Is it okay to call Sisters "ma'am"?

[babochka]

Actually, he would not have said that.

That’s the “typical” response. He wasn’t like that. He would not have said something that implies that other people don’t work.

He always spoke respectfully about everyone, and to everyone, even the newest recruit Private. He was firm when he needed to be firm, yes, but he always showed respect for the person.

So no, he would not have said that.

Sorry, Father. It was a joke, one I thought would be appreciated by others who have served. I am honored to have served with many hardworking officers, NCOs and lower enlisted. Nearly all were respectful toward one another, but many appreciated joking around in this manner.

 

[otjm]

Sorry, Father. It was a joke, one I thought would be appreciated by others who have served. I am honored to have served with many hardworking officers, NCOs and lower enlisted. Nearly all were respectful toward one another, but many appreciated joking around in this manner.

Not all enlisted of the NCO rank were as polite; a raw recruit called the drill NCO “Sir” and the immediate retort was “Don’t call me Sir! My mother was married when I was born!” in a voice of warning to every other recruit within hearing.

But then, drill sergeants seemed to have been cut out of a different bolt of cloth.

 

[exnihilo]

This is an interesting question. It seems the custom these days would not be to say yes sir or yes ma’am. But that may just be recent and local, or imported, custom. I see nothing nothing wrong with saying sir or ma’am. As I understand it the etiquette if you were to meet the queen of England would be to first refer to her as ‘your majesty’ and subsequently as ma’am. It seems to me using sir and ma’am is very much within the tradition of English culture.

I recalled a great article that discusses how Protestants used to call their clergy ‘father’. It also talked about the Catholic tradition of addressing priests in the US. It offers an example of how things haven’t always been how we think they were.

Most significantly, the decline of “Father” in Protestantism coincides with the rise of Irish immigration to the United States in the 1840s. Before that time, Roman Catholic priests in America were usually addressed as “Mister,” for most were secular (nonmonastic) clergy with roots in Europe or England, where Roman Catholic practice restricted “Father” to priests of monastic orders. Secular priests were called “Mister,” “Monsieur,” “Don” or other vernacular equivalents.

Irish Roman Catholics, however, addressed all priests – whether secular or monastic – as “Father.” And by the end of the Victorian period, the Irish had influenced English-speaking Roman Catholicism to call every priest “Father.”

This change clearly influenced Protestant usage. Catholic priests called “Mister” and protestant clergy called “Father” had lived side by side in America. Following the Irish immigrations, however, Protestants began to see the title as redolent of priestcraft and popery.

religion-online.org/showarticle.asp?title=1916