I was reading the end of this section last night, and got to the part about her walking out on the job, and sort of laughed. My husband asked me what was funny, and I said it's not really funny as much as a little ironic that she's in this job where she and her co-workers are basically treated like criminals or children, not trusted, not well compensated, expected to submit to all sorts of indignities and hardships, and yet it's the one type of job that you can just walk out on without giving any notice or making sure someone is trained to take over your responsibilities. That seems to be the one freedom and, maybe(?), privilege of that kind of job. You can literally tell your boss to "take this job and shove it."
Is it a function of this type of job that the people in them are not seen as individuals, as contributing members of society? They are largely invisible.
And what is it about waitressing that makes that job such a Hollywood favorite for rags to riches stories? Have you ever been a server? I haven't, and I'm sure it's a good thing because I think I would be terrible at it!
What did you think about the "locker search" scene? Just the fact that they threatened to do it makes her feel guilty.
And what about the fact that before 1998 there was no federally mandated right to bathroom breaks? That reminded me of a job I had in grad school. I was working for a landscaping company one summer (I liked having summer jobs that required physical labor). I had to go to the bathroom one day when I was assigned to work at this huge estate. The owners wouldn't let us go inside the house, so we had to find a bush -- seriously. They also lined us up one day and accused us (collectively) of stealing some tools. I was so incensed! Here I was a GRADUATE student, and I was not allowed in the house and was being accused of stealing a shovel. I wanted to shout at them "Don't you know who I am?!" But I knew the answer was yes, you are the yard person. You are hired to weed my garden and plant the annuals in front of my house. Now get back to work!
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ReplyDeleteI think your experience brings up a very interesting point. Correct me if I am wrong, but, you wanted to have some recognition for the fact that you were not just another yard worker - YOU were a GRAD student. Admittedly, I would react the same way. "Who do these estate owners think they are??" However, that is exactly it: they are the estate owners, and to them you were just another person to trim their bushes and plant tulips.
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting how quick society is associates people with those around them. In jobs like waitresses or yard workers, certain assumptions are made and associated with the same group, regardless of their actual association.
A neighbor of mine who had a very steady career told me once how she started working in a local diner, to pick up the financial slack their family ensued while her husband went back to school full-time. I remember thinking, "So you are going to be one of those mid-aged women working at the local diner...and you chose to do this and to be a part of that culture?" It was obviously a temporary situation, but people who were served by her did not know that. They may have thought this was her real job, unaware of accomplishments.
With the economy how it is, more and more people are looking for any kind of work, even if that means working in the local diner. So will this poor manner of association and judgment ever end? Will it become more common for a mom or dad to pick up a "lower status" job, therefore less likely for onlookers to be so judgmental? Will people have to think twice before passing judgment on the waitress at the diner or clerk at the gas station?