[Kristina]

Thoughts from an aspiring lawyer:

Over the past day, I've received this link from many people and finally reading the many pages, I was surprised to see how much has been written. I think that Kris identified a viable problem on these boards and it was fittingly put under the forum suggestions/comments section. I thought merely the solution would be: cut down on the lawyer bashing.

It shouldn't matter if you don't like people finding loopholes or not and it shouldn't matter if there are sleazy lawyers out there. We can all talk about gracious professionalism but wouldn't also encompass the idea: If you don't have anything nice to say, just don't say it?

Why do lawyers get a bad rep, because people sit there an complain. Well essentially when I see people make fun of lawyers, they're doing the same. If you think they're so bad, making jokes about them isn't going to improve the situation. If anything, I think it just makes it worse. How do you expect the law to become a respectable profession if no one respects it?

So if there's a problem out in the world, I think there are far better ways to go about solving it than utilizing stereotypes. To use another elementary school cliche, two wrongs don't make a right. I personally have grown a thick skin from my dabbling in politics so I'm not offended by lawyer jokes, I knew what I was signing up for basically when I set my sights on law school. However, I will say that I am disappointed at times by what I see written. The jokes really do just get old and I often wonder what the joy is in putting down other people or other professions.

So here's my challenge to all of you: If you want the world of science and technology to be respected, you have to respect other areas. The jokes may just be lighthearted and in jest, but just remember that there are people on this board or people who have family in or aspiring to be in the areas that you make jokes about. I would greatly appreciate it if people laid off the jokes and analogies, and in general, are just careful about what you write. While conversation is colloquial, forum boards are different than just a conversation with a friend. They're in writing for people all across the nation to see. You're representing yourself, your team, and the entire FIRST community. Certain remarks, even the jokes, can make the entire community seem exclusive and elitist, and I know that's not how it is at all, but that's how it can appear. I may not like science but I have the utmost respect for engineers; I would appreciate if that respect was reciprocated for the field I would like to go into.