“What’s Wrong With People” Rant #20

OK, lemme set this up first:
Last night, I was helping out someone at a screener by making certain no one unauthorized was sitting in the saved section. For those of you who don’t know (and there were plenty last night), there’s an agreement with the movie studio that a certain number of seats are left available for authorized press, promotion employees, and special guests of the studio. If the seats aren’t kept open, the studios wouldn't have any more free screenings. Before anyone entered the theatre, they were told not to sit in the taped-off rows. Naturally, several groups tried anyway.
One older couple started to remove the tape to head for some reserved seats. I stopped them and asked if they were with the press and on the list. The woman said “yes”. Before I had the chance to inquire further, the young lady in charge had come up and asked them for their names (she had the list). The woman immediately stated her son was a lawyer. No one had asked. Turns out they were not on the list, nor would New Yorkers visiting their son in California with one of them working for a small, local (New York, local) magazine that has zip to do with movies be considered “authorized press”.
Regardless, as most of the reserved seats were empty, the woman in charge was kind enough to let them sit in the that section.

Why is it necessary for people to be dicks when offered something free? Is the general concept of free something that has been forgotten?

This is not the first time I have witnessed this. When I was in college, a homeless man asked me for some change. Oddly, change (quarters) was all I had on me. Taking out $1.50 for the washing machine at the laundromat, I handed him over $10 in change. He looked at it with an expression on his face like I had just crapped in his hand, got up, and stomped off. Clearly he was expecting more- probably in bill form.

For me, it’s a sad commentary on society that people think they deserve more for their money when they paid nothing; that they deserve better than what’s available when someone is simply being kind to them. Sure, there’s got to be some cut-off minimum- no one would want free food that’s spoiled. But seriously, what happened to common sense?

“I’m me. I didn’t pay for this but I think I deserve better than everyone else, and I’ll lie and make vague threats to get it.” That’s all I really heard from that old woman at the theatre, like it is dubbed over her whiney voice.
Damned if this type of snobbery doesn’t set off my instinct to crack noses with the palm of my hand. Sure- I could have handed them out at no charge, but would people have expected more?