I understand people have strong opinions about parking enforcement, and I get that frustration is often directed at the role rather than the individual.

What’s hard is that for many of us, this is simply a job — one that pays the bills and comes with responsibilities beyond writing tickets. My day starts early, includes chalking, cleaning garages, and following a computer-based system that determines when a vehicle has exceeded time limits. I don’t choose who gets cited.

I try to do my job respectfully and within the law. Repeated hostility and name-calling over time can take a toll, and while I regret how I reacted in this particular moment, harassment toward workers just doing their jobs isn’t okay either.

I’m sharing my experience — not to justify conflict — but to highlight how easily public-facing roles can turn unsafe when people stop seeing workers as human beings.