in new york city, $4.75, worth of “toxic entitlement” has led to over twenty thousand dollars worth of damage to a store, store employees injured and mentally scarred, a young man dead, and a hard working family man facing a bogus murder charge. all of these events are due to financial disputes totaling $4.75; a $1.75 extra sauce charge at a fancy french fry shop and $3.00 for a bag of chips at a bodega.
i trace a significant segment of entitlement culture to cell phones. parents, for their own sake, i.e. to be able to contact their children instantaneously, began providing and paying for their children’s cell phones. these children, however, did nothing to deserve one of the greatest technologies of their time. they received it solely upon their existence. these children often showed a lack of appreciation for this amazing gift. they often felt free to run up their parent’s phone bills for excessive minutes, excessive text messaging or excessive data use. parents complaining would often be subject to whining, bitching and moaning.
cell phone entitlement somehow translated into children lacking the ambition to drive motor vehicles. it is a far better experience to be chauffeured and play with their phone in the back rather than experience the freedom and responsibility of driving a car.
these entitlements prevent children from maturing and growing up. as a result, children become so self centered that they cannot appreciate that there are other people in the world. they cannot appreciate that there are the workers in stores who are just trying to do their job and make a living. they cannot appreciate that there are the store owners who are making goods conveniently available for purchase and consumption. they cannot appreciate that there are people who do things that they don’t like. they cannot appreciate that there are civil ways of dealing with upset. entitlement can lead some to believe that the world is all about them. they become devoid of showing respect to anyone.
in new york city, the trashing of the bel fries restaurant was a viral event. nypost.com store employees and others were disappointed that none of the bystanders did anything to stop the mayhem. rather, it was the impression of the staff that the bystanders watched and took in their mistreatment as entertainment. the three women were so toxically entitled that allegedly they struck a police officer in the face. [commentary: in this matter, the customers allegedly were not happy with an extra sauce charge. while it may be upsetting, this is not uncommon. for years, i have seen mcdonalds, mexican restaurants, and hamburger places, at various times, set limitations and charges for extra condiments. there were many adult ways of handling the matter. one could speak to the manager and complain. one could decide not to eat there. one could leave a bad online review and point out the extra charges. ]
also, in new york city, a bodega worker is now in the legal crosshairs of an outrageous murder charge all because a $3.00 electronic transaction for a bag of chips did not go through. this happened as well as offense taken that the worker allegedly took the bag of chips back from her child. [commentary: i appreciate that a worker reaching out to a customer to take back an object can be offensive. i remember the incident that occurred over 30 years ago in germany when i tried to break off a banana from a bunch to purchase it. i was taken aback by the clerk’s actions. with that said, she could have expressed offense toward the touching and demanded an apology. she could have asked to speak to the store owner concerning the problem. she could have posted a review and spoke of the incident.] the young lady, however, chose to summon her n—– to take vengeance over her alleged mistreatment. she apparently felt that she was the judge, jury, and executioner for the clerk. she set in motion that the middle aged clerk to be violently assaulted and menaced by her friend. sadly, her friend learned the unfortunate lesson that violence will be met with violence. with this, a young man’s life was cut short as the bodega worker took a knife to defend himself and killed the lady’s friend. the middle aged bodega worker is now in a legal fight for his freedom. dailymail.com
in sum, is time to wake up and appreciate how much damage $4.75 worth of “entitlement” can cause. “entitlement” infantilizes adults. it appears to retard their development to act as rational adults to deal with matters of confrontation. during my years of teaching children aged 5-7, over twenty years ago, we encouraged children to use their words to work out their disputes. have times changed? as the facts show, “entitlement” can be both deadly and toxic.
be well!!
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