There’s always that person. You know who I’m talking about. That person. That one person who thinks they’re special, above the rules. That one person whose entitlement ruins something good for everyone else.
You tend to find a lot of those people at airports. Whether it’s the people who cut in line to board the plane faster, or the people who try to bring on oversized luggage that takes up an entire overhead bin, or, now, the people who can’t follow the simple portable charger rule, they all share the same thing in common: a sense of entitlement.
Thanks to the fliers who couldn’t care less about the rules regarding portable chargers and lithium batteries in their bags, American Airlines has announced that they are cracking down, limiting the number of chargers customers can bring onto the plane. Apparently, fliers are trying to recharge the chargers using the plane’s charger, and this is a potential fire/safety hazard because their personal chargers could ka-boom.
It wouldn’t shock me if airlines ban portable chargers altogether. It wouldn’t even shock me if airlines started charging people to use the overhead bins because they cannot follow the rules of keeping their bags within the specifications.
I might sound churlish. But I think this sense of entitlement and annoying disregard for the rules isn’t limited to airports and commercial air flights: I think it’s a problem throughout our entire society. It’s an attitude that has affected everyone and everything.
Here’s a good example: tipping. The unspoken rule of tipping is that you have put in some effort. Americans are so generous that they will usually tip no matter what, unless the service is exceptionally bad. But, in general, most people give the customary 20% if the service is decent and the server is polite.
For some reason, though, it’s now commonplace for people ringing you up at the cash register to ask for a tip. Tipping is no longer reserved for people who are running around like chickens with their heads cut off, juggling a dozen tiny tasks in their heads. No, apparently, something as simple as a coffee that takes about 15 seconds to pour warrants a tip. If you don’t tip on these occasions, you might get a glare. What happens if customers become more jaded about tipping? Will they be less likely to tip hardworking waiters and waitresses who bust their backsides for hours on end because they have already felt pressure to tip and have grown more cynical about the whole situation?
Urban parks are often littered with trash, as are public trains and buses. People refuse to wear headphones in public, blaring loud music and social media reels. Golfers no longer fix their divots, leaving the fairway partly destroyed, and treat the green as if it were the carpet in their man cave. Dog owners no longer pick up poop. And don’t even get me started on drivers. If you think about it, driving a car is an amazing luxury. Yet, when you get behind the wheel these days, and you’re having to deal with drivers who are running red lights, cutting corners as they turn, speeding, and weaving between traffic, you might as well be playing a game of Russian Roulette.
It’s really a shame, and maybe the only way to fix it is for all of us to embrace our inner Kens and Karens and tell the entitled person to have a bit of decency – or shove off. I did my part the other day. When a driver damn near ran me off the road, I flipped the bird. Zero tolerance for those with no tolerance for the rules.
Like what you’re reading? If so, please consider subscribing to State of the Day or sharing this with a friend. You’d be supporting this newsletter and helping keep independent journalism alive.
If you are already a paid subscriber, make sure to join the conversation in our subscribers-only chat below.
John, you are spot on.