Pet Peeve - Entitled People

What are your pet peeves?  I've asked numerous applicants this question before out of curiosity on how they would handle different situations.  When asked myself, my reply has always been, people who are late.  I absolutely abhor when people are late without notifying me in advanced.  This applies for friends, families, colleagues, and clients! Sure, people who are close to may often tell me that I don't like anybody or that everything pisses me off, but being late is one of the quickest way to make my blood boil.

More recently, I've found a new pet peeve.  Entitled people.  In the past 2 years, it almost seems as though my life has filled itself with entitled people.  This was not intentional, but circumstantial to my current situation.  Almost every day, I am mixed in with people who think they deserve more for what they don't do, people who think the world should be handed to them on a silver platter, and chauvinistic assholes who think that women were made to clean and do everything at their beck and call.  Oh, and just because you have more years than me, doesn't mean you get automatic respect.  Respect is to be earned and raising your voice at me is a surefire way to lose my respect. I don't give two shits who you are.  Grown ups have civilized conversations without throwing a fucking tantrum.

Again, perhaps it's the situation that I'm currently in now where I am surrounded by immigrants here in America on visas.  These individuals seem to be the worst culprits of entitlement.  Demanding that all their time off be paid when they haven't worked the time needed to begin accruing, demanding leniency because of their personal lives, demanding schedule changes to accommodate their lives when they were hired for a certain shift.  The American born people in my same environment have been rule followers and don't jeopardize their opportunity they have here.  Unfortunately, in an industry where almost everyone and anyone can be outsourced, us Americans tend to play more by the rules and feel at a disadvantage to those here on their visas.

I've never been in a place where I've felt so defeated, unappreciated, and where it's OK for men to be chauvinistic. I also was ignorant to the chauvinistic characters of those from other cultures.  Don't get me wrong, I love to learn and embrace people and their cultures as it comes, but as with everything, there is always a dark side, too. 

Days like this make me want to work even harder to a better future.  Being in a position where acceptance, ethics, and handling grey areas is most predominant, it's difficult coming up with a tactful way to address individuals without stepping out of boundaries.  Where I'm at now is not where I intend to be.  I already know that I can't change the world around me and that whatever change I hope to see in others, is what I should improve within myself.  In a time where I was less passionate about people, indifference came easily.  Not so much anymore.  Indifference is difficult when my need for justice in everything that has to do with those I love and me is strong.

So there you have it.  Another true pet peeve I have.  I'm working towards tolerance and compassion for others.  Boy, that's a whole different long ass journey for me....

<3chelle