I may have been born a Mister but from late teens into my early twenties I underwent a profound and transformative experience; during which I transitioned to becoming Dr Charlton.
Doctor Just-Is my title, my identity is bound-up in it - has been for decades...
So don't mis-title me: I Am a Doctor, I am Not a Mister.
Indeed, I never truly was a Mister, and this ought to be reflected in the record.
Before I was 'officially' recognised as a Doctor, as far back as infant school; I was still a doctor inside. I used to tell people I was going to be a doctor - my family knew, my teachers knew.
It may not have been publicly accepted, but that was my real identity. 'Mister' never expressed or reflected the truth of my nature.
Ultimately, what difference does an examination make, a degree, a piece of paper? - I am and always have been truly a Doctor - and absolutely require to be addressed as such at all times; and to have the records adjusted to demonstrate the fact.
Or Else...
Anyone who - despite all this - calls me Mister is being calculatedly denigrating, it is an act of hatred of my chosen and earned Being.
An act of hatred and - thanks to the European Union - a Hate Crime.
(My bank, with a pretence of casual incompetence masking genocidal loathing, still prints 'Mr' on statements and even my card, which I have to show to people. How shocked will they be when they open the legal papers being currently prepared?... Banks are very rich - soon, so shall I be.)
Of course, I may choose not to remain Doctor, but at some point to revert to Mister - or maybe something else - Professor, Reverend, Lord - whatever. Maybe no title at all. This is my right, and should not elicit surprise.
I have known several friends and colleagues who began as Mister, became Doctor and then chose again to be Mister, when qualifying as surgeons.
Why not? Identity is fixed and inborn; and it also changes unpredictably and open-endedly.
Why is that so difficult for people to understand?
