"Be More Professional."

WHO ELSE HAS BEEN TOLD to be more "professional" before? I've been told to not swear as much with people, because it's not as "professional," and while I agree that not everyone is open to casual swearing and that it might be a good idea to make sure people are comfortable with your swearing before dropping f-bombs on them like it's hot, I am resistant to the idea that swearing is "unprofessional."

It seems that people's ideas about what is "professional" are quite conservative, really. It's okay to mention Christmas, or throw a Christmas party in the workplace--as long as you call it a "holiday" party--and have Santa and reindeer everywhere--but a Hanukkah party and the display of a menorah at said party is "too religious." Queer people are "accepted" in the workplace, but if you want to talk about your polyamorous relationship, "you don't need to share everything" even though everyone else talks about their wives and husbands on a regular basis. Employees with mental disabilities are protected by the American Disabilities Act (ADA), but if you talk about your medication in the workplace, you shouldn't because people might think you're tripping on Vicodin 24/7.

To this I politely ask: what the hell, people?

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