Big Friendly Vegan

I am sick of being called "Sir". I wish everyone would stop doing it. I don't call anybody "Sir" and unless you have been on your knees in front of the queen (note, I said THE queeen, not a queen - not that there's anything wrong with that, of course) then there is probably no way I will be calling you "Sir".

From this you can probably tell that I don't work in a service industry. Well, actually, I do work in a service industry but not one in which I have to address anyone overly politely. On the other hand, they (and by "they" I mean my customers) frequently call me "Sir".

I am a university lecturer, and every year I have to deal with a group of new first year students who have just left high school and who bring all of their bad habits to uni. In high school they call their male teachers "Sir" and they think that this is de rigeur for tertiary education.

It all starts in preschool. Teachers think that being called "Mr", "Mrs" or "Miss" is respectful. I suppose that this is fair enough; people should have some say in how they are addressed. But have these people ever stopped to think for a moment about why it is respectful? Being called "Mister" is just another way of saying "male member of a particular family". I mean, my Dad, brother, grandfather and uncle are all Mr. Halfpenny's. "Miss" and "Missus" is even worse since it identifies a woman based on their marital status. Is that really respect?

When these kids get to high school, after six or seven years of being respectful, they take things to a new level and just use "Sir" or "Miss". No family name, just "Yes, male teacher" or "No, female". Isn't it the ultimate form of rudeness to relegate someone to just a member of a particular sex?

My parents loved me enough that when I was born they gave me a name. Call me "Dave". If you feel the need to be respectful, call me "Dr. Dave". If you can't remember my name, "Mate" will do at a pinch. But don't call me "Sir".