It's a new generation thing. Instant gratification. Ie; participation trophy.... I tend to agree with CPJ. You see it. Something doesn't go your way, you protest and riot and think it's ok. It's more than sports. It's a new way of living.
Oh, come
on! Generally, when people decide they're going to put their bodies on the line against the state - that, if you'll recall, looks askance at resistance of this type - they have a much better reason then a "sense of entitlement". And "instant gratification" doesn't usually lead to a desire to confront the cops. You have to be really ticked off about something to get to that stage. We've seen plenty of reasons for that recently, btw.
I might also add that this whole business about building the self-esteem of children is a sword that cuts both ways. If a kid hasn't got the confidence to confront obstacles, then she'll never try to do it. True, you can get kids who think they are the cat's pajamas and won't face the fact that they aren't, but, hey, I grew up in the '60s and I knew a
lot of kids like that. On the whole, I'd rather have a kid who will buck up under pressure because they have confidence that they can do better (the Cat testifies how that works above) then a kid who doesn't think they can cut it and gives up. The best student I ever had blistered the course in high school with a D+ average; she was a beautiful young woman and her family told her that she'd never get married if men thought she was smarter then they were (truth: she told me). She got into our college on an administrative whim after sitting out 2 years. But she
knew she was smart and, three years later (early grad), she was a full scholarship student at Duke Law. Because she thought she could do it.