I got called Sir again, RedAss.

Can I call you Mister Mike?

I guess you would not get along with that pompous, fat piece of shit Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman.

I believe he insists his own mother call him "Sir," because he "earned it".

If you knew how many beatings I got growing up over sir and ma'am, you'd cut me some slack when I said it... and kept saying it. That programing took.

Foul Mike said:

Am I alone in this where I NEVER want ANYBODY to call me "SIR"? and feel it is an affront? a sign of disrespect? FM

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What happens when you get knighted?

I’m a perpetual “sir/ma’am” person if I don’t know them. High school girl at the grocery checkout, she’s a ma’am. Kid holds the door for me as he’s walking in and I’m walking out of the store, he’s a sir. I show respect and I get it back in kind. It’s just how I was raised.

Personally, I don’t want to be referred as “sir” by anyone who knows me. However, working overseas with over a hundred Nepalese guards and I was their manager, I was called sir every fifteen seconds. Even when I told them to just call me by my first name, it was my name followed immediately by sir. Shit, it took a lot just to keep them from saluting me, keep in mind this was contract work and not military, nor was I an officer even when I was in. I let it go, they were the most respectful people I’ve ever met in my life and who the hell was I to tell them to be something they were not.

Jscb1b said:

What happens when you get knighted?

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hahaha i dont think we need to worry about that contingency anytime soon....something tells me FM would not be too keen about a brit swinging a sword at him......im also fairly certain hes been banned from buckingham palace

Ok. Just wondering.

Jscb1b said:

What happens when you get knighted?

Click to expand...

I’d pay admission just to watch him wag his dick at the queen.

Was raised to use sir/ma'am. For me it's just courtesy/ polite. Respect is given when earned. I certainly mean no Disrespect by using sir/ma'am. My inlaws were uncomfortable with it, similar to your reaction. I try not to be offensive to others nor do I ask/ expect others to address me using my chosen preference? your highness or King, etc... I've most certainly been called worse than sir! Funny what'll upset people.

Thanks for your post sir.

I'm comfortable being addressed as " My Liege "

Same here, sir/ma'am, raised that way and courtesy/respect. Not too keen on the Mister (insert first name) thing though being an Ed. Wiiilllburrr!

Until I hit 18 I thought my first name was DAMN IT.

I wasn't raised to say sir or ma'am, but I do almost universally. It's not out of respect, necessarily, as I feel respect is something that should be earned rather than freely given. I say it strictly out of courtesy or politeness. Having said that, if I am speaking to someone who looks or sounds like that may offend them, I just omit all pronouns altogether.

I have had a couple of people light a fire because I called them sir or ma'am and "Sir was my daddy, not me!!!" or something similar, but they are the minority.

If I encountered someone who shares your stance on the word, I would probably call you Sir until you asked me otherwise, and then I'd refrain from it until I forgot.

Foul Mike said:

Am I alone in this where I NEVER want ANYBODY to call me "SIR"? and feel it is an affront? a sign of disrespect? FM

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I'm in the camp of very much disliking being called Sir and also very much disliking calling others that as well.

However it seems others are of the opinion that they are perfectly fine with beating on their kids for not saying sir to them / others.

Then you get the people that want you to say Sir twice when answering them.....

Although in general I'm a bit of a rebel and don't like all this honorific stuff from the get go.

If you are looking at me or I'm looking at you, just out with what you want to say.

I'm also good with you, hey you, what's your face, and such.

Redmanss said:

I’m a perpetual “sir/ma’am” person if I don’t know them. High school girl at the grocery checkout, she’s a ma’am. Kid holds the door for me as he’s walking in and I’m walking out of the store, he’s a sir. I show respect and I get it back in kind. It’s just how I was raised.

Personally, I don’t want to be referred as “sir” by anyone who knows me. However, working overseas with over a hundred Nepalese guards and I was their manager, I was called sir every fifteen seconds. Even when I told them to just call me by my first name, it was my name followed immediately by sir. Shit, it took a lot just to keep them from saluting me, keep in mind this was contract work and not military, nor was I an officer even when I was in. I let it go, they were the most respectful people I’ve ever met in my life and who the hell was I to tell them to be something they were not.

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I think as far as the Nepalese, and Indians, Bengali, and Japanese from what I've seen, go, it's a cultural thing to call someone "sir" or the nearest equivalent. Japanese have -san and -sama for those situations, for example, and I know some people from the Indian subcontinent who use "sir" by default even for people younger than they are (like me). Maybe it's a leftover from them being in the army way back when, or a professional habit from calling their hunting clients "sir", but "sahib" is still used in India on a regular basis the way that "mister" is used in the US. In any case, I address one of my friends by his (now retired) rank of Major out of politeness and respect, so if he wants to call me "sir" out of mutual politeness and friendly respect despite knowing I'm fifty years younger than he is, I'm OK with that.

