We are Portlanders, many of us like our social justice, yes? Great. This means we tend to throw around words like "privilege" and "entitlement" which made sense in women's studies or sociology 101, but didn't quite translate to the world outside of the classroom as you might have liked. I would just like to suggest that we all review the real-world definitions of these words, outside of the PC, proletariater-than-thou context that we have come to associate them with.

Entitlement - the legal right or just claim to receive or do something.

So, if you want to go around accusing people of FEELING entitled to things which they are not, such as tips or what have you, that is okay. It's pretty well worn territory these days, but sure. Go for it. You can be another social justice crusader of Portland who does nothing to change the situation but instead sits back accusing people of entitled feelings. Whatever.

Now, if you're accusing people of having an entitled attitude towards, say... riding a bike in the street. Well, the problem there is on your end, as cyclists actually ARE legally entitled to ride in the street. You FEEL entitled to dictate who should and shouldn't use the street, but are not legally entitled to do so, which is why you're venting to the internet instead. You see how this works?

Our next lesson will cover the concept of privilege: when it's a useful concept, vs. when it's a hypocritical accusation that just kind of makes you look like a dick.