Accessibility ensures that all people get to experience life’s special moments. However, one woman’s attempt to make her terminally ill sister’s dream come true was met with an unsettling display of entitlement.

A few days ago, Reddit userDentgirlshared a story onr/BoomersBeingFoolsabout taking her sibling, who is gravely ill and wheelchair-bound, to see her favorite band.

But despite careful planning, their evening took a shocking turn when an aggressive stranger confronted them, accusing the sister of “faking it” and demanding they move.

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This woman took her wheelchair-bound sister to a concert, hoping to enjoy a special night together

Woman in a red shirt sitting in a wheelchair, surrounded by people standing, depicting misunderstanding and disbelief.

Image credits:dotshock / envato (not the actual photo)

However, a rude stranger threatened to spoil their night over a petty disagreement

Text discussing a woman considering palliative care and needing help with her wheelchair.

Text about inaccessible concert venue lacking wheelchair accommodations.

Text description of an incident involving a woman unable to easily exit due to a man blocking with a walker.

Text on narrow space for walker, mentioning difficulty moving chairs to exit the venue.

Text image expressing distress over a woman’s mistreatment and lack of assistance from bystanders.

Image credits:dentgirl

Elderly man with a displeased expression wearing a white shirt against a white background.

Image credits:Andrea Piacquadio / pexels (not the actual photo)

Because of such interactions, entitled people are often leading more miserable lives than others

According to therapist Dr. Steven Stosny, who has treated over 6,000 clients for various forms of anger, abuse, and violence, confronting or arguing with people like this old man creates pointless power struggles, which only increase their sense of entitlement.

Therefore, a better approach, Stosnysays, is to ignore their assertions of entitlement and act according to our own sense of fairness.

However, those who keep arguing with the world aren’t necessarily “winning” at anything. On the contrary, entitlement may lead to chronic disappointment because, as researchers from Case Western Reserve University have observed, it can throw people into a “perpetual loop of distress.”

Older man looking upset, touching his head, wearing a beige shirt.

Image credits:Curated Lifestyle / unsplash (not the actual photo)

They reached this conclusion after analyzing more than 170 academic papers where they found that people who possess high levels of entitlement consistently fall victim to a three-part cycle: first, they don’t always get everything they think they deserve, leaving them constantly vulnerable to unmet expectations. Those unmet expectations are then perceived as injustices, leading to volatile emotions, including anger and sadness. Finally, to justify those emotions, entitled people reassure themselves of their own specialness. This might help them feel better temporarily, but in the long run, it keeps them imprisoned in the process.

“At extreme levels, entitlement is a toxic narcissistic trait, repeatedly exposing people to the risk of feeling frustrated, unhappy, and disappointed with life,”sayslead author of the study, Joshua Grubbs, Ph.D.

“Oftentimes, life, health, aging, and the social world don’t treat us as well as we’d like. Confronting these limitations is especially threatening to an entitled person because it violates their worldview of self-superiority,” Grubbs adds.

As the story went viral, people have rallied to express their support for the sisters

Reddit comments discussing filing a complaint about a concert incident involving a rude boomer.

Reddit comments discussing a boomer yelling at a woman to get up from her wheelchair.

Reddit comment exchange discussing a woman being yelled at to stand from her wheelchair.

Text exchange discussing a conflict with a boomer about a dying woman’s final concert.

Discussion about confronting a disrespectful boomer who accused a woman in a wheelchair of faking illness.

Reddit comments discussing an incident where a boomer yelled at a woman in a wheelchair while others didn’t intervene.

Reddit comments discussing a boomer’s rude remark to a woman in a wheelchair.

Reddit conversation discussing an incident involving a woman in a wheelchair being yelled at by a boomer.

Reddit comments discussing the bystander effect in relation to a woman in a wheelchair.

Reddit comments discussing ADA compliance and advice for dealing with aggressive behavior toward a wheelchair user.

Reddit comments discussing a rude boomer yelling at a woman in a wheelchair during a concert.

Reddit conversation: user reacts to a comment about a woman’s response on her life expectancy.

Comment reacting to a boomer yelling at a woman in a wheelchair.

Comment criticizing boomers' behavior towards others, suggesting they face consequences.

Comment screenshot with user suggesting a woman is faking her need for a walker.

Text from a comment discussing an elderly man’s inappropriate behavior in public.

Some shared their own similar experiences

Social media conversation highlighting Boomer disbelief in disability and lack of empathy for wheelchair users.

Text discusses a boomer’s accusation and lack of accessibility for wheelchair users.

Text mentioning struggles with movement and judgement from boomers due to weight and disability.

Text post about an aggressive boomer pushing through a store entrance, resulting in an accident.

Text exchange about boomer criticizing disabled woman using handicapped parking.

Text describes experiences of a young cancer patient facing accusations of faking illness from boomers.

After the author of the post heard back from the concert organizers, she posted an update

Text update expressing gratitude and recounting efforts to contact a concert organizer.

Text excerpt about sending holiday cards with special notes for a memorable night.

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