Some people are beyond ordinary entitlement. It's hard to say how they ended up this way, but it's safe to say that it probably has something to do with upbringing and the expectation that a lot of us had set for ourselves that we are the main character and the world is there to serve us. The brutal reality then becomes that many people are far too shallow to self-reflect or consider others. Couple this with social media, "pick me" attitudes, general narcissism, and sociopathy, and you have yourself the freshly stewed sh!t sandwich that is interacting with other people.
"Entitlement is a key component of narcissism," says Darden Professor Sean Martin in his study on the subject. "It's basically the belief that you deserve more — more resources, more consideration, more privileges, and rewards — than other people. Narcissists and entitled individuals can make good first impressions. They are confident in their abilities and skills, which means that they tend to emerge into leadership roles. The problem is that they are also selfish; they make subpar team players and collaborators because their behaviors and decision-making are geared to serving their self-interest."1
It's not all bad, and it's not as if everyone is terrible, but it's undoubtedly the bad ones that stick out in your mind. Every time someone boldly cuts a queue or uses the shoulder to pass in traffic, it's a cruel reminder that these ticks and parasites of society exist. Unfortunately, due to relatively little consequence for these low-level offenders, nothing is done to correct the problem. On the contrary, prevalent practices such as "The customer is always right" feed into these people's delusional realities. So, they continue going about their days being generally sh*tty peopleand making the world all the worse for the rest of us.
Enjoy this week's collection of entitled individuals and let them remind you of the eternal suffering of your existence.
