Ask Lemmy

I've had some bad ones (the DMV near my university) along with some good ones (the good folks at Service Ontario where I got DMV-like things done - they're so polite, friendly, and helpful!).

I've had great interactions with doctors. All the time.

On the very few occasions I've ever been visited by a cop (once?) it was fine. Couldn't call it life affirming or anything, but it was polite and respectful both ways.

I've had some incredible teachers over the years. My 6th grade math teacher stands out. My biology teacher in high school was also my swim coach, and he was lots of fun. I had some good teachers in college. I had some good teachers in the Army.

I mean I'm not going to pretend the army was a good time, but there were lots of good people in it.

I don't think I've ever really been to court. One time I got called in for jury duty and sat there for 4 hours and that was that. It was fine, you know?

Are there bad examples of all these things out there? Hell yes. Because ask of these people are human just like the rest of us. They have good and bad days. Some are sadistic assholes, others are empathetic and kind - probably just like wherever you are and whatever you do with yourself.

There is one thing I believe holds true. If you see assholes everywhere you go, you're the problem.

Theyre government ran programs. People expect them to operate with the efficiency of any normal business. The problem is businesses operating to the rules of a "free" market are driven by entirely different rules than the ones driving a government ran program.

In the government, program funding is dictated by the people in office and their political alignments. First looking at a scenario where the people in office are in support of a program the following outcomes usually happen: 1. Program is successful resulting in stagnant budget growth when times are good and budget cuts when times are bad. 2. Program is unsuccessful resulting in the people in office responsible for the program being unable to call the failing program a failure so they advocate for increasing the budget. Every raise and tier of compensation to the employees is decided in DC and eliminates all shreds of performance or tenure based raises. Employees working for government programs have absolutely no reason to want to excel at their job.

The concept is completely futile. Inprovments only come when enough people get so sick and tired of a program's incompetencies that people protest or the media catches wind to make it a talking point important enough to affect elections.

It's the foundation to Marge Simpson's sisters on the Simpson's and how they are shown working at the DMV. Incase you needed supporting citation for my opinion.

I'm also not commenting as any advocate for either political side nor am I implying "there's no difference between the right and left." I'm simply saying the foundation that government programs must adhere to will never produce an efficient operating environment for any program to succeed under.

Nope, in my case I've had good experiences with them. The important thing to consider here is that these authorities aren't a monolith, they're individuals. How one cop deals with something can vary vastly compared to how another cop will deal with it, teachers will often have their own style of teaching and level of competency, et cetera.

Nope, I have had positive and negative experiences with all of the examples and the DMV, IRS, etc. Some are overwhelmingly negative (police), but even then there were a couple of positive interactions. The rest are rarely negative, although a lot are tedious because of beaurocracy.

Note: I am not part of a group that is regularly discriminated against and I absolutely believe someone could have zero positive experiences with the police, and possibly some of the others.

I don't trust cops. Even when they are nice to you they're not your friend, trust me.

Have a good relationship with doctors. I have met some arrogant doctors but for the most part they've treated me with kindness.

Psychiatric doctors on the other hand have never been open to hearing me. As my diagnosis isn't one that's officially recognized in my country. And the treatment options aren't well developed here either. CPTSD.

Thankfully I do have a good relationship with my primary care doctor and a decent understanding of pharmacology myself so he helps me with stuff that he can help me with.

Teachers were hit or miss for me. College professors generally much better as they should treat you like an adult.

I'm also white and was male presenting for most of my life. People's perception of gender and perception of race will definitely affect how they treat you, unfortunately.

YATA

Someone smarter than me said: if you smell shit everywhere you go, check your shoes.

I'm with you on cops and doctors.

But, I'll disagree with teachers. I'm sorry that you never had a good experience with one, but I know of quite a few that are truly in it to help the students. There's shit heads in every occupation, but I wouldn't group teachers with people in the legal or medical systems.