To think that many people's sense of entitlement has gone mad?

[SweetAlmondOil]

I regularly come across or hear people assume that they are entitled to 'stuff.'

Be it a job that ticks all the boxes, parents helping out (financially at first, or with kids later, etc), government help if they smoke/drink all their lives and need treatment for a related illness.

AIBU to think that more than ever before people are not taking responsibility for their actions/decisions/choices?

@Emeeno1

I think we need to be very careful about the argument that smokers or drinkers should be treated differently in terms of healthcare because this thinking is insidious. Who knows when something you do today will be included tomorrow?

We treat people with all sorts of self inflicted hurts and illnesses because we value our humanity in the face of our human weakness.

This (and I deplore the selfishness of smokers, but not to the extent of wanting them denied medical care).

Healthcare is free for those who don't pay taxes. It is heavily subsidised and free at the point of care for those who do, unless you pay extortionate levels of tax.

@CaptainMyCaptain

OK - free at the point of delivery - all the money the government has is yours and mine so the government pays for nothing then.

That's about the size of it, yes.

I don't come across many people like that. The last time I had any sense of entitlement was when I was a child and I was soon disillusioned! I am quite happy for my offspring to feel entitled to my help.

There are times when we are surprised and disappointed that we don't receive help or kindness from people we thought were close but that's life. We move on and manage somehow.

I'm going to agree with you OP - usual caveats about of course it isn't 'everyone'.

This thread isn't just about being entitled to healthcare, it is reflected in all sorts of parts of life.
The ridiculous demands some students make of lecturers; some parents make of teachers; some householders make of anyone they employ to do a job; some buyers on FB selling sites; some people that hire rooms from Community groups; some parents who take their dc to volunteer run sports teams or youth groups; some people who go out to eat at restaurants and cafes and pubs; etc etc etc
It is about the lack of thought, and the lack of consideration of other people.
Of course it isn't everyone, but there seems to be quite a proportion of people that it does apply to.

Probably a large cross over with people who don't realise that with rights, come responsibilities.

It’s one of the foundational principles of our health system that everyone is entitled to health care regardless of their lifestyle choices so YABU to frame that as a new or unusual attitude.

I sometimes think it goes the other way on MN. There’s an attitude on this site that if you ever express the view that your life would be easier if your parents helped out now and then or your work didn’t relentlessly exploit you, it’s a sign that your an irredeemably spoilt princess who needs to get over themselves and live in the real world. It’s not exactly an empathetic attitude.

Compared to previous generations, yes, people these days are very entitled.

Compared to previous generations, yes, people these days are very entitled.

There is no generation more entitled than boomers. No generation ever had it easier, or handed on less opportunity to their descendants.

Didn't read the thread you mention @SBTLove but it depends on how it was put. Whilst I agree that someone on £150k doesn't need help I also think it falls under the same heading as this post, people expect to do jobs that don't pay well and be subsidised when running short whereas people who earn a large salary have usually had to make sacrifices elsewhere with family time (fwiw my pay is crap!)
I do not agree with the smoking and drinking thing, everyone has a vice and you pay NI so should get help (and I detest smoking and barely drink). But I definitely agree with the general idea that people's sense of entitlement us awful these days. The main thing that annoys me is people just having children they can't afford and the line 'should only the rich have kids?' as an argument. I'd love more kids but can't afford them so don't. We make a lot of small sacrifices to have the kids we do have, no fancy TV packages or expensive phones, not eating out all the time etc and work bloody hard to support them but it isnt a right

Compared to previous generations, yes, people these days are very entitled.

Which previous generations would these be? Humans have been around for around six million years, give or take, so you've plenty to choose from...

People "these days" are much the same as people in generations gone by, society may change but the human condition does not.

@LavaCake

Compared to previous generations, yes, people these days are very entitled.

There is no generation more entitled than boomers. No generation ever had it easier, or handed on less opportunity to their descendants.

Surely that's just good fortune rather than being 'very entitled'?

