Dear Mr. CEO,
Apparently, you think India is a poor country, and Indians are poor. I won’t give you precedents on how we are anything but, because there have been numerous articles on that already ever since your alleged statements made the news. Of course, you being a busy person- busy because there haven’t been any statement from you since those allegations, yet- you don’t need to go through the redundant process of reading all those articles. Start with Snapchat App Store reviews. When you’re done, go ahead and read Snapchat’s Play Store reviews. And while you’re at it, please excuse our French, we Indians are known for taking things a tad bit too far, but hey we’re poor, right?
I won’t ask you to apologize either. Partly, because you will do it anyway. First you will deny it, and then you will apologize “nonetheless” for hurting the feelings of the people of India. Then, you will throw in a few demonstrative, cuddly statements like how you are “proud” of your Indian users, and how “majestic” India is. I am also sure you will be forgiven soon. I mean, if United can get away with it in its own country, you can definitely get away with an apology in a foreign country. Scratch that. A poor foreign country.
You may then try to emphasize how these were just allegations made by a disgruntled former employee. And an allegation should be treated just that – an allegation. In fact, that was my first reaction too, that it’s just an allegation. But then came the silence. Silence louder than any sound. And then it occurred to me- there might actually be some truth to it after all. Now, now, Mr. CEO, I may be poor but I know these statements came at the beginning of this week. Much before the Easter holiday long weekend began.
Here’s what I am curious about though. What I really want to know is, are the people working for Snapchat of the same opinion as your’s, that is, India is a poor country worthless for an app like Snapchat? If not, should they be working for you? Rather, should you still be the CEO despite the lack of connect between you and your employees?
If, however, your employees too endorse your views- and I won’t be surprised if they do – here’s what you should do:
- Block the app’s availability in India ASAP. There should be no way we poor creatures be allowed to download your app.
- Disclose the number of Snapchat accounts active in India.
- Disclose the amount of profit Snapchat earned by advertising in India.
- Donate money equal to that profit earned for the welfare of poor in India. Hey, you wouldn’t want poor people’s money, no?
- Take a vow to never have any business interests in India in the future.
- Lastly, Mr. CEO, travel. Please, travel. Visit places. Go tour the world. Expand your horizons. If there’s someone who needs it the most, it’s you.
Have an enlightened trip.
Sincerely,
Anjali Sharma
P.S.: Notice how I didn’t care to search for your full name, and just addressed you plainly as Mr. CEO? Yeah, that was deliberate.
