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Originally Posted by annekh23
 I'm not really looking for an answer, I'm more trying to tease out various angles and to bounce ideas around on the specific angle.
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1) Politeness can never be an excuse for refusing to allow a hungry baby to be easily fed. No concept of good manners in any human society extends that far.
2) The baby needs (or "has a right") to be fed, and must be fed; but this can be done in the most polite way possible, just like anything else. A right or urgent need does not normally cancel out politeness.
Trying to compare nursing to other social situations where courtesy applies is tricky. The baby's need is so absolute, it outweighs social convention. You could compare it to
- Somebody in a no-food-or-drink area having a diabetic episode, and needing orange juice immediately
- A person in a wheelchair partially blocking the aisleway in a movie theater
- A very old person taking the seat at the front of the bus
In other circumstances where some overriding need takes precedence over social custom, the onus is usually on the other people, who are expected to make allowances, look the other way, or even, if they are really polite, try to make the "offender" feel at ease. Applying this rule, the mother who needs to nurse her baby in a public place should be either carefully ignored, or talked to as if nothing unusual were happening.
At the same time, all the people in the above list would usually make every effort to minimize other people's inconvenience, and probably make a token apology. Even the man in the wheelchair might give an apologetic look or smile to people who have to squeeze past him. This is not an admission he is doing wrong, just a friendly "sorry for the bother." Similarly, the NIP mother, if she knows the people she is with might be uncomfortable with BF, could toss out a "sorry, baby's hungry" as she puts the little one to the breast, or maybe make a half turn toward the wall as a concession to the squeamish.
