This Troper lives this trope. I'm an ass to everyone, but when I feel like it, I can be the kindest human being alive.

There's this JerkAss at my school...He makes stupid jokes, punches everyone, and has a temper. But, at the same time, he can be generally funny, and dare I say it? Nice.

Sounds like me.

This troper knew a guy like this in high school. He did tend to make fairly rude jokes about everybody, especially his friends, but in the end he was a genuinely nice and helpful person and pretty fun to hang around with, atleast once you realised he didn't really mean to insult people.

My grandfather did this a lot. We caught him feeding a stray kitten once... he huffed that he was just bothered by the kitten's noise, and thought if he fed it, it would be quiet.

This troper's high school class had someone like this. He acted like a JerkAss NietzscheWannabe and commonly used RefugeInVulgarity; however, he would unthinkingly help you when you needed it.

This troper had a frenemy/rival in high school. She admired his intelligence, but thought he was arrogant as all heck, and he (like most of the school population) seemed to see her as an annoyance. Several times, though, other classmates who were picking on this troper would shortly afterward be insulted by frenemy/rival. Years later, the two are actually friends, even mailing each other holiday gifts..

This troper admits to being this, but if you tell anyone he will find you and end you. In fact, most of this troper's friends are people who caught him being nice at one point.

I am rarely nice, but when I am, I make sure to make it big. It is very well hidden unless you are a close friend or it is part of a plot... which kind of negates the effect of being nice later on.

Many of this troper's friends believe this troper to have a HiddenHeartOfGold, or even an obvious one. They're wrong: I'm just a good actor.

This troper. I hit you, threaten you, and laugh at your pain. I'll also pick you up if someone hurt you and hunt them down. Especially if you're a friend.

Beneath The filth, AIDS and rape jokes, this Troper is actually a decent person.

You're doing masterful job concealing that fact, if the ''rape joke'' part is to be believed.

I find that the majority of people who make rape jokes are nice people on the inside.

Agreed. Let me quote GeorgeCarlin on this one, "I can prove to you that rape is funny. Picture Porky Pig raping Elmer Fudd."

This troper makes a lot of inappropriate jokes, is quite violent and I'm not too good at expressing my feelings so to non-friends I seem kinda creepy and/or evil, but once people understand this, the hidden heart is practically glowing in their face.

I have a strange liking for dirty innuendo-type jokes, cursing during high school lessons and acting like a dick when nothing else seems to work. Many people are often also unsettled by my (often unintentional) Fuck You -Death Glare(once even managed to make a would-be bully apologize in a timid, strained voice) and baffling tendency to quote someone's own words to their face as a revenge for a slight. I'm well aware many people see me as more or less a huge prick and that's okay. What I personally consider my crowning moment of dickishness and hilarity? When discussing the burden of having a baby during a psychology lesson, I added just for giggles: '''Well, one burden for a couple is not being able to do whatever you want to.... especially if a baby is near.''' After a second of stunned silence, everyone including the teacher cracked up for several minutes. Still, some people, especially my closest friends, accept me for who I am. They don't expect anything in return and ironically, with them I find it the most heartwarming to be around.

You know, it strikes me that if you include yourself on this list, you don't count. It's called a ''Hidden'' Heart of Gold, telling people defies the point.

This Troper would like to high-five you.

agreed, right with you on htat one.

This troper has a classmate who's a big JerkAss most of the time - He's mean to everyone, tells dirty jokes, and is really obnoxious. But one day, the teacher left the room to copy some papers, and some guys closed the door, locking her out in the cold. The JerkAss unexpectedly got up, opened the door, and yelled "You ASSHOLES!!", stunning everyone into silence. He's still rude to everyone all the time (including the teacher) but I guess he actually does have a heart when it comes down to it.

My best friend is one of the most absolutely evil people I know. At a certain point, I considered not being his friend because I was worried about his effect on my morals, and my mom took me aside and told me of some of the things he'd been doing for a certain kid. The guy's a fucking saint, and he either hides under an evil exterior or is very very complicated. I'm mostly a JerkAss, but it turns out that a certain friend brought out the good in me when, after I was annoyed, she told me it's the first time she'd ever seen me angry and that I'm mean when I'm angry, and normally I'm the sweetest guy she knows. Of course, I can't bring it out at will for some reason, so the girl who I really like is convinced I'm a shallow JerkAss who enjoys hurting her emotionally. And, to be honest, for the past month, I've been realizing she may be right.

This Italian troper's Hungarian friend and former classmate is a very nice guy, despite almost anything he says (except when he's serious) and his mild bullying towards pretty much anyone around his age makes him, basically, ''4Chan's'' ''living embodiment''. The fact he has an outstanding knowledge of the over 9000 memes spawned by the site '''doesn't''' help.

Over the years I've embodied everything wrong with humanity, but only my now ex-girlfriend and one of my best friends knows what I'm emotionally capable of.

This troper is generally rude to everybody, tends to make light of most things, and pretends to not care about anyone or anything. However, whenever it comes to women (not necessarily one I'm romantically interested in) I can be unbelievably nice. Why not to guys, then? Well, we're pretty much supposed to be asses to each other, and show our hidden hearts of gold through much smaller means. It's really rather fun, as some girl I'm normally a jerk to, I'll talk to in a less rude way and we'll become surprisingly close friends. Doesn't mean I don't have my moments of being an actual JerkAss.

I'm very stoic and silent around people I like, same with the people I do like, my friends are nothing more than people I hate a little less than most - but I have a soft spot for my family and try to do good for someone, as long as that person deserves it.

This troper is a DeadpanSnarker most of the time, and has become notorious for it in her school. Yet she also can be extremely nice to the people she meets, this is probably the reason why her friends know not to take her quips to heart.

This troper was known in her former classroom as a big jerkass, capable of hurt people with only five words. Until they watched me talking to my dog...therefore, you can guess how many people know about my sweet puddle toy who just happens to have a dog's life, isn't it, baby girl? I know you love me, crazy babe, let us love each other in a big hug...

This troper's LARP character is made somewhat to be this. He works for a nebulous, horrifyingly derivative mercenary group inspired by Blackwatch from prototype (so far as to share the name), uses poison, torture, brutal close combat attacks, manipulates and generally is a mischieviously chaotic bastard in the same vein as Loki. That said when another character's selfishness caused an international conflict that cost a young merc his life he verbally tore him a new one...Then hauled him off to be dissected because his eye was of use to the company. It's very well hidden.

This troper considers herself to a be a complete jerkass most of the time, but only because it's easier than actually letting most people know she cares. People have proven to take advantage of that in the past, so acting like an ass that doesn't give a crap is the best way to avoid that drama. There's nothing I wouldn't do for my best friends and family, and they all know that, but the asshole persona is a social default.

This finds that most Jerkasses are no better or worse people than your typical nice guys/girls. Yes, they are assholes, but that doesn't make them bad to the core, and in contrast he has met several people who seemed nice, but turned out to be genuinely awful human beings.

Go ahead and try. I'll take you to the hospital.