# 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:** 4
**Author:** ![Svejk\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea666f/32.png) [@Svejk\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Svejk_1)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2010, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-take-two-which-profession-do-you-despise-the-most-and-why/540600/61 "2010-05-28T16:50:19Z")
I went with other because real estate agent was not an option. Real estate agents, IME (which is limited, thankfully), are all vapid empty-headed scum who make money doing hardly anything at all. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2010, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-take-two-which-profession-do-you-despise-the-most-and-why/540600/62 "2010-05-28T17:03:11Z")
I’m surprised religious orders are not on this. It is a profession that many seem to hate. I’m changing my politician vote to telemarketers. It’s so close. Somebody has to be mayor, but nobody has to sell you shit over the phone during your dinner. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2010, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-take-two-which-profession-do-you-despise-the-most-and-why/540600/63 "2010-05-28T17:06:19Z")
I voted for ‘other’. Health insurance claims adjuster. And salesmen. Oh hell, anyone who works for a health insurance company. ---
**Author:** ![GargoyleWB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gargoylewb/32/199_2.png) [@GargoyleWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GargoyleWB)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2010, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-take-two-which-profession-do-you-despise-the-most-and-why/540600/64 "2010-05-28T17:14:16Z")
Another vote for health insurance industry. Everyone from the lowliest entry temp worker licking an envelope to the highest CEO is equally despised by me. ---
**Author:** ![fusoya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecccb3/32.png) [@fusoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fusoya)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2010, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-take-two-which-profession-do-you-despise-the-most-and-why/540600/65 "2010-05-28T17:51:43Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Locomotive engineers? I’ve never heard of anyone who hated them. Ever meet someone who had a relative who died in a grade cross collision? They LOVE to place the blame on the railroad, despite the crossing gates which tell motorists NOT to cross when activated. “Why didn’t the engineer steer out of the way?” Telemarketers, hands down. I’m putting the people who program spam-mail in the same category. ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2010, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-take-two-which-profession-do-you-despise-the-most-and-why/540600/66 "2010-05-28T18:06:13Z")
> [@Chicagojeff](#): > > Yeah I can honestly say that enforcing traffic violations are an important part of what I do. Several times I’ve caught a wanted felon by first stopping them for a minor traffic violation. Tim McVeigh was caught by a state troop on a traffic violation. Ted Bundy, “BTK Killer” Dennis rader, and “Atlanta Child Killer” Wayne Williams were all picked up in traffic stops, too. “Son of Sam” killer David Berkowitz was captured because of a parking ticket. ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2010, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-take-two-which-profession-do-you-despise-the-most-and-why/540600/67 "2010-05-28T18:37:56Z")
We should definitely randomly stop every several times a day then, since it seems so successful. ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2010, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-take-two-which-profession-do-you-despise-the-most-and-why/540600/68 "2010-05-28T18:53:02Z")
I’m thinking there’s probably a middle ground between “traffic stops serve no legitimate societal purpose whatsoever” and “suspicionless traffic stops should occur at random to all motorists several times a day.” ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2010, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-take-two-which-profession-do-you-despise-the-most-and-why/540600/69 "2010-05-28T19:07:14Z")
I went with Telemarketer because it’s the closest to Kevin Trudeau. ---
**Author:** ![zamboniracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e9a140/32.png) [@zamboniracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zamboniracer)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2010, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-take-two-which-profession-do-you-despise-the-most-and-why/540600/70 "2010-05-28T19:47:23Z")
Other: construction contractor ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2010, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-take-two-which-profession-do-you-despise-the-most-and-why/540600/71 "2010-05-28T22:24:47Z")
I’m genuinely taken aback to find that no one has mentioned “movie or record industry lawyer.” ---
**Author:** ![Hermitian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hermitian/32/470_2.png) [@Hermitian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hermitian)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2010, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-take-two-which-profession-do-you-despise-the-most-and-why/540600/72 "2010-05-28T23:47:03Z")
> [@Panurge](#): > > Other: Journalist (or what poses for journalist these days anyway). Seconded ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2010, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-take-two-which-profession-do-you-despise-the-most-and-why/540600/73 "2010-05-29T01:30:25Z")
