Although we love to view the world in absolutes, things are seldom black and white. Heroes have skeletons in their closets and assholes secretly donate money to the ASPCA commercials with Sarah Mclachlan. Okay, maybe not.
But the point is that the world is a complex place, full of moral ambiguity, double standards and mixed feelings.
So we have taken the task upon ourselves to bring back the epic binary of “good” versus “bad,” “right” versus “wrong,” and “virtuous
versus “evil.”
We humbly present to you: Asshole and Hero of the week.
Assholes: Adriana’s Insurance, Inc.
Via: adrianasinsurance.com
A friend once told me a particularly heinous anecdote about the time he and his group of dumbass friends got kicked out of a strip club because they brought only quarters.
Apparently, these antics are not beneath Adriana’s Insurance, Inc., who reportedly paid a settlement to an elderly California man with several buckets of loose change.
The receiver of the settlement, Andres Carrasco (73), sued them in 2012 after allegedly being assaulted by an employee. It took eight employees just to drop off the tightly packed $21,000 worth of coins. Carrasco has recently recovered from hernia surgery and cannot pick up even one of the many five-gallon buckets.
Insurance companies always seem to take things to the next level. This time, it’s blatant sore-loserdom and, perhaps, a general distaste for the elderly.
Hero: Raymond Burse
Via: Huffington Post
The often scoffed at notion of “spreading the wealth” is not always accepted with open arms, especially not in the south.
However, Raymond Burse, interim president of Kentucky State University, set out to do just that by delegating almost a third of his six-figure salary to minimum wage university workers. They will now receive $10.25 an hour instead of their original $7.25.
“My whole thing is I don’t need to work,” Burse said. “This is not a hobby, but in terms of the people who do the hard work and heavy lifting, they are at the lower pay scale.”
Burse maintains that this act of altruism was not a publicity stunt. He simply has a rare and beautiful understanding of both the value and pure vigor of blue-collar work: “I did this for the people. This is something I’ve been thinking about from the very beginning.”
The pay raise will remain in place even after someone else succeeds Burse’s interim position.
In a society where hoarding wealth is applauded on various levels, Burse’s selflessness is a cool, pristine spring in the middle of the desert.
Think of all the things you could buy with $90,000. Consider the minimum wage workers who toil day after day just to bring home a decent meal for their families.
What would you do with the cash? Would you spread the wealth?
…Or would you buy a fucking Maserati?
Featured photo courtesy of: bigcommerce.com
