[stylist] Using titles to refer to people

Thu Apr 2 14:41:49 UTC 2009

John, Can you respect that others might have different opinions from yours 
and deserve respect for their point of view and accomplishment?  We are not 
all one lump of sugar hardening together in a sugar bag.
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "John Lee Clark" <johnlee at clarktouch.com>
To: "'NFBnet Writer's Division Mailing List'" <stylist at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Thursday, April 02, 2009 1:04 AM
Subject: Re: [stylist] Using titles to refer to people


> Not you, too, Justin?
>
> Okay, I'll try not to be too shocked here.  But really.  But I mean.  I am
> so sad, and so sorry, but I am really incredulous here.
>
> Is it a low self-esteem thing?  Iis there such desperate need for anything
> to burnish your image?  Is there no confidence in the real, actual power 
> of
> your accomplishments in and of themselves?  Iis there no appreciation for
> the virtue of understatement, or the oblique reference?
>
> It has been my great pleasure and privilege to know over fifty people with
> Ph.Ds.  None, and I repeat, none of them use Dr. next to their names and
> only use Ph.D sparingly.  Take Harlan Lane, who is the James Elliott
> Distinguished Professor of History at Northeastern University, who earned
> his Ph.D from Sorbonne, no less, and wrote bestselling books published by
> Knopf--he absolutely never uses Dr.  Or take Carol Padden, the chair of 
> the
> Communications Department at the University of California at San Diego,
> author of two books, with her husband, Tom Humphries, professor of
> linguistics and fellow at the Salk Institute, published by Harvard
> Univeristy Press--no Dr. for either of them.  Or take Brenda Jo 
> Brueggemann,
> chair of the Deaf Studies department at Ohio State University--she has two
> Ph.Ds but never goes by Dr.  Or take Bob Harris, the CEO of the Deaf
> community's biggest Deaf-related store, Harris Communications, who has a
> Ph.D in psychology--no Dr.  Or take Benjamin J. Soukup, the CEO of CSD,
> former president of NAD, current chairman of the board of trustees of
> Gallaudet, who doesn't have ANY degrees that he earned from college, not
> even a BA degree, but he has a long list of honorary doctorates--nice
> honors, he says, but he never calls himself Dr.  Or take Jane Frenandes,
> Ph.D in literature, former provost at Gallaudet, now provost at the
> University of North Carolina at Asheville--no Dr.  Or take the well-known
> Deaf comedian, Bob Daniels, Ph.D in comparative literature from
> Princeton--no Dr.  Or take my very close friend, Sean Virnig, Ph.D in
> educational administration, now head of the school for the Deaf here--Ph.D
> on his business card for work, but that's it.
>
> Or take those who are hearing, not Deaf like the above--Mary Kirk, Ph.D in
> education, professor at Metro State University--never Dr.  Or take Dona
> Mathews, Ph.D in psychology, CEO of a counseling firm here--no Dr.  Or 
> take
> Bill Williams, Ph.D in Renaissance Studies, gallery owner--no Dr.  Or take
> Pia Taavila, Ph.D in English, poet--no Dr.  Or take Mike Dykstra, Ph.D in
> marine biology, government biologist and teaches at UNC Chapel Hill--never
> Dr.  Or take Oliver Sacks, the bestselling author of many books, Ph.D in
> neurology, well, sometimes he's called Dr. because he is so distinguished
> and so, so famous, but it is very rarely used in print and absolutely 
> never
> in his own books.  Or take Teresa B. Smith, Ph.D in social 
> sciences--you'll
> never catch her using the title Dr.
>
> Only M.D.s are regularly called Dr. in print.  The other kinds of doctors,
> no.  Sometimes Ph.D, but NOT Dr.
>
> Dr. but not a M.D. is a propped-up fake.
>
> Why prop up Jernigan or Mauer while they are already great as is?  The
> propping up only makes it look like they need propping up.
>
> John
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
> Behalf Of Justin Williams
> Sent: Wednesday, April 01, 2009 9:07 PM
> To: 'NFBnet Writer's Division Mailing List'
> Subject: Re: [stylist] Using titles to refer to people
>
> I think that if you have earned that allusive and prestidgous title, then
> you have the right to use it whenever you so desire.  As a matter of fact,
> you should.  Hell, if I had it, I would be putting Dr. Williams on
> everything.  Boy Dr. Williams has a nice ring to it.  Maybe I just go and
> get me one of them there PHds.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
> Behalf Of Angela fowler
> Sent: Wednesday, April 01, 2009 9:46 PM
> To: 'NFBnet Writer's Division Mailing List'
> Subject: [stylist] Using titles to refer to people
>
> Most people who have PHDs are referred to as Doctor. I think you're 
> reading
> way too much into it.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
> Behalf Of John Lee Clark
> Sent: Wednesday, April 01, 2009 1:02 PM
> To: 'NFBnet Writer's Division Mailing List'
> Subject: Re: [stylist] Heroes of the blind community
>
> Hey, all:
>
> I notice NFB's tendency to take pains to refer to people with doctorates 
> as
> Dr.  Am I to read into this a kind of inferiority complex and if you have 
> a
> doctorate you make sure it is known and touted?
>
> If so, Ii recommend scrapping this altogether.  You may think it builds
> credibility, but the fact you mention Dr. at all suggests it is SPECIAL 
> for
> a blind person.  But it shouldn't be considered special, but only a matter
> of course--of course you've got a whole colony of blind doctors!  Even if
> you don't have that many, it's good to be nonchalant about it.
>
> But I can sympathize.  The Deaf community used to make a big deal of the
> title Dr. but that was back in the 1930s.  Nowadays, Deaf Ph.Ds are common
> as dirt.
>
> But I make this suggestion only from the perspective of language
> manipulation.  Understatements are better than overstatements.
>
> John
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
> Behalf Of LoriStay at aol.com
> Sent: Wednesday, April 01, 2009 8:16 AM
> To: stylist at nfbnet.org
> Subject: Re: [stylist] Heroes of the blind community
>
> Start with the leaders:   Louis Braille, Dr. Jacobus tenBroek, Dr. Kenneth
> Jernigan, and many other leaders from NFB.
> Lori
> In a message dated 3/31/09 11:59:04 PM, jbron at optonline.net writes:
>
>
>>
>> >> Who are the biggest legendary figures or heroes of the blind 
>> >> community?
>> >>
>>
>
>
>
>
> **************
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