WestHouston,
I suspect your problem is as follows:
As an enlisted man in the military, you developed resentment of many of the officer aviators. Some of those guys are particularly arrogant, and abuse power. Those types make a huge bad impression on the Enlisted. I know; I've seen many military prick pilots. They're people you never forget. (I've seen mostly very good officer aviators though).
For whatever reason, you're not a military pilot. Perhaps by choice, or perhaps because you had no choice. Doesn't matter.
You've always loved airplanes; I can't blame you for that. You've long aspired to fly for a living. So, you decided to pursue it as a civilian, because for whatever reason, you couldn't do it in the military. I doubt that you had much choice, because no sane person would choose the life of a "CFI at a lowly FBO," over a well-paid military pilot flying state-of-the-art equipment.
Then, much to your dismay, you discovered a "perceived" hierarchy in civilian aviation, much like the military. You tried to escape the inequities of the military, only to find yourself in a similar situation of civilian inequity, only with much less pay and QOL. This hierarchy, however, exists solely in your head, due to your own feelings of inadequacies. Unlike the rare ERAU tool that you love to showcase, most ERAU grads are humble professionals, and don't consider themselves better than others. I've met many, many more than you have Pal.
So now, in your world, you gain solace in degrading others who have done the best they could in life to make good education decisions that are good for them. This doesn't make them the tool; it makes YOU the tool. Be proud of your own decisions and abilities. Subconsciously, you obviously are not. Moreover, don't resent a guy for going to ERAU. It's a damn good school. Otherwise, in the end, you just end up looking like a bitter child.
Good luck with your career.
Sincerely,
Dr. Phil
