Entitlements

I have been thinking quite a bit about the younger generation, my generation, and those old people that think so poorly of us. While this has been on my mind for a few weeks, and in no small way influenced by this post by The Big Bags, the catalyst is really a cranky old lady that said all the people that are under 30 are "rude, arrogant little S#!@s." This was said to me while I waited for my flight out of Austin on Sunday night. That statement bothered me.

Here is the thing. Yes, we have a feeling of entitlement. Yes, the generation that is even younger than mine feels even more entitled. Can this be a detriment? sure, but not always. Even the older generation feels entitled (they all feel entitled to respect that they don't always deserve, among other things). I mean, really, if we are rude it is because our parents didn't teach us better manners. I happen to know that my mother would STILL slap me if I didn't offer to help someone (anyone, of any age), or if I was rude to an older person. Probably even if I was rude to someone that was rude to me first. Most of my friends of my age are the same. So what 30-year-old pissed her off so much? Turns out, according to her, I am just like her grandson. Well, if her grandson didn't turn out the way she wanted, I would say part of that is her fault. But if her grandson really is like me, then she needs to calm down. Being sixty DOESN'T entitle you to skipping an entire airport line, just because. If you want to get through the line faster, then get a walker or a wheelchair. As long as you can perambulate on your own, then you can be an adult and wait in line like the rest of us. None of us want to wait in line, it is an airport after all.

And as a little note to these type of older people, I work really hard for what I have. I am not entitled to what I have, I have EARNED it.