Blog 56 – Do Professional Opinions Exist?

Do professional opinions exist?

Of course they exist… or do they?

Let’s dig a little deeper though.

I’ll give you a little insight as to what happened on a particular WordPress blog the other day…

A blogger had posted about war and asked for comments regarding military intervention between countries etc.

I commented saying that “I am not a fan of military intervention unless it was a VERY LAST resort and that a life lost is a life lost, regardless of what side you’re on.”

Long-story short, some wanker kind soul told me that he disagreed, but in a not-so-friendly tone of voice.

I accepted his opinion but told him it wasn’t a weightier opinion than mine.

He insisted that he was a war veteran and therefore he was speaking from experience.

I replied again saying that he may have been speaking from experience but it didn’t mean his opinion was weightier than mine.

After this, he decided to resort to patronising and undermining comments. Being the linguist that I am, I couldn’t resist retaliating in a way that just shut him up. I wasn’t aggressive. I just put things into perspective for him.

It made me think though, I am studying Journalism & English Language at the moment. So if I was asked to advise someone on something related to either the English language or journalism, would it mean that I am suddenly an expert in those fields and can offer my “professional” opinion?

It made me think.

What does it mean to have a professional opinion?

If I was working as a journalist… would offering advice on journalism mean I’m giving a professional opinion?

What If I had worked as a journalist 30 years ago and was asked the same question, would that still be considered as giving a professional opinion?

Anyway, perhaps I was wrong to tell him his opinion wasn’t weightier.

Nah.

For me, opinions will always be opinions. No one has a weightier opinion than another and this is the single thought process that should run through the mind of every single person.

This isn’t me being “liberal” or whatever, I just feel like opinions are a really interesting matter to discuss.

Go on, ask me a question on linguistics or journalism or whatever. I can’t offer a professional opinion but what I CAN do is offer you an educated opinion on such and such.

So, do professional opinions actually exist?

Whether you have a doctorate in Astro-Physics (Is that even a thing?) or whether you are a teenager who is very passionate about Astro-Physics… In the end, an opinion is an opinion and it remains so until a fact proves it otherwise.

Hypotheses and theories will remain as such unless facts back them up.

I really want to hear the opinions of The EssWhyDee Blog readers as to what you guys think about professional opinions. Do they have more weight than your so-to-speak “unprofessional” opinions?

Comment/Tweet what you think about this article… Was I right to put this guy in his place, or should I have kept schtum and accepted that his opinion was somewhat more valid than mine?

I invite your comments, whether they are in favour of what I believe or not.

I always voice my opinion if I disagree with something.

Your thoughts on this matter, please?

Peace,

Syd

Note: Snooping around for a new theme… It’s time for a change!