Professionalism, differing views...

[Christopher.Collins]

Well with all respect intended sirduke,whether what they say is wrong or not (and I am not going to take sides and make that judgement) being on an internet forum... regardless of what its intended use is we should have a bit of a tough skin.

Unless something is blatently stated as such... take it with a grain of salt, its hard to interprit emotions on the net. Well unless your like Edgar Allen Poe or some artsy fartsy poet lol. Hell, crotch and I have had quite a few disagreements but none the less I took it merley as a debate and hold nothing against him. Regardless of whos right or wrong... remember, its just an internet forum. Dont let it get to you brother. If this kind of stuff is happening at work thats one thing.

[sirduke]

No, I don't quote the Raven, so I'm not in Edgar Allen Poe's class... just detest the attitude that some have.

So far I guess I've conducted myself well at work, there haven't been any complaints.

I do have some stories published on the web however.

[Christopher.Collins]

Not questioning your work what so ever. Short of knowing you, Ill give benefit of the doubt that your good at what you do. Just saying that regardless of how crude, try not to let things get to you online... trust me I know this by experience. Its pretty sad that I can even admit that.

The only web forum I will ever take seriously is AKO (Army Knowledge Online). Not sure what service branch you served in but I think all branches have their own version. Ive never seen such great disregard for rank than there. Overall it was a great learning tool... but some of thoes dumb new privates think that chain of command dosnt matter cuz its an internet forum, untill complaints get sent out to their NCOs.

[crotchitymedic1986]

I dont remember ever calling you unprofessional sirduke. I, like everyone else, has opinions on a variety of subjects, and we argue those beliefs, but I would never call you unprofessional because you disagree with me. An example of this:

I believe that sticking 14ga needles in drunks for punishment is unprofessional. If you argued the other side of the coin, I would not call you unprofessional, but I would state that the ACT was unprofessional.

[Dustdevil]

Duke, you seem confused about what all the discussion has even been about. I have not seen any disagreement whatsoever here about what professionalism is. Everyone agrees on that. The only disagreement is on what makes one a professional. Do you really not grasp the difference in the two discussions, or are you just into redundancy?

[sirduke]

No, not confused, just noting the fact that some people are rather free with throwing out a statement that someone is unprofessional just because they don't adhere to the same point of view that the other does.

Its sort of like me saying "you aren't a professional because you wear a blue shirt and I like green."

I like an occasional practical joke, does that make me unprofessional, I don't think so. I prefer polo shirts over Class A's, but don't care for t-shirts, does that make me unprofessional?

Its rather silly to throw out blanket statements in my opinion, but I'm not calling those who do unprofessional.

I am however a bit over-analytical, so perhaps I'm into redundancy.

[Dustdevil]

Okay. Well this is inevitable with a language as dynamic as the English language. I don't think wearing a goofy uniform makes you unprofessional. But it is undeniable that it makes you look unprofessional. Because of the flexibility of the terms involved, there is just too much room for misunderstanding here.

Although we use the same term for them all, there are at least four completely different issues being debated here:

• 1. Being professional

2. Being A professional

3. Acting professional

4. Looking professional

• It is important that we all differentiate between these separate issues when discussing them. Otherwise, we are forever stuck in pointless and unproductive arguments.