That Onion Sure Stinks
Emily Guendelsberger doesn't have health insurance, so she will be wholloped with medical bills associated with the surgery she needs to fix her leg, which was broken in last Saturday night's stampede of marauding teens down Broad St.
That Onion Sure Stinks
Ronnie Polaneczky, Daily News Columnist
Emily Guendelsberger doesn't have health insurance, so she will be wholloped with medical bills associated with the surgery she needs to fix her leg, which was broken in last Saturday night's stampede of marauding teens down Broad St.
Guendelsberger is the local arts and entertainment editor for The Onion, the satirical news and entertainment site, and she is not covered under its health-care plan. My colleague Dan Gross asked an Onion spokeswoman if the company would help Guendelsberger with her bills anyway.
Here was the cagey answer.
"We can't divulge any details surrounding the compensation or benefits packages of our employees," Onion spokeswoman Anne Finn told Dan. "We will say that when we heard about the events that transpired, we were shocked and saddened. Our hearts immediately went out to Emily and we wanted to leave the option for people to help her."
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I have to ask, why did Emily not buy health insurance herself? For someone in their 20's, it will be right around $100 per month, privately purchased. She obviously had money for drinks, as nobody sober would walk around that neighborhood after dark.
Why should people donate money to someone who chose not to put any money into the insurance pool, betting against the odds? If the bill is $20,000, well tough! Pay it off in a few years, and let it be a lesson.— DrTruth- Go back and check your figures: any health plan for a woman that's worth buying costs $250 and up. Or it doesn't cover pregnancy... but of course you can blame the victims for that, too! — phillygardens
- Even if it was $250 (which it isn't) that is not an unbearable burden for someone white, college educated and in their 20's.
If it turns out to be 10% of her monthly income, well, that's what everyone on average is paying for health care!
I'm know she always found money to buy smokes. Why not health insurance?— DrTruth - And her race has what to do with her situation, exactly? — Jack Klompus
- "She obviously had money for drinks, as nobody sober would walk around that neighborhood after dark."
Did it ever occur to you she may LIVE in that neighborhood, and those kids were running rampant in HER backyard? Stop blaming the victim.— drawonthewalls - Yeah, I kind of agree with DrTruth. It's not the Onion's fault she didn't have health insurance. As I understand it, most of their contributors are not full time employees. It sounds like she should have kept her job at DN. Still, the ones who should be paying for this are the animals who did it. Throw the book at each one that's caught.— Philatonian
- Can't she get Victim's Assistance through the state?— nlewinski
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- The Onion offers its employees the "PayPal Donation Button" compensation and benefits package, generously paid for by the good people of Philadelphia. When an employee has medical bills they just need to go begging.— rsrobbins
- Typical liberal columnist - blame the little rag "Onion" paper (does this paper even make any income?)
Don't blame the girl for not having insurance or her parents to make sure she had some catastrophic plan. My husband and I paid for my daughter when she went back to school. Also - yesterday I had some banter with another poster on the Philly / Detroit article. I mentioned how the "quality of life" in this city sucks and what happened to this girl is a prime example. It is really heartbreaking to read the stories of these victims of these mob attacks! These people did nothing wrong and they wind up in scarred for life.
I wish Emily the best as I myself had a broken leg that needed surgery. It's not an easy recovery. Good luck!— gone with the wind - Huh? Since when is employer-sponsored health insurance a liberal agenda? It's as middle-of-the road as health insurance gets. Not that it's working for the American people... — phillygardens
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- have some respect instead of blaming the victim.— trilonaut
- Does The Onion make any income? LOL! MILLIONS.— Truth B. Told
When my phone rings here at the Daily News, nine times out of ten the caller begins the conversation with, “Yeah, so what happened was…”.
Because this is Philly, the caller doesn’t say, “My name is Bob” – or Mary – “and I wonder if I could have a moment of your time?” Philadelphians are too direct for that. They just say, “Yeah, so what happened was…”, and then tumble into a tale they think oughta be shared with a wider audience. I love getting these calls (even the ones where it becomes clear, after 30 seconds, where the caller sowed the seeds of his own misery), because they give me chance to connect with fellow citizens in a way that no other job allows. Well, okay, no other job for which I’m remotely qualified.
That’s why my blog is titled “So What Happened Was…”. To me, it’s the quintessentially Philly way of saying, “Once upon a time.” When I hear it, I know a good story is coming. And I can’t wait to see how it turns out.
Ronnie Polaneczky has been an award-winning columnist for The Philadelphia Daily News since 1999, offering a front-steps perspective on every aspect of city life, from the sublime to the stupid. In her past life, she was the editor-in-chief of Atlantic City Magazine, associate editor at Philadelphia Magazine and a fulltime freelancer published in Ladies Home Journal, Good Housekeeping, Redbook, Reader's Digest, Men's Health, MarieClaire and others. She lives with her husband, daughter and various pets in the city's Fairmount section, where she dreams of one day singing The National Anthem at an Eagles game. In addition to her column and blog, you can enjoy Ronnie's musings in podcast form here.
Read more from Ronnie Polaneczky at Earth to Philly, the Daily News blog on anything and everything "Green
Reach Ronnie at polaner@phillynews.com.
