Last Tuesday, as the strongest Atlantic storm in 90 years slammed the western coast of Jamaica with 185-mph winds, Bill Gates was downplaying climate change.
The billionaire does not appear to have publicly addressed the disaster in Jamaica, which extended throughout the Caribbean, with Melissa having killed dozens across Cuba, Haiti, the Bahamas, and the Dominican Republic. And his overall point, frankly, does not hold up to scrutiny.
Gates isn’t alone; climate change has slipped down the world’s priority list in the past few years—and it shows. Governments and corporations are shelving emissions goals, budgets are being redirected from climate initiatives to warfare, the media is pivoting away from climate journalism, and even activists are urging a softer, more “hopeful” tone. It all signals a vibe shift in how we talk about climate change, reframing it from the existential risk it actually poses to a less urgent, peripheral issue—even as the floodwaters reach our front doors.
Why the fuck are we going to Bill Gates for his take on climate change? Man… people are desperate to pin shit on whoever they can to manufacture hate.
Dude has given over one hundred billion dollars to charity. He may not be a saint, but I’d be willing to bet that he’s donated far more than the entirety of the population of lemmy has ever given.
Prove me wrong.
The money he siphoned off society with unethical and illegal business practices? We’re supposed to think he’s a good guy for giving some of it to his pet projects, from a pool so vast it would be literally impossible to spend on himself?
Stay mad.
They will, at actual problems, while you get angry simping for billionaires who consider you scum.
So… you took from what I said that I’m “skimping” for billionaires? (It’s simping, by the way)
And- my god. I’m still waiting for someone on lemmy to prove to me that they understand nuance. Nothing I said was in defense of Gates. I’m just calling out idiots that love being outraged so much that go out of their way to draw imaginary lines to connect Imaginary responsibility to people that are entirely irrelevant to the topic.
Bill gates might be an ass. But tell me, have you matched his $1BN in charitable donations?
No? Them STFU.
Go ahead and respond, but I’m not going to see it. You’re not worth the discussion, so I’m blocking you.
Do better.
God forbid someone have an autocorrect typo
Get mad.
Naah… it’s more fun to laugh at ignorance than to be part of it.
That money should never have been his to give
My good you people will whine about anything.
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Some gifts wrap themselves I guess!
For the record, since they’ve now stormed off- I never once said I liked or even admired the guy. I simply ask why we’re going to Gates for his take on climate change. He’s not the authority on the subject. But when we put so much effort into manufacturing our outrage, we can expect to bypass and and all nuance in the point.
Jesus Christ, this guy has actually sipped the koolaid of the philanthropic billionaire. If he actually gave a shit, he would lobby for tax reform.
Not to mention, Bill Gates in particular is just as sketchy as all the other billionaires. He owns more arable land in the US then anyone else, hoarder…
Yawn…. Yeah. Gates is the problem.
His whole class is the problem and people listen to him. He’s why the covid vaccine he was backing is closed.
The philanthropy is a way to hide his money while getting PR.
I’d be fine with not really dunking on him if he was just a rando saying stupid shit if it wasn’t for Worthington’s Law. Whole lotta idiots think that because someone has money that their opinion matters just by that fact alone.
So if he’s going to have that kind of money and simultaneously say really stupid things, well, that’s a problem.
In addition, I really do wonder how much he does really give away by the time all is said and done?
After all, he DID set up a foundation, and we all know what that means. Or every American SHOULD know what those mean…I don’t know if there have been any good documentaries since, but I highly recommend the book:
The Rich and the Super-rich: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/America's_60_Families#The_Rich_and_the_Super-Rich