As an avid TikTok watcher while folding my laundry, washing dishes, and prepping meals, I was severely heartbroken when TikTok went dark. My free entertainment and education were gone. My beautiful community of strangers was suddenly taken away. And even though it is back up and running at the time of my writing this, a part of it died, and we may not get it back. It feels like when your car gets stolen or broken into…even if it survives; it is tainted a bit. If you know, you know.

So, instead of turning to the Meta platforms or my TV, I immediately downloaded Xiaohongshu, a Chinese version of Pinterest or Instagram with a video section. I swear their video algorithm already knew who I was and immediately fed me the gardening, cooking, and DIY content I love. And something magical happened in the comment sections of these videos. Us TikTok refugees entered a space foreign to most and were welcomed with open arms and Mandarin lessons. We exchanged information about our day-to-day lives, like the cost of living, our healthcare system, and our overall quality of life. We saw the humanity in each other and learned that location and language are the only things keeping us disconnected. And with a translate button quickly solving the language barrier, we are now globally connected through an algorithm based on shared interests. It is pretty amazing for everyday people. It is quite dangerous for the billionaires.

Keeping us divided and dependent on their paycheck is the billionaires’ method of distracting us while they rob us all blind. And there are billions of us and less than 3000 of them. I’m not the voice of a revolution, but we need to be more upset. These same billionaires have lobbied governments worldwide to get away with selling cheap, harmful products while pricing out any competition and stealing from smaller brands that lack the financial resources to fight back. They have poisoned our air, our water, and our soil so that they can line their pockets to afford private jets and super yachts. And they’ve even gone as far as removing our reproductive rights so that women are forced to birth more workers (or prison laborers). They’ve purchased our media, so we aren’t allowed to speak ill of them on their networks. And they’ve invested in artificial intelligence because they wanted more slaves.

“All I wanna say is that they don’t really care about us.” - MJ

I believe you can be an ethical millionaire because I know plenty of them. But an ethical billionaire does not exist. They stole from somebody. And I wish the millionaires would realize many of them are closer to the poverty line than they are to the billionaires, but I digress…


Through our beautiful cultural exchange on Xiaohongshu, we learned that we are all brothers and sisters. We enjoy similar things, and we have similar wants and needs. Our governments have a complicated relationship, but that has nothing to do with our bond with each other as fellow humans. The East has so much to teach the West if we are willing to learn. I know I am. I’ve already started looking up recipes incorporating Traditional Chinese Medicine and ways to move or massage my body to promote blood flow, improve energy levels, and balance hormones.

I say all that to say our governments don’t care about us, and the billionaires that indirectly (and in some cases directly) control our governments don’t care about us, so it’s up to us to build community, exchange knowledge and resources, and fight for our collective best interests. Independence from the systems that keep them in control is the level of wealth I seek. We all deserve that kind of freedom.