Originally Posted by
Step Turn
Some people in our society work hard to earn a qualification, and I believe that they have the right to claim that qualification (and identity). Society, who makes available that qualification, has the responsibility to honour those who have earned the qualification, and respect the use of the identity.
There is no point in having standards for doctors, engineers, lawyers, ship's captains, military personnel, police, firefighters and pilots, among many qualifications, if society is not going to respect the identity of a person so qualified. If you have earned the right to identify yourself as qualified as whatever, identify yourself if you wish. Society, respect that, and defend it.
I've been a pilot for 40 years. I nearly never wear anything which identifies me as a pilot - not important to society. I've been a firefighter for 25 years. I nearly always am wearing something which identifies me as a firefighter - it works well when I arrive to a call to service, people know who I am. I am offended when a person wears something which identifies them as a firefighter (or police, military, etc.), when doing so could cause the public to think they are someone they are not.
Society expects to be defended/protected/assisted by people who have earned a qualification to do so. Society expect the people providing these identified services to meet society's standard for qualification. The least society can do in return is to defend their right to their identity!
All of which sounds great until you actually look at the detail. I'm a chartered engineer - a REAL engineer. I worked hard for many years to achieve an accredited honours degree, and accredited masters degree and evidence of demonstrating the five groups of competencies. But everyone from the spanner-basher whose training went no further than "clockwise means tight" to the biuffoon who fixes our photocopiers also call themselves engineers. Machinists who turn and mill metal (which I also do in my own workshoip, as a hobby) call themselves engineers. In the colonies even TRAIN DRIVERS call themselves engineers. Never mind those medical practitioners who've never done any academic research in their lives but still claim the title "Doctor".
What's sauce for the goose is goose for the gravy and all that jazz. If you wanty the rest of society to respect and defend your aerial bus driver qualifications then start calling people out who falsely use other peoples' titles. Then perhaps we'll be with you.
Fair?
PDR