@Foul Mike - i hear ya. Sometimes we just things that chap our ass.

I friggin hate seeing anyones underwear or ass hanging out of their pants.
Even my family or good friends.

I wouldnt get too sour, but thats me and not you.

It's a reflection of how we were raised (to show respect for others), and has nothing to do with whether or not you deserve the title of sir or ma'am.

If you're a dick about it, I have to decide whether to (1) call you sir to piss you off, or (2) to not call you sir, as you don't deserve it. My choice. Lol

In the south its just a way of life. You 'yes sir, no sir or yes m'am, no m'am. It just a thing of respect. As Red said, I even say that to children.


Lighten up, Sir Foul Mike.

But I do get that somethings just chap your ass. For me its "No problem'. Used to make me spit bt I got over it, youre not going to change the world.

Foul Mike said:

Am I alone in this where I NEVER want ANYBODY to call me "SIR"? and feel it is an affront? a sign of disrespect? FM

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Not sure. But if not, you're probably the biggest jerk about it.

Foul Mike should not visit Texas. Ever.

Kind of reminds me of a joke I heard several years ago...

So, a Texan finds himself on the campus of Harvard University. Not knowing his way around, he is a bit lost and asks someone for directions (We'll say he was a professor)..
Texan- "Excuse me, sir. Can you tell me where the library's at?"
Prof- "At Harvard, we don't end a sentence with a preposition?
Texan- "Oh, ok. Can you tell me where the library's at, asshole?"

hlee said:

Foul Mike should not visit Texas. Ever.

Kind of reminds me of a joke I heard several years ago...

So, a Texan finds himself on the campus of Harvard University. Not knowing his way around, he is a bit lost and asks someone for directions (We'll say he was a professor)..
Texan- "Excuse me, sir. Can you tell me where the library's at?"
Prof- "At Harvard, we don't end a sentence with a preposition?
Texan- "Oh, ok. Can you tell me where the library's at, asshole?"

Click to expand...

Foul Mike should not go out in public.
@Foul Mike there are those, as seen here, that were taught to say sir and ma'am as a courtesy and show of respect. People you don't even know WANT/NEED to respect you to live true to their own values. For that you spit in their face. I am Southern born and raised. Giving me shit for addressing you as sir makes me madder than you get when a stranger calls you sir!
Maybe you should just wear a shirt that has FUCK YOU written on the front and back so we all know immediately to stay the hell out of your way.

Foul Mike said:

Being an EM Grunt 69/70 I grew to hate ANYONE that wanted to be called SIR and anyone that insisted on it unless they deserved it, whereupon the word came out of my mouth freely as I respected them and felt they should be called that.

I had to deal with ROTC, OCS, and any one of a number of other programs that made people "Officers." and found that in my MOS there were few that even understood what I was talking about, but they were "Sirs"

Today I was talking to a man working on our range and he called me Sir, I quickly told him my name is Mike, Foul Mike, Asshole or whatever you want to call me but "Please don't call me Sir again."

I did not go into the tirade of "I work for a living" or "My parents were married when I was born"or "I don't suck cocks and don't kneel"

I was very respectful and flat out asked the man to NEVER refer to me as "Sir" again as I find it very offensive and explained it to him. He did not do it again and we got along well.

In my time in the Army I came upon a lot of them, some good and a lot not so good but they had the bars and rank.

I dealt with some Ring Knockers, both good and bad, and lots of puffed up others from the rank and file of wherever they got their education and the title "Sir."

My best interactions were with Mustangs other than an outstanding NG Officer, wheat farmer from Kansas, who had been activated and the occasional Officer who just had his shit together. They were few and far between and all of them would at least listen to what you had to say and maybe stop by your hole to get your opinion and go with that.

I had no problem calling them Sir.

Am I alone in this where I NEVER want ANYBODY to call me "SIR"? and feel it is an affront? a sign of disrespect? FM

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Thank you sir for giving me this information!

I was an officer in the Navy. This notion that you have to "earn" the rank IN the military is BS, sir.

I earned the officer rank (O-3) by first earning a doctorate degree (dentistry) before volunteering to serve in the military. I could have gone into more lucrative private practice, but I chose to serve. I'm glad I did (for 3 years), and I'd do it all over again. I'm quite proud of my service.

There are bad officers, and there are bad enlisted. It goes both ways. Personally, I had a very good relationship with (and a lot of respect for) the enlisted. Respect goes both ways. The "sir" is simply military etiquette. Them's the rules, eh? Same goes for the salute.

