Blame It on Mr. Rogers: Why Young Adults Feel So Entitled

[ebaycj]

Originally posted by: jrenz
I had another one of those dreams last night... that I was still in school, and forgot to go to one class all semester. It was terrifying.

I did that when I was in school (other than showing up 2-3 times for exams). For two different classes in two different semesters. Got a B and a B-. I'd say it was "awesome" rather than "terrifying".

 

[ProfJohn]

Originally posted by: her209

Originally posted by: ProfJohn
My mom and dad divorced when I was a freshman and I became the ?man of the house? so to speak for the next four years. I grew up and became very responsible very fast, had no choice. I have NO sense of entitlement at all, have had to work hard for everything I have.

It took your parent's divorce for you to become personally responsible for your well-being?

I was 13 at the time, not sure what you expect from a 13 year old.

 

[nageov3t]

Originally posted by: ProfJohn

Originally posted by: her209

Originally posted by: ProfJohn
My mom and dad divorced when I was a freshman and I became the ?man of the house? so to speak for the next four years. I grew up and became very responsible very fast, had no choice. I have NO sense of entitlement at all, have had to work hard for everything I have.

It took your parent's divorce for you to become personally responsible for your well-being?

I was 13 at the time, not sure what you expect from a 13 year old.

in my day, 13 year-olds in atot were already making 6 figures

 

[child of wonder]

I'm going to go home tonight and tell my kids that they're pieces of crap and I won't love them unless they succeed in life.

 

[imported_Shivetya]

Originally posted by: Moonbeam
How f@cking dare anybody think their special. All of you will grovel in the dirt and feel as self worthless as me. You God Damned slime-balls that think you are something make me sick. You worthless bastards with permissive parents need to suffer in the concentration camp I went through. You girlie men pansies can't hold a candle to me. I'd like to turn Mr. Rogers into a club and beat you to death.

oh I think I am in love

 

[TheSlamma]

It's not my fault I eat too much
It's not my fault I drink too much
It's not my fault I gamble too much
It's not my fault I watch porn
It's not my fault I smoke

It was McDonalds
It was the smoking camel Joe Cool
It was my alcoholic father/mother/grandpa
My father beat me as a child
I was molested at camp
I fell off a horse when I was 9


How many excuses do Americans spew out a day to make it okay for them to have a problem? Billions. This is just one more to add to that pile, nothing new or special.

Look at todays management in the corporate workplace, I have never seen less accountability for anything in my life.

 

[Atomic Playboy]

Originally posted by: ProfJohn
If you want unscientific proof of this add a few young teens to your myspace and read the bulletins they post. ?I?m tired? ?I had a bad day today? and my favorite the nightly ?I am going to bed? It?s all me me me.

Yeah, how dare people talk about themselves on MYspace.

Back to the subject of entitlement: On Saturday a good friend calls me up and asks to borrow some money. Naturally, I want to know what he needs it for: "I have a $200 cell phone bill." Now, he can get service restored on Monday, but he absolutely needs the money RIGHT THEN, because he cannot go two days without his cell phone. I tell him that I'm not giving him money for something so frivolous and he gets completely irate.

A few hours later he swings by my place, much calmer, on hold with his phone company to get service restored.

I don't think the problem is one of entitlement; it is one of wanting to take the easiest road through everything. "I could stay on hold for several hours to get my cell phone working again, or I could just have my friend pay them." Personal responsibility takes a back seat to immediate pleasure. I'm guilty of this all the time, as are most of the people I know. But it's not something that is solely endemic to my generation; everything I've heard about the sixties, the free love, the drugs and rock and roll, that sounds an awful lot like what we're talking about today. I guess parents are just horrified when they see their kids grow up into them.

 

[Moonbeam]

Originally posted by: TheSlamma
It's not my fault I eat too much
It's not my fault I drink too much
It's not my fault I gamble too much
It's not my fault I watch porn
It's not my fault I smoke

It was McDonalds
It was the smoking camel Joe Cool
It was my alcoholic father/mother/grandpa
My father beat me as a child
I was molested at camp
I fell off a horse when I was 9


How many excuses do Americans spew out a day to make it okay for them to have a problem? Billions. This is just one more to add to that pile, nothing new or special.

Look at todays management in the corporate workplace, I have never seen less accountability for anything in my life.

You, of course, are solely to blame for this moronic point of view you hold. It's your fault you have either a low IQ or have fried your brain some how, or never collected enough life experience or common sense to put two and two together. You irresponsible imbecile, you, and then you have the gall to come on an internet site and criticize other people for THEIR faults. You are sufficiently deficient in mental power as to warrant some modicum of modesty, I should think. Here you are, first lesson in life unlearned, to not judge others with that big fat mote in your eye, and you do it, of course, to make yourself feel oh so much more responsible and capable then others. Geez, how pathetic. No?

