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30 People Share Stories About "Professionals" Who Had Some Controversial Opinions
CuriositiesJUN 25, 2021

30 People Share Stories About "Professionals" Who Had Some Controversial Opinions

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It's one thing if your Uncle Dave said he doesn't believe in time. But it would be a completely different conversation if the same words came out of a clockmaker.
Inspired by a tweet where a microbiologist expressed his disappointment after learning that one of their colleagues was an anti-vaxxer, Reddit user u/MoniMokshith made a post on r/facepalm, saying "I had to teach a historical geology class because the geologist who was supposed to teach [it] was a Young Earth Creationist."
The post immediately blew up. As of this article, it has over 98K upvotes. And that's not even the most impressive part. The comment section got filled with similar stories, with people talking about "professionals" who made a career despite their controversial -- and often contradictory -- personal views. Here are some of them.
Image credits: foamtherunway

#1

30 People Share Stories About "Professionals" Who Had Some Controversial Opinions
I'm an RN and worked with FAR too many people in the healthcare field as a whole (not just other nurses, but also lab workers, RT's, pharmacists, hell even some MD's) who think/thought COVID was a hoax or "greatly exaggerated" and are now refusing the new vaccine, even though we all KNOW how mRNA and vaccines work. Plenty of anti-maskers too. It's like they just used their degrees as tissue paper or something, I seriously don't get how you can learn what we learn, understand it well enough to practice in the field, and yet still allow political stances to override all that, it's freaking ridiculous.
366points

#2

30 People Share Stories About "Professionals" Who Had Some Controversial Opinions
My high school biology teacher was a super religious creationist. He taught us about evolution while telling us how he thought it was all bulls**t. I always wondered why people go into professions that are directly opposed to their beliefs. Seems like a miserable existence.
262points

#3

30 People Share Stories About "Professionals" Who Had Some Controversial Opinions
I’ve worked with an aerospace/aeronautical engineer once that believed the earth was flat. It was so weird because in order for the calculations to function properly, you have to take into account of the earth not being flat.
260points

#4

30 People Share Stories About "Professionals" Who Had Some Controversial Opinions
I’m an ICU nurse of about 10 years. I would occasionally float to our regular, non-icu and non-covid floors. Plenty of nurses who denied how serious covid was.
The cognitive dissonance is real. Of course none of them came up to help on our covid units
251points

#5

30 People Share Stories About "Professionals" Who Had Some Controversial Opinions
Degree is Psychology here. So many peers with devout faith, one brain dead moron took psychology as a way “to know god better” he told me and convert more to Jesus.
Once took a course literally called, “Belief in Weird Things” which was for Psych majors. 300 students enrolled, nearly half dropped out because they were offended at some point when we broke down their weird beliefs.
196points

#6

30 People Share Stories About "Professionals" Who Had Some Controversial Opinions
Used to be a science teacher and I always got flack on the evolution chapter from parents that were doctors. Like babe I hope you at least believe in bacteria and viruses evolving...
I've also come across many nurses who don't think mental illness is real.
195points

#7

30 People Share Stories About "Professionals" Who Had Some Controversial Opinions
Professional cook here. Near the beginning of the pandemic I heard about a Sous Chef I worked with in the past being an anti-masker. I asked through the grapevine why he washes his hands before and after handling food and the reply was “that’s common sense”. But somehow the scientific medical community saying that masks help prevent illnesses is just a big hoax. It’s beyond frustrating.
194points

#8

30 People Share Stories About "Professionals" Who Had Some Controversial Opinions
My friends uncle is a '5G gives you cancer while the government controls your mind' conspiracy theorist. He's a 5G installer
172points

#9

30 People Share Stories About "Professionals" Who Had Some Controversial Opinions
My mom's really into homepoathy bulls**t (treating illnesses with the souls of elements or whatever). She's a pharmacist.
168points

#10

30 People Share Stories About "Professionals" Who Had Some Controversial Opinions
I worked with a former airline PILOT who was/is a flat earther. He has since went back to being a pilot but I am not sure if he still thinks Earth is flat. When I pressed him on being a former pilot and believing malarkey he claimed the schools indoctrination into round earth didn’t work on him and that the pilots windscreen was a very thick and curved glass that made everything appear to be curved.
167points

#11

30 People Share Stories About "Professionals" Who Had Some Controversial Opinions
I remember a few Evangelists and one Catholic ( odd since most Catholics I know aren't creationists) in my major (geography) saying they knew the truth about the age of the earth, but had to lie on tests (classes like oil&gas, hydrology, geology,etc.) in order to get good grades.
How Christian are you when you break one of the 10 commandments and lie about your faith in order to get ahead?
166points

#12

30 People Share Stories About "Professionals" Who Had Some Controversial Opinions
Last career I had, knew people who were flat earthers and moon landing deniers...we were all satellite communications engineers.
139points

#13

30 People Share Stories About "Professionals" Who Had Some Controversial Opinions
I work with a medication aide that refuses to take medication and actively preaches god>medication. Apparently god isn’t paying her bills so she still keeps coming to work.
130points

#14

30 People Share Stories About "Professionals" Who Had Some Controversial Opinions
I know someone who doesn’t believe in germ theory. We work for a company that builds water sterilization.
129points

#15

30 People Share Stories About "Professionals" Who Had Some Controversial Opinions
I worked with a wildland firefighter who was a climate change denier. We fought more wild fires. We got way more OT over 3 years. Yet didnt believe it was true science and started to complain he couldnt enjoy his summers due to work....lol
125points

#16

30 People Share Stories About "Professionals" Who Had Some Controversial Opinions
I know a dude who works in the oil field who doesn't believe in dinosaurs. "Fossil fuels"
124points

#17

I work with someone who thinks bloodletting is a cure-all.
I work in a children's cancer ward.
121points

#18

I work with a locomotive engineer who is a flat earther and also said that gravity is a hoax. I can laugh at the flat earth part but not believing in gravity on a fright train in the mountains seems a little crazy to me.
118points

#19

30 People Share Stories About "Professionals" Who Had Some Controversial Opinions
I work with two anti-vaxxers. They are nurses who work with elderly patients.
112points

#20

30 People Share Stories About "Professionals" Who Had Some Controversial Opinions
I used to work with a geologist who used to think minerals ("crystals") could heal you even from cancer.
106points
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