Imagine this scenario. Your plane is running low on fuel after a long flight. Fortunately, you're approaching an airport. But wait, you're not allowed to land! Why? Because a private jet carrying the Queen of the Philippines, Her Majesty Gloria Arroyo, is getting ready to take off. Wait for your turn!

That was pretty much what happened to 231 unlucky passengers on a Gulf Air flight from Bahrain last Wednesday. Well, at least no one died. Sure, the plane had to land at another airport to refuel and fly all the way back, but that's just a bit of minor inconvenience in the course of serving the Queen, right?

It wasn't as if the Queen was on official business. She was just going out of town to attend a wedding. But hey, she's the Queen, and she's definitely more important than the lives of 231 passengers. No one gives a shit if the plane really runs out of fuel and crashes. The Queen has to go to a wedding... now!

Seriously, news like this make me furious. "Public servants" in this country rarely act like servants--they act like fucking royalty. I hate how they get all kinds of sweet perks, such as the right to slap waiters without getting tossed in jail. Why can't an ordinary citizen like me slap a waiter just for fun? Unfair!

You know what else I hate? VIP convoys. You know the drill. From time to time, cops on motorcycles stop traffic so that random government officials in bulletproof SUVs with tinted windows don't have to endure traffic jams like the hapless masses do. Who the hell do they think they are? Oh, right, royalty. It sure sucks to be a commoner.

Whenever I hear the annoying sirens from those police motorcycles telling me to get the hell out of the way, I get the urge to flip them the finger. But, as much as I hate them, I have no desire to be riddled with bullets. So all I can do is to be passive-agressive and get out of the way as slowly as I can in an attempt to slow them down a bit. It doesn't really make me happy, but it also doesn't make them happy. And that's the best I can hope for when dealing with government officials.

Maybe I'm doing it wrong. Hmm. The next time I come across one of those royal convoys, maybe I should get out of the car, kneel on the sidewalk, and bow down to the kings and queens zipping past in their police-escorted SUVs. That's what they want us to do, right?

Assholes.