I'm sure I've mentioned before that the coffee shop where I work is connected to a college bookstore. Right across the street is a rather large junior college. To the staff, not students, of this schoool, we provide a 20% discount on all menu items or merchandise purchased.

I hate customers who come in here with a sense of entitlement because we provide discounts.

It is not something we do because you are the world's most goddamn important person who teaches kids or cleans the shitcan at the college. We do it so you will tell your colleagues where they can get a cup of coffee for a few cents cheaper than Starbucks so we can make more money when more of you badly salaried assholes come in. If you come in and I've never seen your sorry ass here before and I ring you up and you ask me with obvious disdain, "where's my discount?" I'm going to stand there and wonder where your proof of employment with the college or military, EMT, fire department, or law enforcement ID is and why you didn't announce that you were privileged enough to be part of the fold of one such of these cabals when you rode in here on your high horse, banging your coconuts.

Because I don't get paid enough to act like I care about anything but making your drink and being nice to you so you'll tip me, I'll give you a discount when you explain the state of your membership, whether you provide me with an ID or not.

But Jesus Shit, don't be a dick! I could spit in your smoothie or dissolve a few Ex-Lax in your espresso and you would never be the wiser. I'm clean and usually not sick, so the spit wouldn't do much apart from making me feel vindicated, but when you're calling a sub for English Comp 1 because you're spraying streams of liquid shit into the teacher's lounge commode, I sincerely doubt you're going to be a very happy camper.

The moral of the story is immortalized somewhere in the New Testament of the Bible, which I'm sure you're familiar with because you live in the goddamn southernmost part of Jesus Christ's United States of America! The Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

More often than not, the consequences of your actions aren't going to seriously hurt you, but why would you even risk it? You have no way of knowing what a stranger is capable of. Anyone could have a history of serious mental illness, especially the barista at your local coffee shop.