Taking that first step off the curb and onto the street without concern of who is driving by and knowing that any oncoming vehicles will have to slam on the brakes to avoid an accident, is that same attitude that I see everywhere nowadays. It's all about "me". Skrew everybody else. IMHO.
I see it all the time, and when those feet are off the sidewalk, I stop. But so often, if the pedestrian would stop and take a look before entering the cross walk, they may see that there is nobody behind me for blocks and if they just stay on the curb for 3 more seconds, everyone would be happy.