 

[HombrePequeno]

Originally posted by: ProfJohn
There have been tons of studies that show the level of narcissism in the current generation of teens is threw the roof.

I've read one of those recent studies and their ideas of narcissism were horrible. They included quite a few things that would better be seen as individualism and self-esteem. Very little of it I would actually think of as narcissism.

 

[Brainonska511]

Originally posted by: ProfJohn
Now as to the young lady I spoke of? my point with her was that she actually believed that she could start her career just because she wants too. There is a whole generation of people out there who think like her, and yes there are many who understand the value of hard work and experience.

Finally, I told her what any intelligent person would have, the same thing the professional counselors at the school told her, take some classes and work on your skills and then try to get a job in the business, but don?t expect someone to hire you because ?you want to be a photographer.?

It just sounds like that person is a moron that expects a handout. I don't think you're correct in generalizing a whole generation as one centered around "entitlement." You only see the ones that acted like they deserve the world in a hand basket because the were born because they are the ones that stick out. There are tons more in the generation we are discussing that work hard to achieve and be what they can be and don't need to be belittled because some snot nosed brats make everyone else look like crap.

 

[JHutch]

Originally posted by: Skoorb
At least I sure hope I wasn't that much of a c**ksucker when I was 17.

You were. Go find your least favorite teacher in high school. You know, the one that had been beaten down as was just counting the days until retirement. He's retired now and will be happy to tell you just how much a "c**ksucker" you and all your friends were.

JHutch

 

[ebaycj]

Originally posted by: MadRat
Perhaps this generation is just being taught with a bunch of lousy teachers?

yeah let's blame the teachers, not the parents. blame the people who get yelled at by the parents if they try to use any tiny bit of discipline on students. what a brilliant idea, genius.

 

[AnitaPeterson]

Originally posted by: jrenz
I had another one of those dreams last night... that I was still in school, and forgot to go to one class all semester. It was terrifying.

WOW, I sometimes have these dreams as well... Exactly these dreams. It's the end of the semester, or the school year, and I realize there's this class I've been missing...

I wonder if this dream means anything in particular

 

[TheSlamma]

Originally posted by: Moonbeam
You, of course, are solely to blame for this moronic point of view you hold. It's your fault you have either a low IQ or have fried your brain some how, or never collected enough life experience or common sense to put two and two together. You irresponsible imbecile, you, and then you have the gall to come on an internet site and criticize other people for THEIR faults. You are sufficiently deficient in mental power as to warrant some modicum of modesty, I should think. Here you are, first lesson in life unlearned, to not judge others with that big fat mote in your eye, and you do it, of course, to make yourself feel oh so much more responsible and capable then others. Geez, how pathetic. No?

First of all it's an oberservation not a point of view moron.

Second, I'll let you know in person or on the internet.

 

[Moonbeam]

Originally posted by: TheSlamma

Originally posted by: Moonbeam
You, of course, are solely to blame for this moronic point of view you hold. It's your fault you have either a low IQ or have fried your brain some how, or never collected enough life experience or common sense to put two and two together. You irresponsible imbecile, you, and then you have the gall to come on an internet site and criticize other people for THEIR faults. You are sufficiently deficient in mental power as to warrant some modicum of modesty, I should think. Here you are, first lesson in life unlearned, to not judge others with that big fat mote in your eye, and you do it, of course, to make yourself feel oh so much more responsible and capable then others. Geez, how pathetic. No?

First of all it's an oberservation not a point of view moron.

Second, I'll let you know in person or on the internet.

Listen, you moron, you can't see what you don't already know. What you know IS your point of view. You see what you see because you have been brainwashed to see what you see. Moron. Hehe!

 

[MadRat]

Originally posted by: ebaycj

Originally posted by: MadRat
Perhaps this generation is just being taught with a bunch of lousy teachers?

yeah let's blame the teachers, not the parents. blame the people who get yelled at by the parents if they try to use any tiny bit of discipline on students. what a brilliant idea, genius.

If parents demand no discipline then they got what they demanded. If the teachers disagreed and stayed in the profession then they sold out. Blaming the parents is genius. The teachers spend more time on the average day with the kids than the parents do.

 

[Brainonska511]

Originally posted by: MadRat

Originally posted by: ebaycj

Originally posted by: MadRat
Perhaps this generation is just being taught with a bunch of lousy teachers?

yeah let's blame the teachers, not the parents. blame the people who get yelled at by the parents if they try to use any tiny bit of discipline on students. what a brilliant idea, genius.

