Working Day and Night

I was thinking about something: some of the most demanding and hardest and most despised jobs in this country are so thankless and low-waged. Why? Harder pushed work = less pay? I have hooked up a list of the top 3 thankless jobs off the top of my head:

1. Restaurant Workers: This ranges from people working at McDonald's to people working at places like Bennigan's and whatnot. THANKLESS. Some people just seem to get unreasonably irate when they get hungry, and often times, the employees are the ones that have to suffer for it. They try to be polite and treat the customers like people (as they are trained to do), and the customers come in on some yellin' crap like the order was deliberately executed to piss you off. Then you wonder why your fries smell like piss. On top of that, the customer flow is constant, understaffing is a constant problem, AND the hours are long and grueling. For what? Minimum wage pay or tips. Tips are an interesting thing. Since it isn't a law, a waiter/waitress could deliver EXCELLENT service to a group of 7 (right under the number of people in which gratuity is automatically taken) and not one of them is legally obligated to leave a tip. What the hell is that?!
   
   
2. Teachers: I've told myself that when I get money, I would donate some to the teachers that were inspirations to me growing up. Coming up in one of the WORST school systems in the country (NOPS, baby!!), I know that being a teacher is a thankless job (and the pay UTTERLY sucks). For most teachers, it means being a parent to the children they teach (like academic babysitters). They get next to no help from parents, but the parents will take off work to bitch them out, should they touch or yell at their children. Ass-backwards, if you ask me. Of course, I'm told that the true reward in being a teacher is making a difference in the life of a child. For crying out loud, I spend a month fine-tuning a sermon to deliver to a congregation for 20 mins. for ONE Sunday. They deliver HOUR-long talks to SEVEN groups of 20-30 EVERY DAY. There are certain federal standards that are supposed to be taught with every grade level, but with behavioral distractions, budget underfunding, and parents taking away valuable help, sometimes, being a teacher is a LONELY occupation.
   
   
3. City Workers: Policemen, firefighters, city hall workers, to government officials. They all are viewed as people who cockblock the fun of youngsters and slow up the day of older people waiting in line. Again, understaffing can be an issue, and they have federal guidelines that MUST be followed. Yelling at a woman at a desk doesn't help you any. (S)he gets paid whether you get serviced or not. Cursing out a policeman who's come to the scene to HELP you because you feel they aren't settling YOUR domestic dispute the right way is just insane. If you were so above the board, you would know how to avoid having the fight. Some of these city workers put their life on the line everyday, but they are taken for granted. It's crazy. As corrupt as the N.O. government is, just think of what a state of disarray the city would be in if they ALL just quit. Let's not forget...
   

Those are some of the thankless, underpaid positions I can think of. I'm sure there are more, and I don't mean to offend those people for not mentioning them, but that just aggravates me sometimes. THANK YOU restaurant workers, teachers, and city workers!!

-B