# Poll (take two): Which profession do you despise the most, and why? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 24, 2010, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-take-two-which-profession-do-you-despise-the-most-and-why/540600 "2010-05-24T18:41:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![MTCicero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a4c791/32.png) [@MTCicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MTCicero)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2010, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-take-two-which-profession-do-you-despise-the-most-and-why/540600/1 "2010-05-24T18:41:09Z")
Because one man’s saint may be another man’s sinner, as it were. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2010, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-take-two-which-profession-do-you-despise-the-most-and-why/540600/2 "2010-05-24T18:50:31Z")
I might have chosen BMV if I knew what it was. It was hard to narrow it down from several really lousy jobs, but I went with CEO because I have only known one I would piss on if he was on fire. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Poster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Happy\_Poster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Poster)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2010, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-take-two-which-profession-do-you-despise-the-most-and-why/540600/3 "2010-05-24T18:55:41Z")
Went for telmarketer of course. Surprised you have no finanical options there; neither insurance nor trader nor m&a specialist nor consultant? ---
**Author:** ![MTCicero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a4c791/32.png) [@MTCicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MTCicero)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2010, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-take-two-which-profession-do-you-despise-the-most-and-why/540600/4 "2010-05-24T19:11:40Z")
> [@Zeldar](#): > > I might have chosen BMV if I knew what it was. > > It was hard to narrow it down from several really lousy jobs, but I went with CEO because I have only known one I would piss on if he was on fire. BMV = Bureau of Motor Vehicles ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2010, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-take-two-which-profession-do-you-despise-the-most-and-why/540600/5 "2010-05-24T19:15:39Z")
Locomotive engineers? I’ve never heard of anyone who hated them. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2010, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-take-two-which-profession-do-you-despise-the-most-and-why/540600/6 "2010-05-24T19:19:41Z")
> [@MTCicero](#): > > BMV = Bureau of Motor Vehicles Thanks. It’s DMV around here. I did a Yahoo! search and saw your version, along with several others. In any case, the folks at Motor Vehicles are way less offensive than others on the list. ---
**Author:** ![MTCicero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a4c791/32.png) [@MTCicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MTCicero)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2010, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-take-two-which-profession-do-you-despise-the-most-and-why/540600/7 "2010-05-24T19:23:03Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Locomotive engineers? I’ve never heard of anyone who hated them. I know people who literally hate them because they drive trains, and they _hate_ to get stopped by trains. Seriously. ---
**Author:** ![Drain\_Bead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47774/32.png) [@Drain\_Bead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drain_Bead)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2010, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-take-two-which-profession-do-you-despise-the-most-and-why/540600/8 "2010-05-24T19:26:29Z")
Went with cop. At least with the telemarketers, you know what they’re about. Cops are supposed to be good, but in my line of work I’ve seen enough truly evil cops with no moral compass whatsoever to really taint them as a whole. I generally trust them about as far as I can throw them. ---
**Author:** ![PsyXe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/54ee81/32.png) [@PsyXe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PsyXe)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2010, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-take-two-which-profession-do-you-despise-the-most-and-why/540600/9 "2010-05-24T19:29:49Z")
I chose other: I don’t tend to despise anyone _en masse_, but if I had to pick the profession I hate the most, it’d be the type of developer who builds vast sprawling tracts of shoddy communal housing. You know the type, designed by an “architect” on meth on a bad night, huge expanses of concrete and paving with hardly any space for plants, all identical because then you only have to pay the addled architect for one plan. You probably cheat on the environmental and archaeological assessments, grease the pockets of the local council, then put in stupid laws like, I don’t know, no pets, no washing lines, no guests… whatever. Then in 5 years the walls start cracking because you cut corners on the foundations. But I’m sure there are lots of honest, responsible developers out there, too. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2010, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-take-two-which-profession-do-you-despise-the-most-and-why/540600/10 "2010-05-24T19:30:50Z")
Other. Insurance Company Decision Makers. Scum of the earth, say I. ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2010, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-take-two-which-profession-do-you-despise-the-most-and-why/540600/11 "2010-05-24T19:30:58Z")
None of them. In general, they’re people just doing a job. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2010, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-take-two-which-profession-do-you-despise-the-most-and-why/540600/12 "2010-05-24T19:32:14Z")
> [@Aesiron](#): > > None of them. In general, they’re people just doing a job. I almost said that, but then I put other: collection agent. I’m talking about a very specific kind of collection agent. ---
**Author:** ![Ostrya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/35a633/32.png) [@Ostrya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ostrya)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2010, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-take-two-which-profession-do-you-despise-the-most-and-why/540600/13 "2010-05-24T19:35:01Z")
I.R.S. agent. ---
**Author:** ![MTCicero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a4c791/32.png) [@MTCicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MTCicero)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2010, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-take-two-which-profession-do-you-despise-the-most-and-why/540600/14 "2010-05-24T19:36:49Z")
> [@Drain\_Bead](#): > > Went with cop. At least with the telemarketers, you know what they’re about. Cops are supposed to be good, **but in my line of work** I’ve seen enough truly evil cops with no moral compass whatsoever to really taint them as a whole. I generally trust them about as far as I can throw them. Let me guess: reporter? And I echoed your choice. ---
