Now that I'm a pollster, it's incomprehensible to me that the data I'm producing is actually useful to anyone. We almost always call land lines, which a lot of people don't even have anymore. Eighty percent of the time there's no answer, and when it is answered, the person on the other end doesn't want to talk to me. Usually they just hang up, but some people are kind enough to understand I am human, and I need to be loved, so they make an excuse. Don't tell me you're in the middle of dinner if what you mean is don't call back, because I will definitely call back. So the people who actually take the survey are a tiny fraction of America.
Unsurprisingly, calling red states is different from calling blue states. People in Texas are meaner, more suspicious,and much more likely to be angry at me personally, but in Maine they speak to me kindly, even if I am bothering them, and they don't accuse me of nefarious motives. Red Staters are paranoid, y'all. They are scared of everything. They are absolutely sure that everyone they encounter is trying to screw them over in some way. They idle at outrage.
I've talked to about 90% Republicans, and it is very, very sad. They hate Obama, but they don't know why. When I attempt to probe and clarify, they aren't able to come up with anything specific. Further attempts to elicit information are interpreted as attacks, and they become defensive and angry. Democrats, on the other hand, are able to name a policy or program they oppose when talking about their Republican senator.
I haven't talked to any Democrats about why they are supporting their presidential candidate, but I've talked to a bunch of Republicans, and they're all over the map. None of them has chosen Trump, thank God. Nobody's picked Jeb! either. They can't tell you why they support their candidate with anything specific. They use vague, emotional language like "honorable" and "strong moral values." Several people have told me Ben Carson is smart and reasonable.
One thing they all agree on is that poor people don't deserve help. They will go on and on about this, the welfare, the food stamps, the beer and cigarettes. They will complain that the poor have it easy and that there are too many homeless people stinking up the sidewalks in the same breath. The hatred and anger they direct at poor people is staggering. Often they mention that poor people from other places are coming to their nice town for handouts and screwing everything up. They believe the poor don't want to work, and are actively seeking a lifestyle of freeloading, and that this makes them evil. It's scary to hear.
Of course I'm not allowed to refute any of this, and I can't ask the questions that I want to ask that might help me to understand why so many Americans are this way. Is it new? Has it changed? Has the American public always been so resentful and seething and bitter? These are not rhetorical questions. I want to know. I feel bad for these people, actually. They have the shittiest mental health of any group in America, being both delusional and filled with rage. Aren't we morally obligated to help them in some way? They are obviously in distress and not in their right minds. They need help.
In spite of all this, I like the job for now. Since no one wants to talk to me, nearly all my time is spent listening to answering machines and hang-ups while I read, write, text my friends, or do crafts. It's AWESOME. I might make a chain-mail cape. Thanks for reading!