If parents demand no discipline then they got what they demanded. If the teachers disagreed and stayed in the profession then they sold out. Blaming the parents is genius. The teachers spend more time on the average day with the kids than the parents do.

Doesn't matter. Parents instill what they want from their children before kids ever touch a school. The parents need to take control from the start, otherwise, it will be too late - especially when the kids are finally in school.

 

[MadRat]

Originally posted by: Brainonska511

Originally posted by: MadRat
If parents demand no discipline then they got what they demanded. If the teachers disagreed and stayed in the profession then they sold out. Blaming the parents is genius. The teachers spend more time on the average day with the kids than the parents do.

Doesn't matter. Parents instill what they want from their children before kids ever touch a school. The parents need to take control from the start, otherwise, it will be too late - especially when the kids are finally in school.

If parents let Mr. Rogers raise their kids then God have mercy on their souls.

 

[Wheezer]

Originally posted by: Moonbeam

Originally posted by: TheSlamma
It's not my fault I eat too much
It's not my fault I drink too much
It's not my fault I gamble too much
It's not my fault I watch porn
It's not my fault I smoke

It was McDonalds
It was the smoking camel Joe Cool
It was my alcoholic father/mother/grandpa
My father beat me as a child
I was molested at camp
I fell off a horse when I was 9


How many excuses do Americans spew out a day to make it okay for them to have a problem? Billions. This is just one more to add to that pile, nothing new or special.

Look at todays management in the corporate workplace, I have never seen less accountability for anything in my life.

You, of course, are solely to blame for this moronic point of view you hold. It's your fault you have either a low IQ or have fried your brain some how, or never collected enough life experience or common sense to put two and two together. You irresponsible imbecile, you, and then you have the gall to come on an internet site and criticize other people for THEIR faults. You are sufficiently deficient in mental power as to warrant some modicum of modesty, I should think. Here you are, first lesson in life unlearned, to not judge others with that big fat mote in your eye, and you do it, of course, to make yourself feel oh so much more responsible and capable then others. Geez, how pathetic. No?

Nice one moon, can't argue with the facts, so you resort to making generalized negative assumptions about someone who disagrees with you....that is not "my perception" that is what you said.

The truth is that a vast majority of people want to blame everyone else for their problems.

you are one of the biggest hypocrites I have see...and I have seen plenty.

You spew forth the ideas that everyone should look within themselves to see that the root cause of their problems is themselves and yet when anyone else puts that same thing out there for others you resort to your worthless babble about how unfair it is to "judge others"....no one is being judged here...the whole point of this thread is that people need to be accountable.....just like you expect everyone else to be....yet it seems that you think you are some insightful all knowing persona that is the only one who is allowed to make that call.

Remind me again exactly who the hell you think you are?

 

[Moonbeam]

Originally posted by: Wheezer

Originally posted by: Moonbeam

Originally posted by: TheSlamma
It's not my fault I eat too much
It's not my fault I drink too much
It's not my fault I gamble too much
It's not my fault I watch porn
It's not my fault I smoke

It was McDonalds
It was the smoking camel Joe Cool
It was my alcoholic father/mother/grandpa
My father beat me as a child
I was molested at camp
I fell off a horse when I was 9


How many excuses do Americans spew out a day to make it okay for them to have a problem? Billions. This is just one more to add to that pile, nothing new or special.

Look at todays management in the corporate workplace, I have never seen less accountability for anything in my life.

You, of course, are solely to blame for this moronic point of view you hold. It's your fault you have either a low IQ or have fried your brain some how, or never collected enough life experience or common sense to put two and two together. You irresponsible imbecile, you, and then you have the gall to come on an internet site and criticize other people for THEIR faults. You are sufficiently deficient in mental power as to warrant some modicum of modesty, I should think. Here you are, first lesson in life unlearned, to not judge others with that big fat mote in your eye, and you do it, of course, to make yourself feel oh so much more responsible and capable then others. Geez, how pathetic. No?

Nice one moon, can't argue with the facts, so you resort to making generalized negative assumptions about someone who disagrees with you....that is not "my perception" that is what you said.

The truth is that a vast majority of people want to blame everyone else for their problems.

you are one of the biggest hypocrites I have see...and I have seen plenty.

You spew forth the ideas that everyone should look within themselves to see that the root cause of their problems is themselves and yet when anyone else puts that same thing out there for others you resort to your worthless babble about how unfair it is to "judge others"....no one is being judged here...the whole point of this thread is that people need to be accountable.....just like you expect everyone else to be....yet it seems that you think you are some insightful all knowing persona that is the only one who is allowed to make that call.

