Uniforms
There have been some criticisms about why we should spend any time at all on “something as unimportant as uniforms” while “Rome has been burned around us.”
We have a choice; either surrender to the corporate avalanche or grab onto the nearest tree so that we can claw our way back up to the top.
The way we look is a powerful symbol of our profession. This is an age where perception creates reality. We can be relaxed and casual … and be paid that way. Or we can decide that we are at the top of the flying profession food chain and struggle to get back the respect and pay scale that rewards us for our experience, expertise and responsibilty.
Wearing the uniform that has been the visible symbol of the airline pilot profession for 75 years is free, easy … and sends a signal that we are not going to volunteer to be crushed. It is also a simple way to honor Capt. Behnke and others upon whose shoulders we stand.
Uniform means “all alike.” It is more than a suit of clothes. It is an attitude.
November 3, 2006 at 10:16 pm |
I see some pilots who continue to wear the full regalia and I say to myself…”Good for them. Wear the hat, wear the stripes…GaP
November 6, 2006 at 12:13 am |
Wearing the full uniform is a small price to pay to look the part of a professional. Many can complain that “I am tired of carrying that hat around”. Just remember there is no “I” in ALPA.
You don’t see attorneys arguing in court without a full suit. You would not consider going to a doctor that did not look clean and professional. Don’t let our corporate titans beat us into truck drivers, we are better than that.
Let’s look professional and sharp and not give them any more than they have already taken.
Wear your hat guys………..
November 7, 2006 at 2:45 pm |
A mother and father spent a lot of time and money to take their family to New York to see “The Phantom of the Opera.” They have high expectations that they will see a professional show. They look forward to being lost in the magic of the experience.
On the day the family goes to the show, the actor playing the Phantom decides he does not want to wear the costume. The costume has worked so well over the years that it has become an archetype. He’s decided it’s too much trouble. He’s worn it for a long time. He’s bored with it. He cares not a whit that to the public he is, in his role, in his costume, THE Phantom of the Opera.
He cares not that, to his audience, it is not the man inside the costume that is important, but rather the image that he projects; the image that becomes the reality.
He decides he wants to wear a Bozo costume instead.
So he spoils the magic.
He spoils the experience.
He looks like a clown.