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"Entitled" is another throwaway word. It usually means "people who get different stuff from the government than I do".

"Entitled" is another throwaway word. It usually means "people who get different stuff from the government than I do".

I don't know, I think it's pretty descriptive at a macro level.  

There is no doubt in my mind that my generation feels more "entitled" than my grandparents' generation (The Greatest Generation) did.  It's not entirely our fault, we were simply raised with more "stuff" in a more comfortable lifestyle, more convenience, less demand for physical labor and more demand for knowledge workers, etc.  And so we came to expect having more and getting more as a matter of course.

On the flipside, in general my grandparents' generation worked more hours for less pay and less buying power.  Over their lifetimes they suffered more hardship from famine, disease, and war, and they didn't really complain about it.  At least, not until they got really, REALLY old. 

And in general, I also see what I consider to be even more entitlement than GenX, from the millennials.  It's not every single one of them, but there's certainly a pattern.  For example, my two nephews in their late 20s, both are smart, but neither graduated from high school because it was just too hard for them to wake up in the morning.  Not kidding, one of them basically just couldn't wake up in the morning, didn't want to go to school, and dropped out and got his GED.

They expect the government to do a LOT more for them than I ever did, and they crave it. One of them actually got angry and posted a social media rant when the news went around that Domino's Pizza was out fixing roads.  He didn't think they should be doing that, he felt it was entirely the government's responsibility (which it is of course) but that private businesses shouldn't even be allowed to do it.  I was shocked.  Definitely not the viewpoint I took when I heard about it. I applauded it, because I'm happy when corporations do something for the societal good, even if it's to their own advantage as well.

And all of the other myriad of examples that come to mind when one thinks of "entitled millennials" pretty much applies to them.  But like I said, it's not all of them. I work closely with a couple millennials on my team at work, and they are bright, hard-working, and motivated.  Still, I think the term "entitled" applies in a lot of cases, and isn't necessarily so easily written off as "he/she thinks different or gets more stuff than I do."

interesting the different definitions of a new hip term "snowflake"

here in the upper midwest (dirt farmer territory), snowflake has been used in the context that those folks are simply much too easily offended (sensative)

but, obviously different things have different definitions or different meanings 

similarly, the United States flag may mean something different to a veteran of war than to another person

same with the confederate flag, to some it's a symbol of slavery, it's never been that to me.

So, an entitlement is one to which one is not entitled.

We're not talking about an "entitlement" we're talking about people feeling "entitled."  They believe they are owed something that they have not earned and have no right to.

It has a perfectly cromulent definition. I'm suggesting it's become a throwaway word because people just attach it when they think someone is getting a government freebie.

I'm railing against a world in which very complex concepts are being reduced to the absurd and used as cudgels against those with whom we disagree.

We, who go to work, earn our compensation fairly and above board, then return home to our chores and leisure, celebrate the notion of "limited government". It seems compatible with maximal freedom, and who wouldn't want more freedom? It seems most equitable.

In doing so, we leave unspoken the notion of road building, sewage, the building codes, and professional licenses like dentistry. We don't recognize law enforcement, education, nor the elevator inspector. Even then, there's still the capital finance and taxation strata that fund our employers and their customers.

We don't dwell on these because they're a part of being American, and they should be. Guarding the well being of citizenry in their daily pursuits underpins the ethical legitimacy of government. Being able to leave our dwellings and go out into the world, being reasonably secure in person and property, allows us to improve it.

TLDR: Your benefit is a handout. My benefit is a right.

It has a perfectly cromulent definition. I'm suggesting it's become a throwaway word because people just attach it when they think someone is getting a government freebie.

I'm railing against a world in which very complex concepts are being reduced to the absurd and used as cudgels against those with whom we disagree.

We, who go to work, earn our compensation fairly and above board, then return home to our chores and leisure, celebrate the notion of "limited government". It seems compatible with maximal freedom, and who wouldn't want more freedom? It seems most equitable.

In doing so, we leave unspoken the notion of road building, sewage, the building codes, and professional licenses like dentistry. We don't recognize law enforcement, education, nor the elevator inspector. Even then, there's still the capital finance and taxation strata that fund our employers and their customers.

We don't dwell on these because they're a part of being American, and they should be. Guarding the well being of citizenry in their daily pursuits underpins the ethical legitimacy of government. Being able to leave our dwellings and go out into the world, being reasonably secure in person and property, allows us to improve it.

TLDR: Your benefit is a handout. My benefit is a right.

There's a distinction between common goods that benefit everyone, or "society in general," and programs targeted to benefit some people in particular.

Law enforcement, courts, streets, roads, mail delivery (decreasingly), general rule of law are common goods.

OTOH, commodity cheese programs and their ilk have specific beneficiaries.

People use it that way all over the place now.  But that's not how it originated.  First, it was an insult intended to convey that the accused insisted on being treated in a special or unique way.  And more specifically than that, it was almost exclusively old folks targeting millennials with the accusation.

there isn't too much that originates in these parts
by the time it gets to flyover country it's been thru the mill