I awoke this weekend to protests on Facebook from people angry about an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal that suggested that the future first lady of the United States should drop the title of doctor from her name, declaring it a sexist attack on women everywhere. Joseph Epstein certainly cast a pall over an otherwise interesting argument about doctorates by trying to denigrate Dr. Jill Biden, resorting to calling her “kiddo” and saying her doctorate sounds “fraudulent” and “comic.”

Interestingly, his references to Biden are mainly at the start of his scree and the end. He starts off by pointing out that Biden earned her doctorate from the University of Delaware—earned, he said—and then goes on to point out the number of honorary doctorates that are out there, bestowed upon people who have not spent the better part of a decade at a college or university, completing all the learning and hard work required to get that degree.

Isn’t that like having a piece on locking away elderly people and using a 7-year-old child as the anchor of your argument?

It’s no wonder why folks on Facebook didn’t announce the title of the column or include a link as they were ripping the guy up one side and down the other. If his target had been male, there would be no declarations of sexism, because men usually don’t have to defend their academic credentials, earned or otherwise. Of course, targeting someone immersed in academia regarding an argument about honorary doctorates shows a level of ignorance.

Epstein makes the argument that he has an honorary doctorate, which he hates using because it feels unearned. Good for him on that count, but that doesn’t mean that those who went through the motions and earned their Ph.D. should try to bury the honor and tuck it away, like he suggests Biden should.

Having a doctorate brings about a title of awe and respect, and there are some people who believe that title should be used as a club. When the title is honorary to a celebrity or public figure, it can be used to demand that respect in a way that makes them look pompous and arrogant.

Take Joe Shirley, the former president of the Navajo Nation. He received an honorary doctorate from Northern Arizona University in 2005 for his years of public service to the tribe. I was working at a newspaper bordering the reservation at the time, and after the university bestowed his degree, every press release that came my way had his name as “President Dr. Joe Shirley” in the headline and body copy, as though being the president of the people was not enough.

If you know about the Navajo people as I do, you would see why the demanded doctoral reference is so offensive. Many young people on the reservation dream about going to college, but a lot of them don’t even make it there. A few make it through the motions to earn bachelor’s, master’s and even a couple doctoral degrees after a lot of hard work and sacrifice, but most don’t, and to have this man strut around with a degree given by a university on a lark was truly out of touch.

Of course, some people don’t bother to wait for a doctorate to land in their lap to command respect. There’s an example of that already in Shawano County, Wisconsin.

In the last nine, almost 10, years at my particular job, I’ve dealt with a number of school district superintendents, one who actually had the title of doctor. I’ve worked with three superintendents with the Shawano School District, but the latest one labels correspondence with the title “Superintendent Anderson” when predecessors used a full name first with the title of superintendent as an afterthought. This titular reference has also included speaking online at school board meetings and more.

Most other school officials are fine with letting their name speak for itself and letting the fact that they’re the leader of a school be obvious to the public. Some are fine with letting their name speak for itself without attaching a doctor title, but for those who have earned it, it should be no problem, and for Jill Biden, it shouldn’t even be a question.

Joseph Epstein could have had an amazing op-ed that made people think, discuss and debate the issue of honorary doctorates, something that encouraged healthy disagreement or support for his argument. His mistake was in going after a woman who earned her doctorate who is about to become the first lady of the United States and calling her kiddo. The next time he tries to defend his case, he should avoid presenting evidence that aids the other side.