entitlement | Unmotherly Insights

I like to write about my kids. My eldest son, Levi, is totally into it. When I write something that isn’t about him he mopes around like a wilted Lily. But my younger son, Eli, would rather remain quietly hidden amongst the desert Lantana than be singled out in print. When they were younger it was easier. Now that they’re 14 and almost 11 I feel like I have to ask permission before I write or publish anything personal. It’s seriously cramping my style.

But this time I found a story about good parenting that isn’t my own. It isn’t my own because I don’t have the guts to be a really good parent. If you’re not living under a rock you’ve likely heard about the parents who sent back their 11 year old son’s Nintendo Wii U Console with Super Mario Kart game with the following reason “Son was put on the naughty list, had to watch it being returned.” It sparked a flurry of comments on Reddit and all across the net, most parents claiming it almost abusive to humiliate the child this way. Um…am I the only sane parent left on the planet? This is brilliant!

Christmas presents are a privilege, not a right! If these parents found their child’s behavior to be sub-par, they had every right to return his Nintendo Wii U Console with Super Mario Kart game. What is wrong with parents today? Abusive? I’ve been reading the comments on Imgur where the boy’s folks posted the image above. Some said that since the boy had already opened the gift it was too late to send it back with the “naughty” note. Too late? I’m sorry, but in my world if your kid misbehaves and you want to take away something he’s had for the past 12 years, I don’t have a problem with it. It’s ridiculous how manipulated we parents have become. We don’t want to “shame” our kids or cause them any pain, blah blah blah. When kids are rude and disrespectful we give them our iPads and tell them to keep quiet. That’s the real messed up message we send, present company included.

Take back your role as parental leader and guide. If you see this move as some kind of parental abuse of power, get a backbone. This is good old fashioned parenting at its best. And as far as I’m concerned, it’s inspiring. In fact, I’m going to pry my kids’ kindles out of their grimy little paws right after I post this. Bah humbug!

I don’t know about you, but if I was a passenger on US Airways flight 1549 last week that miraculously landed in the Hudson River without a single casualty, I’d be dancing a jig and celebrating every breath I inhaled for rest of my days. Not so for Joe Hart, a Charlotte based salesman, who suffered a bloody nose during the emergency water landing. He wants “to be made whole” for the incident and scoffed at the gracious $5000 check US Airways sent each and every passenger on board that plane. A little something to “help with immediate needs” after the crash, explained US Airways.

But, lo and behold, it’s not enough for Joe and a few other disgruntled passengers, all of whom have contacted lawyers and are considering legal action against the airline. Their cause is being championed by the National Air Disaster Alliance and Foundation who claims that the $5000 is merely a drop in the bucket.

Passengers argue that they lost more than $5000 worth of laptops, nursing equipment, clothing, etc… And poor Mr. Hart, he’s having a hard time flying again. He’s tense and super sensitive to turbulence. Oh, well, maybe he ought to notice THAT HE’S ALIVE!

My cynical husband said this would happen. “Just wait,” he warned on the day after the crash. “It’s just a matter of time before one of those lucky-to-be-alive passengers sues US Airways for some kind of negligence or reckless endangerment.”

“That’s utterly absurd,” I told him. “What would make you say such a horrible thing? Those people have got to be so grateful for just being alive.”

Fast forward to yesterday when the stories began to emerge about pending legal action against the airline that saved 155 lives because of the amazing forethought and technical prowess of one Captain Chesley B. Sullenberger. It’s enough to make a person sick. This may be the single most inane illustration of voracious greed I have ever witnessed. There’s no one to blame for what happened to flight 1549. The plane collided with a flock of geese, for God’s sake. It’s not like the pilot was banging the flight attendant and slammed into the side of a skyscraper.

The law firm “Kreindler & Kreindler” in NY, that represents crash survivors, confirms that they’ve been contacted by several passengers. I really can’t get my mind around this. What kind of negligence, malfeasance or mechanical misdemeanor are these ungrateful nitwits charging? Geese are kind of outside the pilot’s jurisdiction.

There is some shred of hope in all this. Amber Wells, another Charlotte passenger on board flight 1549 says that she’s so grateful to have survived and be with her 9-month-old baby, she hasn’t even thought about her belongings. “Everything that’s gone can be replaced,” said Wells, “My life cannot be replaced.”

Well, Halleluiah for one voice of reason in the midst of the cacophony of insanity and entitlement. I hope US Airways fights every single lawsuit that comes their way. They did everything right, and if they settle even one of these baseless law suits, whose sole purpose is to make some fast, easy cash, they’ll be demeaning themselves and discrediting the heroism of Captain “Sully” and his entire flight crew.