O O Ø O O O O
Entitlement
Last month, my wife and I flew to Kahului (pronounced like it sounds), Hawaii, on Harmony Airlines. At the check-in counter at YYC there were two laundry bins of plastic leis. As the lineup moved forward, passengers helped themselves to the flowers, garlanding their torsos with multicoloured arrangements in pink, orange and blue.
We declined to take one, preferring to wait for the possibility of the real thing on the island.
I think people are attracted to the leis—in this case, the approximation of the leis—because they represent the idea of hospitality. We want to feel welcome, and to be welcomed. Apparently, we will even go so far as to welcome ourselves, before we’ve arrived. Before our trip is even begun.
This is presumption. Sitting in an airport departure lounge with plastic flowers around our necks has no relationship to hospitality. It is, however, an expression of entitlement. “I deserve to be welcomed, even if I have to welcome myself in a contrived manner.”
This is a further manifestation of a more common phenomenon equally in evidence at the gate that morning: the ubiquitous grande Starbucks coffee cup, mutely testifying to the holder’s entitlement to luxury. “I deserve this.” The Starbucks empire is built on this attitude.
Having now observed this phenomenon, I will make no further editorial, because although we had foregone the golem-like leis in Calgary International—holding hope for a genuine and only slightly contrived floral greeting from our friends on Maui—both of us held mermaid-emblazoned cups in our hands.
Hey, we got up at 0500 to catch that flight. We deserved those chai.
Evan Spence
April 11, 2006
OOØOOOODCCLI
April 17th, 2006 at 4:12 pm
I flew to Oahu w/ a friend recently, and we took the fake leis. I don’t think we thought that we deserved to be welcomed prior to our arrival, more the thought of look at all of those other people sans leis, we are going somewhere hot and quite possibly they are not!! I am glad we did get lei’d here in Calgary, because on Oahu the only other lei I got were some fugly shells.
April 17th, 2006 at 8:51 pm
I’m tempted to make a comment about a real lay, with a real Kjell, but that would be inappropriate.
And I’m all about propriety.
April 19th, 2006 at 1:08 pm
In addition to being inappropriate, wouldn’t it also be anticlimactic?
April 19th, 2006 at 3:55 pm
Merely brief.
April 19th, 2006 at 5:31 pm
“pintday.org: merely brief.”
April 19th, 2006 at 10:28 pm
pintday.org: merely brief… unless it’s kev