Entitled

I see this word used A LOT on these boards. It seems to be deployed against someone who does something to displease someone’s sense of the rules.  It feels like a term leveled at younger people.  Am I wrong about this?  Is “entitled” the retort to “hey boomer?”

This is an interesting take on using the word "OK" with millennials:

https://medium.com/the-haven/hey-boomer-dont-respond-ok-in-your-text-to-a-millennial-ba8e010a21f0

It turns out, young people may find a quick “OK” response in a text as a dismissive insult. And if you see happen to see an “OK” coming from them, you should be suspicious that it may have been sent with sarcastic intent.

"Entitled" an "entitlement" gets used (overused) in debate today but I did not perceive it to be in the context of inter-generational disputes.  I think of it coming up more in discussions of race,class or gender relations.

I'm having a hard time with this "OK" thing, including belief that its a real thing.  How are you supposed to quickly and without qualification acknowledge your agreement with something?  I use OK with millennials, including my own kids, a lot, and get it back from them too.  Sounds like a BS faux cultural subject to me.

I get the sense that "entitled" is used  when someone does something selfish - they think that their behavior's effect on other people is unimportant. They don't consider that they're being inconsiderate.

YMMV

bub said:

"Entitled" an "entitlement" gets used (overused) in debate today but I did not perceive it to be in the context of inter-generational disputes.  I think of it coming up more in discussions of race,class or gender relations.

I'm having a hard time with this "OK" thing, including belief that its a real thing.  How are you supposed to quickly and without qualification acknowledge your agreement with something?  I use OK with millennials, including my own kids, a lot, and get it back from them too.  Sounds like a BS faux cultural subject to me.

 I hear "entitled" in the context of blaming other generations. It cuts both ways ... entitled boomers and entitled millenials.

I don't usually hear about entitled Gen Xers ... they're too busy taking care of their boomer parents and millenial kids to act entitled.

bub said:

I'm having a hard time with this "OK" thing, including belief that its a real thing.  How are you supposed to quickly and without qualification acknowledge your agreement with something?  I use OK with millennials, including my own kids, a lot, and get it back from them too.  Sounds like a BS faux cultural subject to me.

 I don't even bother with the "O".  I just send a "K".  Most people get it.

Rob_Sandow said:

bub said:

I'm having a hard time with this "OK" thing, including belief that its a real thing.  How are you supposed to quickly and without qualification acknowledge your agreement with something?  I use OK with millennials, including my own kids, a lot, and get it back from them too.  Sounds like a BS faux cultural subject to me.

 I don't even bother with the "O".  I just send a "K".  Most people get it.

 I asked my millennial kids and son-in-law about this, and they all acknowledged its accuracy, though with the understanding that older people may not relate to the usage. Apparently either "k" or "kk" is the preferred neutral response.

Then we got into a discussion about the use of "they" as a singular pronoun for nonbinary individuals...  Sigh.

unicorn33 said:

Rob_Sandow said:

bub said:

I'm having a hard time with this "OK" thing, including belief that its a real thing.  How are you supposed to quickly and without qualification acknowledge your agreement with something?  I use OK with millennials, including my own kids, a lot, and get it back from them too.  Sounds like a BS faux cultural subject to me.

 I don't even bother with the "O".  I just send a "K".  Most people get it.

 I asked my millennial kids and son-in-law about this, and they all acknowledged its accuracy, though with the understanding that older people may not relate to the usage. Apparently either "k" or "kk" is the preferred neutral response.

Then we got into a discussion about the use of "they" as a singular pronoun for nonbinary individuals...  Sigh.

 Cool.  I'm 54 and got the "K" right

Older than Rob, and kidless, mixing with a lot of 90s+ and a few sub-20s. Glad I’ve also got it right. 

In my experience, "entitlement" refers to people who think the world owes them something they haven't earned (at least in the eyes of those applying the term), so it's aimed at marginalized people groups, particularly according to race/ethnicity and economics. Aiming toward youth makes sense in this context as well.

The word "privilege" seems to be the other side of the same coin, generally applied to people of means or social position, who think they have special immunity or rights because of their wealth or position (again, at least in the eyes of those applying the term).

I think it's important to note that the application of these terms - and most other similar terms sheds more light on those using them than those to whom they're applied.

Most of us Gen Xers kids are not Millennials. I think most of the Xers are children of older Boomers and Millennials of the younger Boomers and those that waited a long time to have kids. IMO Boomer parents of Millennials are pretty entitled, but who cares, none of it matters in the end as we are all kinda the same, no one more or less special than another. Just a mass of humanity that often acts like a singular organism like an ant coleny.

drummerboy said:

I get the sense that "entitled" is used  when someone does something selfish - they think that their behavior's effect on other people is unimportant. They don't consider that they're being inconsiderate.

YMMV

 ^this.

If anyone wants to see textbook cases of entitled behavior, go to Maplewood village tonight between 6 and 8 and check out how people drive and park.

It's certainly a word that's pretty amorphous and overused. I think some people just apply it in cases of their own pet peeves.

I agree that an accurate interpretation of the word is when an individual acts in a way that indicates they feel they are inherently exceptional and not bound by the same rules and customs which should govern civil interactions. The person who blocks a sidewalk with their car because they're just running into Kings for a few minutes is a reasonable example. Or uses a cell phone in a dark theater rather than stepping outside because they don't want to be inconvenienced. That sort of thing.