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Being taken seriously

Discussion in 'Anything goes' started by Dick Whitman, May 21, 2009.

  1. Buck

    Buck Well-Known Member

    How about chaning byline to Dick 'Heart Attack' Whitman?
     
  2. How about changing byline to Dick 'Slim' Whitman? I think that name is available once again.
     
  3. I Digress

    I Digress Guest

    Why on god's green earth would anybody name their child Dick, after the nickname for the, um, dick?? Does this create issues? Is that why you feel no one respects you?
     
  4. dargan

    dargan Active Member

    People in general don't get what we do. The envious ones don't understand; the ones upset with what we're doing wrong and the scholarships we're costing their children don't understand; the majority of the fellow journalists working on the other side of the office in the news department don't understand.

    When I first got in this, I worried constantly about people thinking I'm bias toward a certain school I'm covering or have a bias in my columns in college football and basketball seasons. Now? I don't care. Yeah, we've all got teams we pull for, but that shouldn't affect our columns or our coverage of certain teams. It's the same reason I change from office attire to shorts and a hoodie on my way to a baseball game. It's the same reason I think having an office dress code is asinine. Appearance shouldn't determine how seriously one is taken.

    In the grammatically erroneous words of little-known rapper Rocko, you jus' do you, umma do me.
     
  5. ArnoldBabar

    ArnoldBabar Active Member

    People have absolutely no idea what we do. The two most common responses I've always gotten:

    "So you get paid to go to games?"

    "Have you ever met any of the players?"

    The idea that my future depends on these people just depresses me beyond all reason.

    One thing my father told me that I've never forgotten, and found to be very true: Always remember that everybody's job is harder than it looks.
     
  6. dargan

    dargan Active Member

    Your dad's advice is probably better than Rocko's.
     
  7. Dick Whitman

    Dick Whitman Well-Known Member

    "Dick Whitman" is a reference to the TV show "Mad Men."
     
  8. three_bags_full

    three_bags_full Well-Known Member

    I'm in the same boat. When I'm forced to tell people what I do, I get the same answer, "YOU'RE A PILOT?!!! THAT MUST BE AWESOME!!! When are you going to take me for a ride?"

    "You guys just get to fly around up there, huh?"

    Yeah, dickhead. That's all I do. Fucking fly around and have fun. Never mind the fact I have to constantly study emergency procedures, limitations, weight and balance, helicopter systems, flight characteristics, airspace, aerodynamics, aviation medicine, FAA regulations (oh, goddam, FAA regulations, ugh), Army regulations and flight planning. Oh, there's this other pesky little thing, too. Actually FLYING the motherfucker, without crashing into a fucking cell phone tower or power lines!

    Sorry for the rant. I actually feel better now.

    Thanks, SJ :D
     
  9. JR

    JR Well-Known Member

    Lots of professions that elicit the same reaction.

    I was a bookseller for fourteen years and people used to say, "Oh, that must be fun, just sitting around and reading all day".
     
  10. JackReacher

    JackReacher Well-Known Member

    Most jobs are that way. People don't understand because, well, they don't do the same job as you.

    It's hard for me to find fault with people who don't "understand" what I do or did for a living.

    Oh, and TBF...that DOES sound pretty awesome!!!! :)
     
  11. three_bags_full

    three_bags_full Well-Known Member

  12. cranberry

    cranberry Well-Known Member

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