Do you HATE using the words Sir or Mam?

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I live in the South, and here that's just a polite way of addressing someone.
No deference involved, really.

Yes people who demand to be called them are using too full of themselves and think they are more important than they really are. As far as respect goes, who cares? respect is highly overrated. Those who want it don't deserve it and those who deserve it don't care about it.

Whats so impressive about been alive longer? I would be perfectly ok with my kids calling me by my first name. You are right they are not you're equals sometimes they are beneath you. What you are saying is pretty ageist, older does not mean better.

i have not read any other posts in this thread yet because i do not have time, so if i restate what earlier people have said, then "there one goes".

no, because i never use the words "sir" or "mam".

in australia, no one says "mam" anyway, so i am not isolated in my non usage of the word.
i have never really found out what "mam" means. i have a loose idea that "mam" is an abbreviation of "madam" (as in "ma'am"), and i somehow think that means a woman who runs a brothel.

i am glad nobody says "mam" in australia.

the situation surrounding my attitude to the word "sir" is much more complicated.
in australia when i was at school, it was expected that i address male teachers as "sir".

"yes sir! no sir! a million empty bags sir!"

i did not see them as "sirs", so i did not address them as "sir". many of them became hostile to me because of what they saw as my "ignorance of their dominion" over me.

with some of the more hostile ones, i demanded to see their "knighthood certificate" or whatever other documentation that the queen provides that will allow me to asses with surety whether i should call them "sir".

needless to say i wound up in adolescent units after being expelled from every mainstream school i ever went to.

i will only comply to the degree that i see i should, and beyond that, i will resist with all my might.
the degree to which i see that i should comply, is the degree where i am not required to "kowtow" to someone who thinks they are important for either "no" or "any" reason..

this is quite funny... you can write it on a letter to somebody, but if you call somebody sir to their face what is the reaction?

"Don't call me sir, we're not in America."

haha, we just don't do it in this country. mr lastname, or firstname are the only two options.

lol@b9, you're old or went to some old fashioned schools

It feels mega awkward, but it's a habit.

why would i call someone that? they aren't more then i am.. i'm too proud to do that.
if they call me sir i might but otherwise.. NOPE I TELL YOU!

I used to until I got a job dealing poker to a mostly senior clientele. The added $$ from tips from faking a western accent and saying ma'am and sir made up for the fakeness I felt from doing it.

I say sir by default, basically. Maam I don't say quite as much, as some women get offended by it for some reason (they say it makes them feel old I think). It's easy for me and occasionally gets you more of what you want with dealing with people, and also sets you apart (for better or worse) from the idiot teenagers around me. Generally, I'm 20, so I reserve sir for like, over 30 years old. I actually don't mind being formal like that, it can save your ass, especially when dealing with authorities. Just my problem is finding the lines between formal, informal, what people would prefer, etc.

I hate it. Unfortunately, we don't have universal you, but we have to use special grammar forms, so I hate it even more.

I never have any cause to use them so I'm not bothered either way.

What I hated was someone wanting to be called something different than what I was taught to call them. This happened to me all the time as a kid. I was taught to call a grown up Mr or Miss, then use their last name. It was what I was comfortable with. When a friend's parent wanted me to call them by their first name instead it would take me a while to actually do it. They had to keep reminding me. My preference was calling them by their last name with Mr or Miss in front and had been told it was the only proper way to address adults. It was like, really confusing.

I had also been taught "sir" or "mam" was also polite and when someone told me not to call them sir or mam because it made them feel old, that really befuddled me. I didn't get why something like that would cause someone to feel old. Strange. Very strange.

if someone is not a "knight", then they are not addressable as "sir".
that is very simple, and it is a rule that i do not have to fight to explain.

if someone demands that i address them as "sir" without satisfying me that are are qualified to be addressed thusly, then i will not accede to their demands.

someone previously in this tread suggested i was old. i am not old (i am 39) , but i went to catholic schools for short periods and they were very strict.

i could not comply with their demands because........i do not really know why.
i suppose it was because i said "no", and when i say "no"i mean it. no one can get me to comply when my mind has snapped shut in the "no" position, and if any "force" is applied to try to change my mind , i will urgently resist it (without thinking properly sometimes). oh well. that is life.

i like the knight thing you're the same as me, no is no and further discussion will make it a no to all your questions

you may be correct.. who knows.

No, I don't have any problems with calling people "sir" or "ma'am." Those words come in handy when I do not know somebody's name, or do not know them well enough to be comfortable using their name, or am addressing a customer at various jobs.

I think it's good to call other people sir or ma'am. It shows politeness and respect, which nearly all people these days just don't have. I do call most people just by their names, but if I call them "sir" or "ma'am" it shows that I actually have respect and even trust for them, and they should feel honored because it takes quite a lot to earn my respect and trust.