In a surprising turn of events, far-right advocate Laura Loomer, known for her provocative rants, found herself unwittingly supporting the extremely tech program created by two American entrepreneurs, just days after launching a diatribe against Indians.
After being banned from using key payment systems like Cash App, Venmo, and PayPal, Loomer took to social media to ask her followers to support her economically after a string of prejudiced and racist remarks about Indians. She shared a link to the donation platform Buy Me a Coffee in response to a question about how fans could donate, claiming it would aid her in her ongoing battle against” Big Tech.”
In a letter to Loomer venting her frustration over the bans, Loomer wrote,” I’m banned on Cash App, Venmo, and PayPal because these people want to strangle me and have been subjecting me to their caste system for YEARS.” However, Loomer mistook the fact that Jijo Sunny and Joseph Sunny, two Indian tech entrepreneurs, founded Buy Me a Coffee, which she had just attacked in a previous rant.
Creaters can connect with their audiences and receive financial support directly from Buy Me a Coffee. The founders of the platform decided to offer creators a straightforward way to make payments and communicate with their fans. Loomer, who was railing against Indians for allegedly undermining the US, appears to have lost sight of the irony because he unknowingly promoted a platform built by them.
In an amusing twist, Jijo Sunny, one of the founders of Buy Me a Coffee, took the opportunity to respond to Loomer’s inadvertent promotion of the platform. With a knowing wink, he quipped,” Sometimes the best way to silence hate is by showing the world how far we’ve come—no matter where we’re from”.
Loomer’s response to Sriram Krishnan‘s appointment as the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy’s Senior Policy Advisor for Artificial Intelligence is linked to Loomer’s response to Loomer’s response. Lomber falsely accused Krishnan of being a part of a” caste system” conspiracy and attacked the contributions of Indian immigrants to the US using the announcement as a springboard for a barrage of offensive remarks against Indians.
Her remarks, which included calling Indians” third-world invaders” and making disparaging comments about Indian hygiene, sparked backlash across social media. Yet, it appears that the tech world—particularly platforms like Buy Me a Coffee, developed by the very people Loomer had targeted—remained blissfully unaffected by her rhetoric.
The irony of Loomer’s support for Buy Me a Coffee serves as a reminder of the complex and frequently contradictory relationships between technology, politics, and prejudice as she continues to conflict with the platforms she claims to oppose. It highlights the stark contrast between the vitriol of her rhetoric and the reality of the tech landscape she appears so eager to decry for many.
