Founder of Fiddlehead, Melinda Byerley has issued an “apology” after going on a Twitter rant against Indian immigrants in the US a few days ago.
The Silicon Valley entrepreneur in her Twitter post on Friday ‘thanked’ the netizens for the honest feedback. She further apologized for her statements and for ‘taking too long to understand.’
Issuing a supposed apology, Byerley said that she has learnt from the episode and will hold herself to higher standards in the future ‘while remaining passionate and engaged in advocating for those with less privilege than many of us.’
Her definition of ‘less privilege’ remains unclear. Byerley also confessed that she was ‘quick with her words’ and that does not reflect her viewpoint on the larger issues of immigration.
Netizens say ‘not enough’
Byerley’s unclear apology has not gone down well with the netizens. A Twitter user Venkatesh said, “That was no ‘in the course of a heated discussion’. It was deliberately meant to hurt. Period.”
“An apology is for public consumption, it will never remove the deep hatred and racist attitude of some,” pointed out another user.
One Yash said, “You called Indian immigrants parasites, told them to go back to their country because their political views didn’t align with yours, pit Indian immigrants against other poc, and blamed them for the issues in USA. Your racism and xenophobia isn’t a “mistake”.
“And what are your values ? The ones that you posted?” questioned a user by the name Dev.
“You don’t want a lawsuits slapped on you. You are not sorry. A grown ass woman knows better,” remarked another.
Byerley’s rant
In a long Twitter thread posted on November 09, Byerley asked the Indian-Americans in the silicon valley to ‘take money and leave the US.’
She further asked the ‘parasites’ to ‘go back to their apartheid/ caste systems’ and asked other states and countries to not let ‘these parasites gain a foothold.’
Byerley faced a severe backlash on social media for her absolute racist and dehumanizing rant.