**Author:** ![MTCicero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a4c791/32.png) [@MTCicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MTCicero)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2010, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-take-two-which-profession-do-you-despise-the-most-and-why/540600/15 "2010-05-24T19:37:59Z")
> [@TreacherousCretin](#): > > Other. > > Insurance Company Decision Makers. Scum of the earth, say I. Oooh. Good one! ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2010, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-take-two-which-profession-do-you-despise-the-most-and-why/540600/16 "2010-05-24T19:38:39Z")
I went with telemarketer. All of the other jobs at least have a purpose. If we didn’t have car salesmen, who would we buy our cars from? And, while there are bad cops out there, I’d just as soon not call a singer/musician when my house has been burgled. But telemarketers serve no other purpose than to annoy people in an attempt to get them to buy something that they could purchase through other channels, in the unlikely event that they actually wanted it. Telemarketers serve no useful function. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Excellent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@Mr.Excellent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Excellent)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2010, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-take-two-which-profession-do-you-despise-the-most-and-why/540600/17 "2010-05-24T19:39:56Z")
I chose “cleric”, but despise is far, far too strong a word. I simply think they’re the most useless profession on the list. Even sale people could, in theory, serve a valuable function - they could connect people with real goods or services they actually want or need. The core work of a cleric, though, is to propagate fairy tales as truth - hard to view that as useful. That being said, there are plenty of religious authorities who do a sideline in community service, or even spend most of their time doing that. That’s a good and praiseworthy thing - I don’t care if you’re helping homeless people from some secular motive or because you think God wants you to, so long as you do it (and don’t disciminate against homeless folks on the basis of religion/orientation/etc). ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Excellent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@Mr.Excellent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Excellent)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2010, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-take-two-which-profession-do-you-despise-the-most-and-why/540600/18 "2010-05-24T19:41:22Z")
> [@MTCicero](#): > > Let me guess: reporter? > > And I echoed your choice. I’d have guessed **Drain Bead** is a public defender, actually, or a similar gig. ---
**Author:** ![Blaster\_Master](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/cab0a1/32.png) [@Blaster\_Master](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blaster_Master)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2010, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-take-two-which-profession-do-you-despise-the-most-and-why/540600/19 "2010-05-24T19:47:16Z")
I chose cops, but things like middle managers, CEOs, telemarketers, and DMV aren’t too far behind; if financial was an option, they’d be close or at the top too. The thing that ties these together for me is that, for the most part, they don’t actually do anything useful as in directly creating a product or service. Instead, the vast majority of those jobs only really exist as part of a larger system of regulating and managing people so that other people can do their jobs. I don’t hate some seemingly useless ones, like politicians or retail because I do believe that they do have a legitimate function (we need leaders, and even in the smallest economies, people to buy/sell stuff). The reason I choose cops though, is because they present an illusion of being useful, without actually doing so. In all of my interactions with cops, they have never been able to provide a supposed service when needed, and most of the rest of my interactions have either been in the form of ticketting, which I see more as a glorified form of tax collection, or straight up harrassment, which completely undoes what little good they actually do. Moreso, I’m particularly irritated by the hypocrisy that I see time and again, where cops will regularly go well above the speed limit, run red lights, etc., but still have their “I’m just trying to make the world a little safer” approach when giving out tickets. Worst of all, the few times I have needed them when I was legitimately in danger, they failed in the most horrible way. When I call 911 because someone is waving a gun and making threats and it takes them 2 hours to respond, only to show up after it had ended, take a report, and do nothing about it, what good is that? Not to mention a handful of times when cops have tried to trick me into waiving my constitution rights. In fact, I distinctly feel LESS safe around cops because I can’t recall a single positive interaction with one in an official capacity and feel better equipped to handle any situation in which they might get involved by myself. And yet, somehow it’s a noble profession to do this? That’s not to say I don’t think there is use for them in investigating and capturing “real” criminals; I’m specifically refering to the patrol types. If you spend your time writing tickets for traffic violations or taking reports that get typed into a computer and never followed up on, all you’re doing is making a little more money for the state, making people’s days miserable, and perhaps making a few random people feel like something is getting done, when it isn’t. Can anyone can honestly say they think they’re really making the world a better place by spending half their day giving out speeding tickets and the other half hiding in a random parking lot taking a nap? ---
**Author:** ![corkboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@corkboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/corkboard)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2010, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-take-two-which-profession-do-you-despise-the-most-and-why/540600/20 "2010-05-24T19:51:50Z")
> [@BrotherCadfael](#): > > I went with telemarketer. All of the other jobs at least have a purpose. If we didn’t have car salesmen, who would we buy our cars from? And, while there are bad cops out there, I’d just as soon not call a singer/musician when my house has been burgled. > > But telemarketers serve no other purpose than to annoy people in an attempt to get them to buy something that they could purchase through other channels, in the unlikely event that they actually wanted it. > > Telemarketers serve no useful function. Same answer and same reasoning. Also, yes, there are bad cops/priests/judges/lawyers, but I guarantee they are vastly outnumbered by the good ones. It’s just socially acceptable to label all lawyers as ambulance-chasing bottom feeders, for instance, and it makes a nice sound bite. But personal injury lawyers are just one small subset of the profession. Same goes for just about every other category up there. But I don’t derive any benefit from the existence of telemarketers. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-take-two-which-profession-do-you-despise-the-most-and-why/540600.md?page=2)