Ah, cops and doughnuts is one of those stereotypes that’s dogged police since bakers invented glaze, but the occupation’s hardly alone.

Stereotype: The slick, hair-gelled, polyester-suited car salesman

“Maybe that was true in the ’60s,” said Joe Gizinski, a longtime salesman at Lee Auto Mall in Auburn. “Part of the new awareness in retail sales is people don’t even wear suits and ties anymore, which supposedly puts the customer at ease.”

He dons polo shirts as part of a more easy going, no-pressure approach.

So, own any hair gel?

“Being bald, no.”

Stereotype: Ambulance-chasing lawyers

“We don’t own our own ambulance, I’ll tell you that,” said Bill Hardy of Hardy, Wolf & Downing. “It’s funny. You go to a party and someone says, Those darn lawyers. They’re always suing people, creating all the problems.’ Then you’ll say, I’m a lawyer.’ And they’ll say, I didn’t mean you.'”

“We upset the apple cart. People don’t like apple cart upsetters.”

Stereotype: Pocket-protector wearing accountants

Not all of them, not anymore.

In the profession four years, Jeff Leonardo, a C.P.A. at Austin Associates in Auburn, has never owned a pocket-protector.

“I think that kind of went out when we went to computers and stopped using pens and pencils,” he said.

Stereotype: Bun-wearing librarians

In 20 years of work, “Never personally had a bun and never known another librarian with a bun,” said Ellen Gilliam from the reference desk at the Lewiston Public Library.

Working more in the business world, more with Web companies that handle information, “Librarians are really on the cutting edge of the information revolution.”

Might be time to trade the bun for a Mohawk.

Stereotype: Baby-kissing politicians

Not with all the germs and privacy issues going around.

“I think that today people are far more particular of who kisses their child. It’s unfortunate. Yesterday, it was a natural thing to do,” said state Sen. Lois Snowe-Mello, R-Poland.

Instead she’ll admire from afar, “That’s a beautiful baby,” that sort of thing.

She offered up another stereotype with a little more bite: “Wherever there’s food you will find a legislator.

“We’ll get to that function no matter what (but) if there’s food there, it’s all the better.”

– Kathryn Skelton

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