Several times during my life I have come across this word used in a particular fashion. It is difficult to know what is being advised.
When I consider Professional attitudes what I see is a primary focus on personal advancement. Not on integrity but on how can I profit from the situation.
Example. I went to see a solicitor when I was thinking of selling the house. He became very excited and projected an image of a large house in the country surrounded by parkland trees. I knew he was not thinking of the small two up two down terraced cottage I lived in at the time and figured that this projected image must be what he had his heart set on. They were relatively cheap in that part of Wales at the time. I left the office with no intention of giving him any business.
I had a run in with a dentist a while back. I had signed up to a deal which offered me two dental appointments and two hygienist visits a year. After 9 months or so of paying this subscription I had heard nothing from the dentist. My previous dentist was a national health practitioner from Poland living in Scotland. Regularly I received reminders to make an appointment.
I emailed the dental practice in England to advise I had heard nothing from them and was thinking of dropping the subscription. Why pay for a service you are not receiving? I had no reply. A month later I blocked the Direct debit. Within two days I had a panic email from Head office saying the DD had been stopped. Two days later I had a similar response from the dental practice itself. I called a couple of times, following the suspension of my donations, for an emergency appointment, to be told ‘We have no vacancies today. Call back tomorrow’. The following day another excuse was given. After my third attempt I decided they were not interested in dealing with me further. I could hardly afford to keep my own car on the road. I saw no reason to pay for the dentist’s new BMW.
From what little contact I have had with the professions the emphasis appears to be on spend other peoples’ money for, at best, meagre services. I look at doctors, architects, lawyers, dentists and others who proudly consider themselves professionals and I see greed sitting behind a tidy desk.
The word is used to bully others into behaving in a certain way.
Why would I want to be ‘professional’?
