The Sense of Entitlement

Let's use our imagination for a bit...see if you can picture this situation.

Near a NYC tourist site, there's a chain stretched out across a paved NYC street.  The chain connects to two fences that block a person from walking onto the sidewalk. The only way you can get on the sidewalk is from a main entrance one block away. There's a gate access for handicapped visitors near the chain which is watched by an attendant.

The street sort of leads to a dead end. On the other side of the chain, there's a real fence (with a large gate) that keeps you out of a construction zone. Essentially the sidewalk is a path the safely takes you around the construction zone.  The chain is only a "chain" because vehicles use that street to get into the construction zone. A chain can easily be removed when a vehicle needs to get through.

In addition to the chain, there are three large orange cones in front of the chain. So we have a chain, a fence and a gate with an attendant. Let's say you walk into this street and you see this chain and fence...what is your first instinct?

If I see a fence and a chain and someone watching the gate, I'm going to know that I'm not allowed to pass into that area. The fence is there for a reason; the chain is there for a reason...it's obvious. Heck, if I wasn't 100% sure as to if I could pass into the area, there's a person standing right by the gate that I could ask. Isn't that what any intelligent person would do?

But this is New York City...and we don't always have intelligent people visiting our fair city. How do I know this? Because I AM the person who watches the fence and you wouldn't believe the crazy stuff I see people try to get away with.

I see tourists walk up to the chain every day, duck underneath it, and proceed to walk past the construction zone. When I stop them and ask them what they are doing, they usually say "I can not go this way?". To which I reply, "No, the entrance is one block up and you will need a ticket." In reality, I want to tell them that they can not go this way...that's why there's a fence there...what kind of "entrance" would need people to duck under a chain in order to enter. I will occasionally get someone after I tell them they can't go this way that then asks REALLY nicely if they could go this way. I just smile and say that I'm sorry and that I can't let them do that. I had an older couple who didn't speak English try to duck under the chain the other day.  I had to use my limited Spanish-speaking ability to explain to them that they have to go up one more block and and get a ticket to come inside (the tickets are free). When the couple came back to my area after getting a ticket, the man gestured to me that I was crazy because I made them go up one block in order to get right back where they started. You can't really say anything at that point; I just shrugged my shoulders.

Why are people going under the chain? My first thought is that these folks are confused and just don't know what they are doing. But I don't think all of those people were confused. I've come to believe that most of the tourists knew exactly what they were doing. They are deliberately doing something they know is wrong. Why? My theory is that they think they can get away with it.

I believe there's a growing sense of entitlement in the world today.  People believe they are so special and so "above it all" they don't need to obey the rules of normal society. I'm sure we've all heard the stories of families who hired handicapped people to go with their families to Disney World just so they didn't have to wait in lines. These people even had the gall to brag about what they've done in chat rooms. Is it really that hard to wait in a line? Is it really that hard to follow the rules? Well, it must be...especially if people feel they are better than others. They feel that waiting in a line is something for the poor lowly people of the world.  They feel "entitled" to break the rules because the rules do not really apply to them. The rules only apply to regular people.

I can tell you this. This "regular" person really gets a kick out of reminding these chain jumpers that they are also "regular" people and still have to follow the rules. Maybe if they don't get away with feeling "entitled", they'll be less likely to try it in the future.  That's probably not doing to happen, but I could hope for it.

In the meantime, respect the chain!