Response #2 Problem-Posing Assignment

In chapter three the issue of how dangerous working at a fast food restaurant actually is was brought to light. This troubles me deeply because most of the people that work at fast food restaurants are starting out their working careers in these restaurants. The dangers come in the forms of slips, falls, burns, strains, and in the worst case murders. In an industry that is filled with teenage workers and bright young minds this is clearly a problem. "In 1998, more restaurant workers were murdered on the job in the United States than police officers." A statistic like this doesn't make sense to me, how can people who work to flip burgers be more at risk than the people who put themselves directly in the line of fire? I can relate to this because I have worked in a fast food restaurant but I had never considered how many hidden dangerous were within the industry. Though most of the safety issues can be avoided by paying more attention the issues like having a gun put to your head and your life one in someone else's trigger finger have no easy solution. I can't imagine having to worry about my life everyday while going to work, as young adults we have enough problems as far as school and bills! Some places have tried to keep the amount of money in the cash register as low as possible but its clearly impossible for most places. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has attempted to set guidelines in the workplace but haven't made too much progress. Other measures taken to to reduce violent crime include spending millions on new security measures like video cameras, panic buttons, drop-safes, burglar alarms, and additional lighting. The reason this is such a big problem to me is because there are not many easy solutions. I feel that if a effective safety course was introduced to each worker could tackle the issue of injuries at the workplace. But as far as murders go I feel that greater security systems should be developed. I had in mind a type of floor system that is run by electricity, every restaurant should have a security room where someone controls this floor and can watch the cameras. When a robbery is occurring they should be able to divert many volts of electricity to the place in which the robber is standing in order to subdue them. This seems a little bit far fetched but if we have the technology to blow up our own planet numerous times I feel that its possible.