Treating respect with disrespect
I do not approve of your disrespect, ma'am
That’s why we put people like this in office. So they can become mad with power and disrespect the little peons like brigadier generals. Isn’t America great that way?
But please… PLEASE… whatever you do, never call California Senator Barbara Boxer “ma’am.” Because clearly she doesn’t deserve such good old-fashioned respect. If she votes against payday loans in Idaho and cash advance in Idaho loans as well, I’ll give her the thumbs down… Caesar-style.
Oh, it’s because she’s “feisty”
Is that what you call it? Barbara Boxer took it upon herself to be both disagreeable and disrespectful to Brig. Gen. Michael Walsh of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Does she get a pass because she’s a senator? Because she’s “feisty?” Because she’s a woman? That would be a “no” hat trick. All Walsh did was call her “ma’am,” in a completely innocent show of respect. See the video below if you don’t believe me. Yet “Ma’am” Boxer believes it’s OK not to address Walsh as “sir” or by his title. To complete the effect, she should have referred to him in third person while he was talking at him.
The lovely conversation as it went down
Thanks to Fox News, you too can learn to speak to others like Sean Hannity! According to their report, Brig. Gen.
Walsh was testifying on behalf of “the Louisiana coastal restoration process in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.” As he began to answer a question Ma’am Boxer posed to him, Boxer rudely cut him off:
Thankfully, Brig. Gen. Walsh didn't refer to Boxer by her Christian name. If he had, there would have been an full-scale Boxer Rebellion…
“You know, do me a favor. Could say ’senator’ instead of ‘ma’am?’”
“Yes, ma’am,” Walsh interjected. (I like this man already)
“It’s just a thing, I worked so hard to get that title, so I’d appreciate it, yes, thank you,” she said.
“Yes, senator,” he responded.
Comfortably numb nomenclature
Come on, ma’am. Military protocol advises that officers use “sir” or “ma’am” when addressing anybody higher than them on the chain of command. Even though you aren’t military, you are a senator, as you have fondly reminded us, so the title is not out of place. And where I come from, I call women “ma’am” to be respectful. If feminism tells you otherwise, then feminism is wrong.
One guide on Navy and Coast Guard conduct cited by Fox suggests that they address people as “mister” or “miss” if they are “below the rank of commander,” and “sir” or “ma’am” (or a specific title) to address those of equal or higher rank. Thus, Brig. Gen. Walsh was attempting to treat Barbara Boxer with respect.
And during that same hearing…
That same day at a Senate Armed Services subcommittee hearing, “two Navy officials repeatedly referred to Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., with the title, ’sir,’” writes Fox News.
“Yes, sir,” Navy Vice Adm. Bernard McCullough said as he responded to Senator Wicker’s questions. At no point did Mr. Wicker call Vice Adm. McCullough to the carpet for a verbal indiscretion. That’s because no verbal indiscretion was committed.
What’s your main problem, ma’am? Do you need payday loans in Idaho and cash advance in Idaho for help with a medical condition?
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