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AIBU?

self entitled middle class??

284 replies

sweetsoulsister · 09/02/2014 22:31

As an 'out of towner' can people explain why the middle class in this fine city of London feel they are so god damned righteous?

I'm standing in a queue with my children at the local swimming pool, and judging by the car park, it's busy. We go in and join a long queue. A couple of the families in front of me take their turn at the counter, turn around in disgust, and pace back and forth, argue with each other and work themselves up into a frenzy. Assuming they are going swimming I ask what has happened with the pool. One of the ladies says, 'The pool is at capacity and if we want to go in we will have to wait until someone leaves,' her voice rises another octave and she continues, 'This is completely unacceptable!!'

Really? Unacceptable? If you were the first family in the pool and it got too crowded because they let everyone in would you just suck it up because it's unacceptable to let everyone in?

This is not the first time I've encountered this outrage and it always seems to be what I've deemed the 'self entitled middle class...'

Explanations please???

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LaurieFairyCake · 09/02/2014 22:32


People get grumpy of every class.
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sweetsoulsister · 09/02/2014 22:33

Not quite like this though!

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Pobblewhohasnotoes · 09/02/2014 22:34

That you're making sweeping generalisations.

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LalyRawr · 09/02/2014 22:34

Some people are dicks. Regardless of class, status, race, age or gender.

They are just dicks.

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candycoatedwaterdrops · 09/02/2014 22:34

Ridiculous over generalisation.

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Headofthehousehold · 09/02/2014 22:35

Which bit of this is entitled middle class? So they got impatient, they could be of 'any class' .

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lazyhound444 · 09/02/2014 22:35

Just cos 1 woman got a bit ranty you've decided a whole class from an entire city are self entitled? Ok, then..

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pootlebug · 09/02/2014 22:35

Um, I live in London. I suspect most people would describe me as middle class.

I've never encountered this particular situation at a swimming pool but if I did I can't imagine that my reaction would be much different to anyone of any other class tbh.....depending on mood either turn around and go home or suck it up and wait.

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manicinsomniac · 09/02/2014 22:35

You encountered some fed up and unreasonable people. I don't think those are middle class traits. Just the way some people are, either some, most or all of the time.

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sweetsoulsister · 09/02/2014 22:37

Nope, they were definitely middle class as they drove off in their land rover.

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Lambzig · 09/02/2014 22:38

Might just be the stress of having excited children who think they are going swimming who then have to wait. Sounds like the sort of thing DH would say. He is not entitled, just grumpy and bad at dealing with plans gone wrong.

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harticus · 09/02/2014 22:38

Last time I checked London had a population of about 13 million.
Bit silly making generalisations about a huge city.

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whomadeyougod · 09/02/2014 22:38

agree with laurie every class gets grumpy , i would be pissed off if i couldnt get into the pool and the kids had been looking forward to it .

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ComposHat · 09/02/2014 22:39

I don't think it is completely confined to the middle class, but the kind of person who can't stand being told 'no' and have this bogus sense of entitlement that they should never be thwarted in anything is quite familiar to anyone who has worked with the public.

Such people are meat and drink for AIBU.

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Sweetart · 09/02/2014 22:39

The most 'entitled' people that I've encountered are northerners that move south Smile

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VonHerrBurton · 09/02/2014 22:40

What made you think they were 'middle class'?!

Maybe they had schleped through London on a train and a bus with whingeing kids and weren't handling the disappointment very well.

Any 'class' could easily act this way given the circumstances.

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sweetsoulsister · 09/02/2014 22:41

What I'm trying to get across is that this is not the first time I have come across similar situations with the middle class and I'm genuinely curious if there is some reason for it!

I'm very interested in psychology and find it quite easy to self reflect on why I behave the way I do in certain situations (and by no means am I perfect), and I find it interesting why the middle class in London (because I don't know any other areas of England as of yet) behave the way they do.

I was hoping there might be some posters on here free of ego who were able to enlighten me on the subject!

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whereisshe · 09/02/2014 22:41

Is car choice a class indicator? I thought it was just an income indicator. If you dislike rich people then just say so.

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Onesleeptillwembley · 09/02/2014 22:41

The only explanation is that you have a chip on your shoulder.

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Hassled · 09/02/2014 22:42

They were twats who happened to be middle class twats. They could just have well have been the landed gentry or farm labourers. A twat is a twat.

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LEMmingaround · 09/02/2014 22:43

Would you like some sauce with that chip

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Floggingmolly · 09/02/2014 22:43

She sounds an entitled idiot, alright. What made you think she was middle class? It's certainly not a middle class phenomenon...

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ComposHat · 09/02/2014 22:43

I think what the op is commenting on is not that they were annoyed that they'd gone swimming and the pool was full, fair enough. But them's the breaks.

But that it was somehow the pool attendant's fault and that something fairly unavoidable (pool reaches capacity determined for H&S, staff ratios, insurance reasons) is an unfair obstacle thrown in their way and it is somehow 'unacceptable.'

Wankers, regardless of what socio-economic group they belong to or city they live in.

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lazyhound444 · 09/02/2014 22:43

"free of ego". I've heard it all now. If you actually believe the nonsense you're posting, I fear for you.

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LEMmingaround · 09/02/2014 22:44

Netmums might be a better place for this op

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