Guess Why You Don't Have A Mate or Friends?

I think that it's ridiculous the number of people that I encounter who have entitlement issues.  Being active on Twitter and Facebook will subject you to so many people who no idea what it takes to be a decent human being yet alone maintain a relationship or a friendship.

Since when did "I get what I want or else" become the standard for relationships/friendships?

Reality TV is the epitome of what not to do in a relationship or marriage.  The reality shows that are centered around family basically show one spouse trying to one-up the other.  It's all about leverage.  One person is constantly trying to have his or her way without any regards to the other person's feelings.  It's the most pathetic way for any couple to live.

Sadly, our kids are being brought up in this environment and yes, they will be worse.  Why?  Because it's all they know in regards to how relationships work (unless their parents teach them otherwise).  People around 30 years old and up grew up with shows like The Cosby Show or Family Ties.  They know what a normal family looks like.

People between 20-30 grew up on Martin, Living Single, Seinfeld and other shows that promoted shacking or fast-moving relationships.  You didn't see too many marriages in the 90's in regards to popular sitcoms.

People under 20 watched The Simple Life, Jersey Shore, Real Housewives of (Insert City Here), Love & Hip-Hop, etc.  They've seen nothing but dysfunction in regards to relationships and family structure.  They see constant examples of people disrespecting their mate, family, friends and even themselves.  They think that if someone isn't doing what they want them to do, then it's okay to do things to hurt them emotionally, verbally and in some cases physically.

That treatment has now become the standard for a lot of people.  If someone says something to hurt their mate's feelings, then there are no apologies.  There is no understanding.  Just a "sucks to be you" attitude is all you'll get from the offender.  Because if you don't agree with them then you're their enemy.  It's personal.  You're against them.  "How dare you not see my point of view although I don't care about yours!"

When it comes to friendship, if you find yourself not caring what someone thinks of you, then something is wrong.  I'm not saying that a person's opinion of you defines who you are, but I am saying that something is fundamentally wrong with someone who is okay with having enemies.

How many of these ignorant memes have you seen on IG:

"Trust gets you killed?" Uh, who are you trusting? Scarface?

I'm not even sure if I know what this means, but it had a ton of Likes on IG.

Excuse the language on the photo, but I wanted to show the pure ignorance that exists in cyberspace.  IG is a place where people with absolutely nothing to say have an audience.  It just reinforces the bad attitudes that we see in society.  If your friend seems to be spending more time with other people than you, then you call them "fake."  If your mate doesn't do the things you want them to do, then they're disrespecting you.  Relationships and friendships grow harder and harder to maintain every day because people just can't see that their attitude is the problem and not the people around them.

I spend a lot of time chatting with people online and talking to them on radio shows and podcasts.  They all ask the same questions about having friends or a significant other yet refuse to believe that everything starts with them.  Whenever I ask about what they bring to the table they go into defense mode.  It's always someone else's fault.  SMH.

What brings about that sense of entitlement that makes a person think they're always right?

#T2Q's Toss Up Thursday, 2/27/14 (PHOTO)

@DirecTV Has Lost Its Mind

They're always nice to new customers to get you sucked in.

My DirecTV bill was $141 this month. That's more than my electric bill. I don't get it. Well, then again, yes, I do get it. I'm the victim of "nickel and diming." Of my $141 balance, only $89 of it is for actual television. The remaining $52 comes from add-ons.

Now, I will admit that some of the add-ons are optional, so I always have the right to refuse them, but others are mandatory.

I have four HD-DVR's, so I pay $6 per month for each. Why four HD-DVR's? Because it would be the same price had I gone with four standard definition receivers. Speaking of HD, that's an additional $10. Despite the fact that HD is free "over-the-air" and has been around since the late 90's, DirecTV has upcharged it. So, that's $34 per month right there on top of the $89 for actual television.  Even if I had an RVU compatible TV that didn't require a receiver, I'd still get charge $6 for "having a compatible TV."  How crooked is that to pay the same price even when you don't have an HD-DVR?

Oh, and I almost forgot that since I have a certain type of HD-DVR (one that isn't super-slow) that I have to pay a $10 fee for an "Advanced Receiver." Twice. That's right. Two charges. I'm not sure why I get charged twice, but I just do. They told me that the price for an Advanced Receiver is $20 and that my bill is correct on that. Then there's an additional $3 for Whole-Home service which allows my DVR's to communicate with one another. Then I have Showtime which is $14 per month. I will be canceling it as soon as I finish this season of "House of Lies." It's a shame, too, because I mainly used Showtime and HBO to watch Boxing. I dropped HBO in December and will be doing the same with Showtime. It's too expensive with options like Crackle, Hulu, Amazon Prime and Netflix. As for Boxing, I'll just have to give up on watching the big fights and settle for the up-and-coming fighters on ESPN, NBC Sports and FOX Sports.

Lastly is a fee for $8 that offers some sort of protection on my electrical equipment or something. I don't recall ever asking for this charge, but it's been on my bill for a few months now. I'll remove that once I call to remove a DVR and Showtime which will save me $28 just from doing that. Now, I do get some credits: $6 off for my primary DVR, $5 promotional credit on Showtime since I tried to cancel it in December and got talked out of it because of a discounted offer, and some other miscellaneous $5 credit. So, my bill could actually be higher than $141 if it were not for these credits.

And don't forget that you have to pay $199 - $399 to "use" their HD-DVR's.  That's right.  You don't own them, you lease them.  So, despite paying that ridiculous amount they'll charge you that aforementioned $6 per month to use them.

Look, DirecTV, I understand that the TV networks are raking you guys over the coals. These "fee fights" you've had with the television networks that are being greedy and wanting more money is affecting you. However, you have to realize that these add-on fees are very frustrating to your customers.

I've been with DirecTV since '97 and my bill has gone from $60-something per month to more than double that now. To top it off, my brother has super-fast internet service and HD programming with Verizon Fios for under $100.

It's frustrating to say the least and I will eventually have to divorce DirecTV. I stayed this long because of the NFL Sunday Ticket, but there are now other options for me to view the games every Sunday. I can also use Hulu, Netflix and an antennae to watch the shows that I normally enjoy. As for sports, well, I guess I'll have to go online for that as well. I can't let DirecTV hold me hostage any more. Although I live in a small neighborhood without a lot of options, I can't pay $141 per month for "TV service" despite the fact that I can afford it.

"It's the principalities of it, Smoky!"

  Are you sick of companies "nickel and diming" you to death with "service" fees?