A lawyer in Virginia is making headlines after he called out customers who were nasty to her granddaughter in a post that’s now viral on Facebook.
But though the situation’s fame started after lawyer John Elledge took to Facebook to vent his anger, it has turned into an outpouring of love.
His granddaughter, Sadie Karina Elledge, was undaunted by a hateful slight she received after serving a couple of customers in the local diner she worked at, but the lawyer wouldn’t stand for it.
The 18-year-old who was born in America but is of Mexican and Honduran descent was working at the Jess’ Lunch restaurant near her grandfather’s John Elledge and Associates law firm in downtown Harrisonburg when she received a note scribbled on the check of customers who didn’t leave her a tip.
It read: “We only tip citizens.”
On Facebook, the man posted a photo of the check and told the diner who wrote the slight: “You are a complete and total piece of dung.”
The elder Elledge – who specialises in immigration; domestic, business and civil litigation; and criminal defence at both the state and federal levels – earlier wrote on Facebook that he’d “happily do the jail time if I could get just one solid punch in to the face of” the person who wrote the note.
According to his law firm’s website, Elledge graduated from James Madison University and George Mason University School of Law. Before his law career, however, he spent several years in Honduras.
There, he taught in a bilingual school, developed a nationwide church youth program and helped establish a girl’s orphanage.
According to
The Washington Post, Elledge met his Honduran wife, Iris, who already had two children during his stay in the Central American country. He eventually returned to the US with Iris and adopted the kids.
He told the publication that he is particularly sensitive to slights to his multicultural family.
If there’s a good thing to come out of all of this, it’s that there’s been overwhelming support against the sentiment revealed by the diners’ dig.
In a statement posted by the Elledge law firm, it was revealed that hundreds of well-wishers have messaged the family and most were asking how they can leave a tip for Sadie.
Various reports note that people on social media are clamouring to leave a tip for Sadie. The young lady, however, wants the tips to go to two local charities should well-wishers insist on leaving her a tip.
“While the important aspect of the story has never been about the tip, we understand why people want to make a financial contribution. After discussing this issue with Sadie, she has determined that if people really want to respond with offers of financial support, that there are two local charities in Harrisonburg that should benefit from her well-wishers’ generosity: New Bridges Immigrant Resource Center, and the Samuel R. Bowman II Scholarship for Hispanic students, through the Harrisonburg Community Foundation,” the law firm said.
“We want to thank everyone for their generosity of spirit and resources in showing Sadie that she is valuable, and that bigotry like that she experienced is not acceptable to most folks in modern society. At John Elledge & Assoc PC, we live our lives as more than just professionals as lawyers in Harrisonburg, VA. We hope to make a meaningful impact on the life of our community,” it added.
