Entitlement..a rich problem or poor problem?

[blas87]

We all talk about "Entitlement Whores" on CS a lot. The majority of CS would say that rich people act more entitled, while a very small amount (probably just me) would say that poor people act more entitled.

Please describe your opinion, and support it by describing where you live and reasons why you may (or may not) think social class may have something to do with sense of entitlement.

[Giggle Goose]

Funny you should say this, Blas, because I feel the same way you do. I actually think people from a lower social class with less money tend to act more "entitled..." in my experience. I'm trying really hard not to overly generalize, but here's why:

If you're poor, you're going to try and get entitlement whenever you can if you're not that accomplished anywhere else. If you were happy with your life, career, etc.; then why would you get a "rush" out of berating some hapless store clerk or server? It's only at places known for catering to a lower class of people, like Wal Mart, where I've heard people brag about "raising hell" to the management or something. Right now I live in an area of Maryland (I won't name names) that is very economically disadvantaged compared to the Baltimore/Washington metro area that I grew up in. Think lots of teenage pregnancy and drug use. I see a lot more "entitlement whoreism" here than I do back home.

My friend used to cater at the Kennedy Center in DC and said that you could always tell who the lower-class folks were by who acted more snotty and bitchy.

It kind of goes back to why I think there are more obese people in a lower socioeconomic class than others. Because food is the only luxury they can afford. These sound like very gross generalizations, and of course there are many exceptions. I grew up in an affluent area but my family is working class; and it's been a lot harder for me to better myself and get an education. I try not to take my lower status (by virtue of my birth) out on other people by being an entitlement whore. I find satisfaction in doing the best I can with what I have, even if it isn't a lot.

[Amethyst Hunter]

I think it's both, though, depending on where you live, there may be a significant skewering towards one side or the other. I've met wealthy people who wouldn't give you the time of day, and wealthy people who treat people decently and don't put on any airs. I've met poor people who would give you the shirt off their back literally, and poor people who would scam the system for everything they can.

Assholery knows no race, religion, class, shape, size or gender. It's equal-suckitudery.

[Seshat]

Another thing I've noticed is that attitudes tend to cluster, just as money does. So one region may be rich entitlement snobs, another region might be rich but full of compassionate, humane people.

Similarly, one region of poor people might tend to be entitled people who scam the welfare system and berate clerks, but another may typically have people who are struggling to make ends meet with as little charity as possible and trying to help each other out.

I think it's a combination of factors - one is reinforcement from peers: you tend to get moral and ethical cues from the people around you. The other is comfort. A generally nice person isn't going to be comfortable living around entitlement neighbours, and a basically self-entitled person is going to want to avoid living among 'overly moral righteous prigs'.

[DesignFox]

I think it's a combination of factors, too.

I've met some very wealthy people. I didn't even know they had money until the person I met them through told me. They dress and act like anybody else would. You would have no idea that they earned or had as much money as they do.

It could also be that the people I know earn their money themselves. My barn instructor has been working in the horse industry for decades. She's met people with their noses high in the sky... one thing she's noticed is that the "new money", or people born into it, tend to be snobby and flaunt their wealth, whereas the "old money" people who worked their asses off for their fortune tend to be more grounded.

Also, those who have little tend to try to show off more than those who really have the money.

That's been my experience.

I've dealt with suck from both low and high end customers. I've had both ends of the social spectrum tell me they deserve the world handed to them on a platter at no cost because they "spend all this money" with my company. ::

[protege]

I think it goes both ways. Think about it--you have rich people (usually the "new money" types) who bitch that they should get something for free because they either have so much money, or because they've spent so much in a store. Some of the poorer folks are just as bad--they'll play the "I've had it so rough" or "I can't afford that" cards in attempts to attain the same things.

[powerboy]

I think it's both, though, depending on where you live, there may be a significant skewering towards one side or the other. I've met wealthy people who wouldn't give you the time of day, and wealthy people who treat people decently and don't put on any airs. I've met poor people who would give you the shirt off their back literally, and poor people who would scam the system for everything they can.

Assholery knows no race, religion, class, shape, size or gender. It's equal-suckitudery.

That is how I feel about it.

[rahmota]

Originally Posted by Amethyst Hunter
I think it's both, though, depending on where you live, there may be a significant skewering towards one side or the other. I've met wealthy people who wouldn't give you the time of day, and wealthy people who treat people decently and don't put on any airs. I've met poor people who would give you the shirt off their back literally, and poor people who would scam the system for everything they can.

Assholery knows no race, religion, class, shape, size or gender. It's equal-suckitudery.

Yep. I've run across people from all walks of life that are good, would give you the shirt off their back and lay down in the dirt with you if you needed the help and I've run across folks who think they poop diamonds, deserve worship and obedience just because of their family name or their bling their wearing or because they are special.....

[ebonyknight]

It's a people problem.

This entitlement attitude is the fault of the baby boomers, IMO. They are the first American generation that hasn't had to work for anything. They inherited a country that ruled the world after WWII and that has given them an aire of entitlement. An era of prosperity has spoiled America and Americans. Up until the boomers we were a people that valued hard work and accomplishment. This (to a minor extend applies to Euros as well), security has led other first world countries into a similar attitude, because there are no more threats of war in (first world) europe or world wars. No fear of where their next meal comes from. The "first world" has become spoiled.

