The tow truck driver knows more about entitlement than any lefty academic
The race-based entitlement that academics peddle is questionable at best. This is what true entitlement looks like.
It is worth pointing out that the illegally-parked vehicle owners are not the customers of the towing company. No, the towing company's customer is the property owner. I think that all the back and forth with the vehicle owners is just for good Youtube content. I mean, why else bother? But for us, it does offer a great peek at American entitlement culture.
And sadly, you see this in all public facing businesses. This is just an extreme example. In any case, I would argue that entitlement has gotten worse in the last few decades. I wish some academic would study the causes. But they are so wrapped up in race and grievance that they pay no attention to the actual entitlement all around us.
Just pay attention; entitlement is everywhere. People are entitled to tips for no real service. Others are entitled to tip nothing for real service. Parents are entitled to take their unsupervised, misbehaving children everywhere. Passengers are entitled to take the seat of their choice on airplanes. So-called influencers are entitled to free stuff and service. And if we back up just a few years to the time of Covid, just think about the entitlement that people had to tell perfect strangers what to do. Going to the grocery store was walking through an entitlement minefield.
Today we see people using smartphones without headphones or earbuds. Some blast music in public on their bluetooth speakers. Patrons refuse to get off their smartphones when dealing with a cashier, waiter, etc. Or on public transportation. The social expectation of respect for others is dead.
Truly, the only way to avoid disrespect for others is to avoid public spaces. We do try. And here is something interesting: There is a class dynamic to this entitlement problem. Counterintuitive though it may be, higher class environments have less entitlement. In my observation, entitlement culture is a lower class problem. And it is intentional. The mid and upper classes know that it is best to take calls outside, or not at all. Lower class people have a need to inflict their noise and other entitlements on the people around them. Why is that?
Anyway, it is getting worse. What is going on?