Thursday, June 22, 2017

Who's a Professional? Not Brandon Willcutt


It was only a few days ago that we blogged on the subject of words. They can mean anything anyone wants them to, right? No, not really.

Today's TimesDaily published an article by Robert Palmer on the new local head of Alabama Young Democrats, Brandon Willcutt. Willcutt works for Scope 310, an organization assisting the mentally challenged; Palmer called Willcutt a mental health professional.

We were curious as to what Willcutt actually did at Scope 310 and looked at his LinkedIn profile. The gentleman doesn't claim any degrees, but has attended UNA. 

We admire Willcutt for working with Scope 310, but unless his profile is out of date, he's not a professional in what he does. It's unfair to real professionals who have stayed the course to earn a degree to call him one. 
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at 8:00:00 PM Labels:

6 comments:

  1. theavengerJune 23, 2017 at 6:44 AM

    Brandon Willcutt is as much a "professional" at Scope 310 as the author of this gossip rag is a "professional" to journalism. And he does WORK there which means it is HIS professions, unlike the author's of this blog who claim this is a "hobby". And Brandon doesn't hide his name or biography. Glass house? Just a lame attempt to slur a democrat. How transparent.

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    1. LVN from AZJune 24, 2017 at 4:08 AM

      I think what Mr. Willcutt does is a vocation, not a profession.

      Delete
    2. ShoalandaJune 25, 2017 at 12:14 AM

      Exactly. Almost everyone has a vocation. Only about one in five or six has a profession.

      Delete
  2. ShoalandaJune 23, 2017 at 5:41 PM

    One has to have a degree or certification in an area to be a professional, especially mental health. It may come as a surprise to many, but the Alabama board of psychologists highly regulates its members and those claiming certain qualifications. Remember Angel Gieske? She claimed to be a mental health professional and wound up arrested in four counties. We're not saying Willcutt used this word; in all probability it was Robert Palmer's ignorance that added that phrase.

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  3. Just Get it RightJune 24, 2017 at 1:03 PM

    I don't know the guy but he is a "professional". Professional is defined as, 1. relating to or connected with a profession. OR (and pay attention to this one) 2. engaged in a specified activity as one's main paid occupation rather than as a pastime. He gets paid, therefore he is a professional. Bottom line. I believe the word you are looking for is "certified" or "accredited". But yes, he is without a doubt a "professional" if he is getting paid for his services.

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    1. ShoalandaJune 25, 2017 at 12:12 AM

      So we have professional garbage men and pooper scoopers? No.

      Some dictionaries do offer definitions of words according to popular use. That does not make them correct. As our friend the avenger pointed out, we record news here from time to time...and we make money via our ads...but we are not professional journalists, not having a degree in it.

      Many joke about mental health, but it is indeed serious. Psychologists, sociologist, physicians, nurses, etc. toil every day in this field and each of them earned the right to be called a professional. Let's not demean them by calling every Tom, Dick, or Brandon a professional.

      Delete

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