Fear the Crab

I will never again say that someone in a shit job needs to just go and find another job. Someone in my online class posted that kind of response on the discussion board as we went over the trend towards outsourcing and problems with companies like Wal*Mart. The person who wrote that statement is young, and pursuing a first degree, so it’s a bit understandable to have that perspective. Maybe in ten more years this person will understand a bit more.

This is what I wrote in response:

It’s not that easy to just up and leave one’s job. Maybe because of youth, we feel we have endless possibilities ahead of us. Yet different circumstances apply to different people. A student fresh out of high school may not warrant a high income, but for some the extra income is necessary. I know of people that have had to work full-time in order to afford attending schools like LCC or KCC. They had the crap jobs, they were abused and taken advantage of, but if they didn’t work they couldn’t go to school and wouldn’t get that oh-so-important bachelors.

We continue to think of the US as a land of opportunity, but the freedom to change things often requires a solid support system in back of us, whether it be financially, or emotionally with a strong family. Some people don’t have access to that kind of luxury, and must deal with the lot they’re dealt here and now. One of my best friends lost his parents (one to a murder-robbery), his relatives are unable (or unwilling) to support him, and he is now responsible for paying a mortgage. He can’t afford to attend a community college; he can’t afford to even buy a car. He works in retail, as a waiter, and for a time as a delivery driver just to make ends meet. To deprive him, and others, of at least a fighting chance is hypocritical and callous.

I used to feel that if someone didn’t like their job, they should quit and find another. I was fresh out of college when I thought that. 7 years working in retail taught me just how shallow my perceptions were. I was able to get out because I had support. My friend is still working there. I try to help him out when I can, but there’s only so much that I can, or should, do. Of course, going further into that delves into a different topic (you know, the whole man and fish adage).

Still, it’s something to think about. The next time you see your waiter, say please and thank you. The next time you see the stockboy or sales clerk, say please and thank you. Don’t think that because they’re miserable with their job that they’re just lazy they haven’t found anything else. If anything, you’re the one that made them miserable. Going further into that delves into a different topic (you know, the whole unto and other adage).

For more, visit Waiter Rant. Much credit goes to this writer for forming the words to the concepts many of us can’t seem to express. I know this writer has opened my eyes to a much wider perspective; even though it was always in me, these writings brought it into focus.