[KenWittlief]

One of the realities of life that some people never accept is this: you cannot change people, you can only change yourself.

FIRST is not a program designed to change anyone into a better person, therefore whether people involved in FIRST are better or worse than some other group is irrelavant.

FIRST is designed to show people a path that will lead them to a successfull and rewarding career. Gracious professionalism is a part of that - its a way of interacting with other people that keeps things on a positive and productive level.

GP is not a blanket term that means "all things good and moral". The two words have a very specific meaning, and its not about morality or being good in an overall sense.

GP isnt something that you are, or are not - its something you do, that you chose to do, because the results of your actions are better than doing things another way (ranting or screaming at someone when they make a mistake for example).

If you are gracious and professional in your dealings with others, then a lot of work and progress can be accomplished. Things will run smoothly. If you are ungracious and unprofessional, things quickly come to a grinding halt, and insults and finger pointing ensues.

It has nothing to do with how good of a person you are. Its a learned behavior. The most rotten person on the face of the earth can use GP when interacting with other people, to get the results he is after.