Melinda French Gates—with some ideas for keeping the energy flowing for progress- appeared at the Late Show, and the netizens had… opinions. Very big ones. The philanthropist and ex-wife of Bill Gates talked about hoping for what she called democracy, and well, not everybody was nodding their heads along.
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From the post-the Late Show posted its video with”@melindafrenchgates offers powerful insight on staying energized and hopeful in the fight for progress.” Sounds like an inspiring piece. But everything spiraled downward with netizens turning the comment section into a full-blown debate on whether America is still a democracy.
The first gentleman was @jodyadix blurted, “You are a lovely person but get real.” Straightforward, blunt-and sets a tone for an awful lot of replies. Then the likes of @@izzysgang impart wisdom of sorts from mother-in-law flowin mercilessly….”When things are at their worst, that’s when you have to fight your hardest”. Pretty solid for some decent truth.
But then things started to get a little heated: @michellekavesh asked, ‘Is there such a thing as democracy anymore?’ They then went ahead and urged Melinda to put her money and her mouth into fighting even harder. ‘Nailed it’ came from somebody, so clearly, they were not alone.
This skepticism continued. A few were in the doubts along with @annamthal, saying, “Are you sure about the democracy part…?”, with @disney_mum56 adding, “That was genuinely fun to watch, I’m glad I did live in a democracy! 😔” Oof. In the meantime, @joanimckibben fired, “You no longer live in a democracy… presently, we have a dictator, not a leader.” That was a little burning.
Then came the fun. Tone deaf!People, says @chris.lco, tuning the rest with a claim: “‘Most cannot afford to turn off their phones for that moment of reflection’ because they are almost drowned in bills and responsibilities.” Chatty responses?… a pogrom. Some agreed:”Reflection is such a privilege.”Others said,: “She is just saying what works for her.”
@cmarieggram: “Another billionaire who didn’t pay taxes and abused their staff telling us to resist!” Tough love, but if we are pretty honest, some would have thought it!
The hisses weren’t everyone’s. @trudyramsamooj wrote, “Really admire her,” and @godntrapp gets, being empty, fills you up when you show up for others.”
So, what do we learn from this? Well, Melinda French Gates was here to impart some optimistic wisdom; the Internet was not having any of it this time. From democracy to privilege to state of things in general, it was all fair game. And honestly? That was sort of the point. The one thing everyone could maybe agree on was that the fight’s not over—system or not, they believe in the system, the fight’s not over with that.
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In the comments was proof of one thing: fired up. And maybe that’s exactly what Melinda was trying to ignite. Or maybe she really missed the boat. Anyhow, the discussion is on, and hey, that’s something.