I had senior officers over me that were twerps, and some that were great. Such is life both in and out of the military.

The senior enlisted man (Chief / E-7) in my department on the aircraft carrier was a treasure-trove of knowledge. And, he was hilarious. He was a quintessential "old salt" sailor. He knew everything about everything. A "Navy savant!"

In our first port after the Persian Gulf (1990)... Singapore.... I ran into a bunch of the enlisted guys from the medical / dental department at a local bar. It had been almost 4 months (Operation Desert Shield) since we set foot on land. I bought the entire group a round of beers. And, back then, in Singapore, drafts were $6 EACH! They deserved it.

It's interesting to see this contempt for officers. I honestly don't know any officers that held the same contempt (expressed here) for enlisted. I would suggest that an enlisted man that claims that all or most officers he encountered were assholes or sub-par... maybe should look in the mirror. Maybe it wasn't them.

Likewise, if an officer were to claim all enlisted men below him were worthless and incompetent... He should look in the mirror.

My best friend in the Navy was a Mustang. He went from E-1 to E-7 as a corpsman in EIGHT years. Rock star! Got his degree in healthcare administration and went from E-7 to O-1. I met him as an O-1. He made it all the way to O-6!

One thing I will admit that is a bit different in the medical / dental corps, that doesn't quite match up to most of the military... is that enlisted and officers work side-by-side, knee-to-knee. You can have an O-6 working one-on-one with a E-3 every single day. We HAD to work together. The "chain of command" was much shorter... fewer layers.

I will also admit that when I first went into the Navy as an officer, it was WEIRD to be called "sir" by men older than me. It was also weird to be saluted, at first. But, as time went on, my returning the salute was out of a genuine respect for the enlisted guys. I always rendered a SHARP salute. ANYONE who serves deserves that respect.

In the civilian world, "sir" is also a matter of common etiquette. If someone gave me that much shit for calling them "sir," I'd likely just slowly back away and avoid any interaction with an seemingly unstable person. As others have pointed out... in the SOUTH, it's a matter of deeply-ingrained etiquette.

Good luck, sir.

Foul Mike said:

Being an EM Grunt 69/70 I grew to hate ANYONE that wanted to be called SIR and anyone that insisted on it unless they deserved it, whereupon the word came out of my mouth freely as I respected them and felt they should be called that.

I had to deal with ROTC, OCS, and any one of a number of other programs that made people "Officers." and found that in my MOS there were few that even understood what I was talking about, but they were "Sirs"

Today I was talking to a man working on our range and he called me Sir, I quickly told him my name is Mike, Foul Mike, Asshole or whatever you want to call me but "Please don't call me Sir again."

I did not go into the tirade of "I work for a living" or "My parents were married when I was born"or "I don't suck cocks and don't kneel"

I was very respectful and flat out asked the man to NEVER refer to me as "Sir" again as I find it very offensive and explained it to him. He did not do it again and we got along well.

In my time in the Army I came upon a lot of them, some good and a lot not so good but they had the bars and rank.

I dealt with some Ring Knockers, both good and bad, and lots of puffed up others from the rank and file of wherever they got their education and the title "Sir."

My best interactions were with Mustangs other than an outstanding NG Officer, wheat farmer from Kansas, who had been activated and the occasional Officer who just had his shit together. They were few and far between and all of them would at least listen to what you had to say and maybe stop by your hole to get your opinion and go with that.

I had no problem calling them Sir.

Am I alone in this where I NEVER want ANYBODY to call me "SIR"? and feel it is an affront? a sign of disrespect? FM

Click to expand...

Agreed

I don't like "Sir" but I absolutely HATE "Boss"

@Foul Mike the one that really bothers me for some reason is 'Boss'. I try and tell folks, I'm the boss because you let me be the boss. I'd much rather be a teammate, colleague, shit head, bastard I work with, just not boss

end of an inning?

Foul Mike said:

Being an EM Grunt 69/70 I grew to hate ANYONE that wanted to be called SIR and anyone that insisted on it unless they deserved it, whereupon the word came out of my mouth freely as I respected them and felt they should be called that.

I had to deal with ROTC, OCS, and any one of a number of other programs that made people "Officers." and found that in my MOS there were few that even understood what I was talking about, but they were "Sirs"

Today I was talking to a man working on our range and he called me Sir, I quickly told him my name is Mike, Foul Mike, Asshole or whatever you want to call me but "Please don't call me Sir again."

