Mister Entitlement

Stood in line in the supermarket located in the public area of NATO’s Brussels headquarters, a man in front of me prepares to pay for a yoghurt.

“Do you have a spoon?, the man asks the cashier.

“Yes, I have.” the cashier responds, holding up a pack of plastic cutlery (knife, fork, spoon and serviette). Then he adds: “That will be 50 cents, please”.

“Really?”, the man in front of me replies incredulously.

Then a few moments of silence.

“Is that ok?”, asks the cashier. 

“No, not really, but if I suppose I will have to pay”, replies the man.

I was speechless and I couldn’t believe my ears. Thoughts were racing through my head at the speed of light. “Of course you have to pay for it. What made you think it would be free? Surely you can afford 50 cents?! And if I’d worked in the shop, I couldn’t simply give you a free spoon simply because you don’t want to pay for it”.

This guy works at NATO and judging from his manner and his looks, he probably earns somewhere between 5.000 euro – 10.000 euro. And he is probably exempt from paying tax. Unfortunately, I noticed that some very well-off officials working at NATO or European institutions – people usually ranked with high grades – who are blessed not only with breath-taking incomes usually exempt from tax, but also have many benefits such as special “diplomatic discount” deals when purchasing cars, or not paying tax for some electrical items, develop over time a huge sense of entitlenement. They always expect to get special conditions and special care. What is wrong with these people?

I decided to say something, however. I couldn’t just let him get away with it. But before I knew it, the guy paid the 50 cents and left, not giving me the chance to have my say. 

So I will say it now: Twat!

PS: I’ll give this guy a break. After all, he did pay the 50 cents.