Flattery Will Get You Everywhere, Right?

What does it mean when a patron comes up to the Ref Desk and asks you a million personal questions about why you do what you do?  Is it pity? Is it disgust? Or just bad manners? What compels people to ask why you work as a librarian?  They all know we are lowly paid and disrespected but why do they have to rub our noses in it?