her. "I am shaking," she admitted to a shopper who had come to check on her in the video. "No, don't shake. You are fine. He has no right to be doing what he is doing." She added, "You have a baby in your hands. Are you okay?" The shopper stood in front of the mom as the man was about to say something else to her. A few employees started showing up to confront the man as well. "You don't have to be ashamed of feeding your baby. He can go the other way," the woman kept reassuring her. "This is a beautiful moment right now. If he doesn't like it, he can go."
The woman called out the man for being disrespectful to the mom. "She is disrespectful to me," the man retaliated. "Then don't look, okay," she cut in. "I am here protecting her." The man was escorted out by one of the employees as the shopper kept defending the mom and consoling her at the same time. The mom expressed her gratitude to the woman for standing up for her, who in turn revealed that she had five kids and that moms shouldn't be shamed for feeding their babies. "If you see a mom being attacked for anything — even if it's just a choice she's making about how she will feed her baby or where she will give birth — stick up for her," Maher told TODAY.
People in the comments supported Maher. Kevin J West wrote, "You are a beautiful person and a wonderful mother. Never stop feeding your baby anywhere. This guy should have been arrested for disturbing the peace." Laurel Steinhauser commented, "Oh, Jessie, I am so sorry. I have never experienced anything like this, but if I ever do, I sure hope there are folks around like the men and women who put themselves between you and that a*****e and told him where to get off. You were so brave."
You can follow Jessie Maher on Facebook for more updates on her family and her lifestyle.