With the prosperous times the baby boomers started to become greedy. They started to believe that things and not people were the priority. Until the Baby Boomer generation, the importance of family was first. One parent would work and another would stay home and raise the children. Despite what people would have you believe, it is still possible to do that today, if you are willing to sacrifice your own comfort for your family. Instead they gave their children to strangers to raise, who would give them anything they could do to shut them up instead of teaching them.

Before that time, Americans has to work and struggle to maintain their standard of living. No more, it has been handed to us by the "Greatest Generation" (no sarcasm there) and exploited by the boomers.

I pray for the day to come when the last boomer retires and a more sensible generation can run things. Unfortunately a lot of us are still stuck in the mindset that both parents must work to make ends meet for the children, when the test of time has shown it to be the opposite.

[lordlundar]

It's a people problem.

Pretty much. Rich or poor, you're just as likely to do it. Sure the reasons are different, but the results are the same. Rich people think the world owes them something because they're successful, and poor people think the world owes them because they're struggling. Either way, they think the world owes them. (as far as I'm concerned, the only thing I owe them is a metal plate welded to their mouth to shut them up)

The only way to resolve the problem is a change in attitude. If they're polite, they get treated well, if they go entitlement, tough shit. Too bad most companies won't do that, as it's sorely needed.

[Fuzzykitten99]

It's a people problem.

This entitlement attitude is the fault of the baby boomers, IMO. They are the first American generation that hasn't had to work for anything. They inherited a country that ruled the world after WWII and that has given them an aire of entitlement. An era of prosperity has spoiled America and Americans.

MOD EDIT: No need to copy the whole thing. - Seshat.

I pray for the day to come when the last boomer retires and a more sensible generation can run things. Unfortunately a lot of us are still stuck in the mindset that both parents must work to make ends meet for the children, when the test of time has shown it to be the opposite.

This is a very intelligent, well spoken response.

I agree with you and I wanted to add to it.

The other problem with the baby boomers is that with their entitlement mindset, comes the envy mindset. That they had to have what everyone else had, whether they worked for it or not. It was ingrained into their minds that the wealthy somehow owe it to the rest of society to give part of their income to those who didn't work for it. Just because they have more.

So those boomers who didn't work hard and earn their income, made excuses and whined about how somehow they were kept down by the rich who had advantages. Boomers weren't/aren't accustomed to life being hard, so when it does get that way, they don't know how to handle it.

Yes, wealth does create more opportunities, and often faster results. But that doesn't mean someone born to a poor family can't get to that same spot in life as a wealthy person. It just may take more work and more of an effort, and time. But there is the opportunity to get there.

Opportunity is what you make of it. It is there if you choose to take it. If you really believe that you are being kept down, the only one who is doing that is yourself. Stop whining and if you really are being kept down, work on it and show/prove that you can rise above it. The rewards will be all that much sweeter.

Once my kids are in school full time, I want to go to culinary school, which will cost me about $50k total. I certainly don't have that kind of money to pay for it, so it will need to go on student loans and any scholarships I can find.

Until I can do that though, I have to work with what I have right now.

[tropicsgoddess]

Personally, it's those with more money that tend to be the entitlement whores. Why I say that? Because those that are "the haves" think that they are better than "the have nots" because they have more money and are able to afford a better lifestyle. They also feel that their money or in some cases fame makes them impervious to the rules and laws we are all subjected to and that they can buy people into getting their way because they invested so much into the store, street,etc. The haves that tend to be this way more often than not are the nouveau riche (new money), since they feel that after all they did to climb up the rungs of society, they feel the world owes them something.

[ArenaBoy]

It's universal. Doesn't matter what kind of background a person grew up in.

[ebonyknight]

This came out yesterday.

Boomers Miserable, Seniors Happiest

http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/...eniorshappiest

*It's no secret that life hasn't lived up to the expectations of boomers, many of whom can't even get a decent vacation. The key to happiness seems to involve maturity.

And middle-age misery is not limited to the United States. In a separate study released in January, researchers in the United States and the UK looked at data on 2 million people from 80 nations and found most people are miserable in middle age. The probability of depression peaks around age 44, they found.*

*The Baby Boom generation (born from 1946-1964) were the least happy among those surveyed in Yang's new study, too.

"This is probably due to the fact that the generation as a group was so large, and their expectations were so great, that not everyone in the group could get what he or she wanted as they aged due to competition for opportunities. This could lead to disappointment that could undermine happiness," Yang said. *

I guess this validates my theory.

[Peppergirl]

The only way to resolve the problem is a change in attitude. If they're polite, they get treated well, if they go entitlement, tough shit. Too bad most companies won't do that, as it's sorely needed.

I agree with this 1000 percent!!!

Until managers and the higher-ups at corporations get their heads out of their collective asses and realize that not only is the customer NOT always right, but a bad customer actually COSTS them money, the problem will never go away.