I’m really disappointed “real estate agent” wasn’t one of the options. There’s no more dishonest vocation that isn’t actually illegal. ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2010, 8:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-take-two-which-profession-do-you-despise-the-most-and-why/540600/74 "2010-05-29T08:58:04Z")
Other- career criminal. ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2010, 9:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-take-two-which-profession-do-you-despise-the-most-and-why/540600/75 "2010-05-29T09:02:23Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Locomotive engineers? I’ve never heard of anyone who hated them. Casey Jones had shifty eyes. ---
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2010, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-take-two-which-profession-do-you-despise-the-most-and-why/540600/76 "2010-05-29T11:49:36Z")
I went with clerics. Other than the easy targets of Catholic priests, currently there’s a rash of Korean churches everywhere which use the “revival” format popular in the South, which are basically created as a form of social club, entertainment, and revenue generator. I also hate revivalists, televangelists, and anyone else who turns to preaching instead of a real job. There’s also all these radical muslim idiots who call fatwah’s on anyone they don’t like, and look at terrorism and bombings as a form of divine calling. Religion is incredibly dangerous when used on the uneducated. ---
**Author:** ![Linty\_Fresh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Linty\_Fresh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Linty_Fresh)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2010, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-take-two-which-profession-do-you-despise-the-most-and-why/540600/77 "2010-05-29T16:10:45Z")
Definitely a telemarketer, although I agree that journalists should be on the list. In theory, they do a very important job, but as far as I’m concerned, most of them are ratings-chasing idiots in real life, and I’m talking about both liberal and conservative journo’s. I’m not surprised at the high numbers for lawyers and politicians, but I’ve never been able to figure out the hatred. They’re imperfect people doing an imperfect job in an imperfect world, and while the fields could use a bit of reform, most of these guys are on the up and helping a lot of people. Every argument I’ve ever seen against these guys–Every. Single. One–has eventually boiled down to “In a perfect world . . .” Well, wake me when it’s a perfect world. In the meantime, be damned glad we have lawyers and politicians (unless you’d rather live in lawless anarchy, of course). ---
**Author:** ![campp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@campp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/campp)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2010, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-take-two-which-profession-do-you-despise-the-most-and-why/540600/78 "2010-05-29T16:25:34Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > I’m really disappointed “real estate agent” wasn’t one of the options. There’s no more dishonest vocation that isn’t actually illegal. Right in there with their secret-handshake brothers **The Appraisers**. What a scam all of that is. ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2010, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-take-two-which-profession-do-you-despise-the-most-and-why/540600/79 "2010-05-30T03:48:19Z")
I selected “other” because I was thinking of journalist. But lawyers and politicians are just as bad. I seriously dislike telemarketers, but really they’re just extremely annoying. The others I mentioned can do real and widespread damage. Throw “activist” and “bureaucrat” in there as well. Cites for journalist: Knoll’s Law of Media Accuracy: Everything you read in the newspapers is absolutely true except for the rare story of which you happen to have firsthand knowledge. C.S. Lewis, journal, July 1924: “He has the journalist’s air of being a specialist in everything, of taking in all points of view and being always on the side of the angels: he merely annoys a reader who has the least experience of knowing things, of what knowing is like. There is not two pence worth of real thought or real nobility in him.” But “being always on the side of the angels” sounds like lawyers, politicians and activists, too. ---
**Author:** ![Carmady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f04885/32.png) [@Carmady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carmady)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2010, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-take-two-which-profession-do-you-despise-the-most-and-why/540600/80 "2010-05-30T04:04:49Z")
Why is lawyer combined with judge? Lawyer deserves to be the most despised, but few people hate judges and will therefore avoid voting for that grouping. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-take-two-which-profession-do-you-despise-the-most-and-why/540600.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-take-two-which-profession-do-you-despise-the-most-and-why/540600.md?page=5)