Entitlement

Every morning a school bus pulls up in front of my neighbor’s house in the middle of my block, on the wrong side of the street, instead of the designated bus stop on the corner. So not only is it an annoyance to anyone who wants to pull out of their driveway or travel down the block, it is also unsafe for the children who must run across the street, and around the front of the bus to get on. These children get door to door service---as if it was private transportation—while the public school children (and their parents) walk to the corner to the bus stop.

There was a wealthy woman who golfed with her daughter every Wednesday night at our country club. On Wednesday nights a buffet barbecue is held on the patio. This woman, who could well afford to pay for the buffet food, would park her golf cart to the side of the clubhouse, and have her daughter sneak a plate full of hamburgers and hotdogs for them to eat on the golf course. She felt no need to pay for her food like everyone else did.

There is a owner in my mother’s building who despite understanding the “no pet rule” got a pet anyway. I suppose the owner felt the no pet rule applied to everyone but them. It has created an awkward situation.

At Thanksgiving time last year I stalked a woman in the parking garage at Nordstrom for her parking spot. As she had an doubly occupied double stroller and some packages, it took her a little while to take care of business. So I waited with my directional on. A well dressed gentleman in his Mercedes, as a result of my waiting for the young mother to accomplish her loading tasks, was blocked in by my car. He beeped. So I gave him the universal hand symbol of wait one minute I am waiting for the car over there to pull out first. I could not back up, because there was a car behind me. But the man didn’t care and so he got out of his car and demanded I move. The veins were popping out of his neck as he screamed at me. I explained that I couldn’t move backwards  and if I moved forward I would lose the spot that took me 15 minutes to find—the mall was that busy. Again he demanded that I move. Clearly he felt his time was worth more than mine. He did not understand parking lot etiquette.

And even though I could have moved forward and found another spot in a short while. I did not. I needed for him to wait. Because no matter how large of a temper tantrum he had he really couldn’t do much. I took the chance that he did not want to drive his 100K car into my SUV. And I assessed from the nature of his dress that he was not a thug—he was merely a business man with a bad attitude. So I smiled and threw my hands up in the air. And then he called me the B-word. And I told him thank you—it had been a long time since I was called that—I thanked him for the compliment. And so I intentionally took an even longer time than was necessary to pull into the vacated spot. And all the while the man cursed me. I wished him a Happy Thanks giving.

Entitlement is an ugly sin. And even if individuals escape punishment from time to time ultimately their sins catch up with them. Bus drivers are ratted out to the  Board of Education. Food and beverage managers notice people who stand on line yet have no seat. And owners who defy the rules get letters.

And sometimes entitled persons meet up with immediate punishments. They bump into housewives who do not tolerate bad behavior. Because had the man with the bad attitude approached me nicely and said gee would you mind moving your car—I am already late for an important meeting, I would have gladly moved. Had he acknowledged that my time was as important as his and asked me to do him a favor anyway, I would have. But that is not what happened. And even though I would like to think that our encounter changed him for the better, I am certain it did not. Entitled people hold a death grip on their entitlement.

But at least I enjoyed being called the B-word. In this case it wasn’t a curse—it was well deserved praise. It meant I was a strong woman who did not cower to a bully. It meant I had power. My penis was bigger than his. It meant I could impose justice—even if it was only 5 minutes long. And when you have a temper as bad as his—a 5 minute time out is an eternity.