Remind me again exactly who the hell you think you are?

I as somebody who knows the deepest truths because I watched Kung Fu. In that program, for example I learned the following, which pertains to your question. Who the hell do I think I am?:

"A man is three three things. What he thinks he is, what others think he is, and what he really is.

But in this case I know what I am not. I am not whom you address in your post. You went wildly astray reacting only to the superficial. I was trying in my own unusual way to show TheSlamma what his judgmentalism looks like when externalized and reflected back at him. Notice how upset he and you are by this? The other guy is always responsible for his problems, but when I come along and tell you two you are responsible for yours, my my, how different the argument suddenly becomes. Now you two think up every excuse in the book to direct responsibility away from you.

And additionally, all your knowledge and opinions about responsibility applied to others are as useless to others as they were when applied to you. Nobody feels responsible for anything because the first fact is that responsibility is always deflected when it applies to you.

Bottom line is that nobody is responsible for anything because people are not real. They are mechanical beings walking around in their sleep. You don't know what you feel and so you don't know why you act like you do. As a victim of unconscious irrational motivations you can't possibly exercise real responsibility. You are a machine that makes up explanations for what you do as you go along never suspecting your real motives.

And one of your irrational actions is to blame others who aren't responsible. You don't see it's absurd and you don't know why you do it. But you have a deep need to believe what you believe. Hehehe.

Just imagine what a mess you would be in if you hated yourself and the self righteousness of that hate kept you from seeing you are what you hate or being able to forgive yourself for it. That would be a very sorry state of affairs.

 

[Polish3d]

Originally posted by: ProfJohn


Signs of narcissism among college students have been rising for 25 years, according to a recent study led by a San Diego State University psychologist. Obviously, Mr. Rogers alone can't be blamed for this. But as Prof. Chance sees it, "he's representative of a culture of excessive doting."

Prof. Chance teaches many Asian-born students, and says they accept whatever grade they're given; they see B's and C's as an indication that they must work harder, and that their elders assessed them accurately. They didn't grow up with Mr. Rogers or anyone else telling them they were born special.

By contrast, American students often view lower grades as a reason to "hit you up for an A because they came to class and feel they worked hard," says Prof. Chance. He wishes more parents would offer kids this perspective: "The world owes you nothing. You have to work and compete. If you want to be special, you'll have to prove it."

[/quote]


Bullshit. If I think I deserve an A given my work I'll damn well go and fucking fight for it. Half my professors have been half-random graders anyway; I've had profs come to class in pajamas before.

Besides, Professors forget who they work for. Their grading styles are not always quality ones. I would never accept a grade I thought was unfair.

This guy is an asshole. I pay inordinate amounts of money for my education and I expect to be treated with respect by the professors to whom much of that money goes. It's their job to grade and teach, but they work for US.

Teachers and professors are not infallible, why the hell would anyone take their word as omiscient absolute. I've had teachers WRONGLY grade me lower before, and there is a great degree of randomness and bullshit in the way various teachers grade.


That being said, I work very hard and have never needed to contest a grade in a way that was a big hallabaloo, and have only ever done so at all two times.

 

[Polish3d]

Originally posted by: loki8481
baby boomers complaining about any other generation having a sense of "entitlement" need a good swift kick to the nuts.

LOL truly. The shittiest American generation in American history

 

[jackace]

One big thing the young adults (me included) have learned from watching our parents is all things are up for negotiation, and rules are meant to be broken (or atleast challenged). If that makes us appear narcissist then so be it.

 

[Jeff7]

Mr. Rogers. Are they serious?

Originally posted by: Moonbeam
How f@cking dare anybody think their special. All of you will grovel in the dirt and feel as self worthless as me. You God Damned slime-balls that think you are something make me sick. You worthless bastards with permissive parents need to suffer in the concentration camp I went through. You girlie men pansies can't hold a candle to me. I'd like to turn Mr. Rogers into a club and beat you to death.

:laugh:
Death by Mr. Rogers.

I watched Mr. Rogers and Sesame Street. I don't think of myself as entitled to much of anything, nor very special - only to the extent that Ghandi once spoke of: "What you do is of little significance, but it is very important that you do it."

 

[Red Dawn]

Originally posted by: Frackal

Originally posted by: loki8481
baby boomers complaining about any other generation having a sense of "entitlement" need a good swift kick to the nuts.

LOL truly. The shittiest American generation in American history

No the second shiitiest generation. We raised the shittiest generation who are now raising the soon to be shittiest generation.