I did not go into the tirade of "I work for a living" or "My parents were married when I was born"or "I don't suck cocks and don't kneel"

I was very respectful and flat out asked the man to NEVER refer to me as "Sir" again as I find it very offensive and explained it to him. He did not do it again and we got along well.

In my time in the Army I came upon a lot of them, some good and a lot not so good but they had the bars and rank.

I dealt with some Ring Knockers, both good and bad, and lots of puffed up others from the rank and file of wherever they got their education and the title "Sir."

My best interactions were with Mustangs other than an outstanding NG Officer, wheat farmer from Kansas, who had been activated and the occasional Officer who just had his shit together. They were few and far between and all of them would at least listen to what you had to say and maybe stop by your hole to get your opinion and go with that.

I had no problem calling them Sir.

Am I alone in this where I NEVER want ANYBODY to call me "SIR"? and feel it is an affront? a sign of disrespect? FM

Click to expand...

I don’t have a problem with the term, per se. I have a problem with people who can’t turn off using it as an unconscious response. I’ve worked with a few people who had that problem and it always sounded almost condescending and grated on my nerves like almost nothing else. The biggest dilemma I had was that the guys that did this weren’t bad people, they were just annoying

Since not everybody has the exact same background/upbringing, I'll throw mine out here as well.

I was taught by my Grandparents that ANYBODY older than me was to be addressed with respect. That always started with 'Sir' of 'Ma'am' until we were told to call them otherwise. So, it simply is a respectful title until reaching the next step.

And, as for Foul Mike and the worry of him getting Knighted.... fear not. There's already a "Sir Elton..." so stand easy!

Sir FM Sir MF I so confused.

Are we all invited to the dubbing?

Yes sir

My father SF/SFC raised me to be respectful,
I was around 19 he said could you just call me dad, I think my response was yes sir.
Today luckily he's still alive and I do call him dad.
If I would respond to anyone here and say yes sir, that would be respectful in my opinion.


I would think it's more how it's said and
under what circumstances.

I would typically would not say that to a friend, or coworker, however if I was being disrespectful, it might be you sir are a????.
Not that big of a deal.

Well, guess I am out of place here....

Growing up, one of the sure ways to get a 'hide 'tannin was to not address adults as Sir or Ma'am. Once introduced, it could be Mister, Missus or Miss.

We also held doors open for people, helped people in need whether getting groceries into a trunk or crossing a road. We stood when adults entered the room. We did not eat until everyone at the table was served, even though we were not a 'grace' family.

Even as a snotty teenager, those were reflex actions. I think America was better place when people showed respect like that.

I know lots of NCO's who have a reaction to being called "Sir." I understand that community well. But it is first and foremost a way of addressing someone with deference and respect.

And once they become your friend, it can become anything you like. Hey, Peckerhead is a favorite!

Cheers,

HR

Sean the Nailer said:

Since not everybody has the exact same background/upbringing, I'll throw mine out here as well.

I was taught by my Grandparents that ANYBODY older than me was to be addressed with respect. That always started with 'Sir' of 'Ma'am' until we were told to call them otherwise. So, it simply is a respectful title until reaching the next step.

And, as for Foul Mike and the worry of him getting Knighted.... fear not. There's already a "Sir Elton..." so stand easy!

Click to expand...

^^^ This.

Though Sir Foulsalot has a ring to it... ;-)

Cheers,

Sirhr

I think it has less to do with the actual word and more to do with the way it is delivered.

When I was young it was a requirement to use Sir when addressing an adult but it wasn't said the way most say it today. The tone and inflection say it all

MtnCreek said:

If you knew how many beatings I got growing up over sir and ma'am, you'd cut me some slack when I said it... and kept saying it. That programing took.

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I took a whipping or two over that too

Id rather be a sir than dead and no more .

I can't get enough of watching that crazy Gamestop tranny!

I am from a place where every one is Sir or Maam. It is a sign of respect. The kind where you give it and don't expect someone to earn it first. My child says it. When I moved away to the first big city, I found the most disrespectful people in the world. Cant believe there are snowflakes crying about the word SIr.

I don't like to be called "Sir', if for only one reason, like, it just makes me feel F'n OLD! Mac

MtnCreek said:

If you knew how many beatings I got growing up over sir and ma'am, you'd cut me some slack when I said it... and kept saying it. That programing took.

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My thought exactly. Can’t deprogram that easily.

I'm gonna need you to calm down...Sir

I was enlisted, went to OCS and then became an EOD tech. So fuck you. Don't care. Have a great day.

You can call me Ray, or you can call me Jay, or you can call me Johnny or you can call me Sonny, or you can call me RayJay, or you can call me RJ... but ya doesn't hafta call me Johnson.

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