Different perspectives
So, my mom hired a contractor to help put concrete into our driveway. It turns out that he was pretty in debt, so the check he wrote to the concrete company wasn't 'good'. The concrete company called my mom and demanded for the $800 that was owed to them. My mom refused to pay the money because obviously, the contractor should have paid him already. The contractor then came over to my house and demanded that the concrete was to be taken out. My mom started laughing, so she made an analogy, "Say you go to a bread store. The bread store bought the flour from a flour company and the check bounced. Then, you come along and buy a piece of bread to eat. Would you want me to puke it up for you?" My mom felt sorry for the concrete man though. All he wanted was the money that was owed to him. She said that she saw his wife and kid also in the car with him, and she felt bad. However, this feeling of sadness wasn't enough to make her fork over $800 though. The concrete man kept harassing her, so in the end, she called the police. The police said that the contractor had a record of not paying things -- my mom was not aware of this. The concrete man said that he was willing to go to court against my mom, and she said, "Fine." Now, is the concrete man a bad person? No. If you look at it from his perspective, you would see a man with a wife and child to feed. Would you say my mom is a bad person for not paying the money? No, because she doesn't have $800 to spare. If anyone is to be at fault for this, it would have to be the contractor. He probably took our money to pay off his personal debts instead of paying for the concrete for our driveway. So, have you ever had an experience like this?; where you saw a person who you thought was doing something bad, but was really just looking out for himself?This entry was posted on January 31, 2008 at 02:11 PM and is filed under Personal,.
By Edward · on January 31, 2008
Re to your question: All the time, even though I can’t really come up with a personal example at the moment. It’s nice of you to be able to see it from the concrete man’s eyes though.
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But is it fair for the concrete man to take your mom to court when it was the contractor who owed him the money? The contactor was the one who carried out the business transaction with the concrete man; your mom should not be involved in a lawsuit.
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Although it is unfair that the concrete guy didn’t get paid, it is not your mother’s responsibility. It was the contractor who was supposed to pay the concrete guy, and if your mom paid the contractor, her part is done. The analogy you mention serves well, and I don’t think your mom is going to be in any serious legal problems because of it. Also, she is not a bad person for not paying him, because technically, by paying the contractor she already paid him. It was the contractor who kept money that wasn’t his.
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I agree, it’s certainly not your mother’s responsibility, and if she does end up in court over it, hopefully the judge will be able to see that, unless he’s a complete fool!
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:mrgreen: hey alex(:
it’s emily, but you probabaly know that, and dude, your blog is very very very very good(:
and also, how the heck did you create it?
(:
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The “concrete man” is suing the wrong person. He should sue the contractor.
Wow, your life is like a scene from a book..
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