Yep I see it a lot. One DB and SIL on benefit and one DB working with SIL SAHM. They manipulate our parents into handing over a couple of hundred pounds regularly.

I made the mistake of telling my parents my salary and savings. Big mistake. Parents then hinted for money. Nipped that in bud but now gift exchanges are one sided, I give but get nothing in return. Have scaled down presents but will probably stop.

"Young people today, eh"
Sophocles

@MrsHuntGeneNotJeremyObviously

I think smokers and drinkers are entitled to help - they paid the tax on all those cigarettes and alcohol, along with income tax, so yes they are 'entitled' to medical assistance. Re childcare - no one is entitled to that from parents but I can see that if the parents benefitted from help given by their parents, the kids might feel there's an obligation to pay it forward. Otherwise, no, they aren't entitled to free childcare from granny. I agree with you about the job though.

This is such a controversial subject. I would quite like to see the calculation that can prove that smokers and drinkers have paid the costs of their treatment in taxes. I wish the world of taxes was as black and white

As a species we are self entitled. It is how we got to where we are now. Pollution, global warming, crime, health, cleanliness - it all boils down to 'I've got mine - someone else can deal with the shit, because I have prospered from it already'. We are selfish beings. That's not me saying there aren't selfless people and people who genuinely do have thought for others, but from what I see daily, a lot of people just don't care about anyone but themselves/their own little world. Refusal to see the impact of their actions might have against someone else.

Like littering, for example. Some people think they are entitled to throw their rubbish everywhere, because someone else will have to come along and clean up after them. As soon as that litter hits the ground, they stop caring. I highly doubt they are awake at night at the thought of having left their shit behind for someone else to clean up. I would maybe say people seem a lot more thoughtless and introspective in recent times, but we've been like this for thousands of years. I dunno. I try not to think about it too much because it makes me sad and feel a bit hopeless.

Particularly with regards to Covid, I've found.

Too many people caring about their own selfish wants and their child's 'mental health' being affected by not being able to do something utterly unnecessary and stupid.

It's so fecking annoying.

government help if they smoke/drink all their lives and need treatment for a related illness

Are you saying there has been a time when the NHS only treated people who had lived perfectly virtuous life and not had any accidents where they themselves were partly to blame?

As an observant genX child of boomers who remembers them as younger adults I can attest that they were as big a pain in the arse in their 30s as they are now. Generation Self Fulfilment is a good way of putting it.

People of my generation (mid 40s) have been extremely entitled about free childcare from their parents / in laws.
I might have felt this more keenly as I didn't have the same.
Same people now utterly repugnant about the idea of caring for their now elderly parents.
I can hardly bear it.

@ktp100 agree re Covid and kids, I didn’t know so many of our young people had mental health problems, I don’t doubt some have but kids these days aren’t allowed to feel sad or disappointed, by not feeling these negative emotions as a child they won’t build resilience for their future adult lives. I see it in my daughters generation. A minor disappointment is a huge life changing dramatic tragedy.

Yeah people are ever more entitled. But they then get aggravated when you point this out. Just look at the annual “l can’t work over Christmas or New Year as l have procreated” threads every year

My favourite bit of entitlement was a friend saying it wasn’t fair she had to do 1.5 hours work before work started. I was confused and asked what she meant by this. She said as she has 2 children then she needs to do more then people without children. Her way of remedying this was her starting later and finishing earlier but being paid the same amount as colleagues in a comparable job What about those people who can’t have children? Plus you work with people who have older children, they had to do a similar thing for years but didn’t get “compensated”?!

I don't know OP it's easy to judge when you're looking at others.

1 pregnancy costs the NHS over £10k and way more when a c-section is involved. Majority of pregnancies are self inflicted as people choose to start a family. Are you going to make a dig on that?

LavaCake interesting comment, can you provide proof of this please?

Yep, there was a thread a few weeks ago by a woman saying her parents should offer her more childcare as she sees other grandparents at the school gates. She said they only had her children for the weekend once a month!

Don't see what's so wrong about expecting help from the people and systems that surround us. That's what a society is, unless I've missed something.