Kassy Dillon faced significant backlash on Twitter for saying that she worked diligently to pay off her own student loans and would be incensed if President Joe Biden forgave student debt.
“I just worked my butt off to pay off my very expensive student loans a few months ago. If Biden forgives student loans, I’m going to be livid,” Dillon tweeted on Wednesday, expressing a sentiment likely shared by scads of other people.
But the straightforward and reasonable comment was met by a wave of criticism, including from celebrity Valerie Bertinelli who accused Dillon of being selfish.
“Tell me you’re selfish without telling me you’re selfish,” Bertinelli tweeted in response to Dillon’s post.
“This isn’t about selfishness it’s about responsibility. Forgiving student loans won’t fix the problem of schools hiking tuition costs,” Dillon replied.
“Exactly Kassy focus on the actual problem,” Bertinelli tweeted.
In response to Bettinelli’s post accusing Dillon of selfishness, another Twitter user suggested that Bertinelli spend some of her own money to pay off people’s student debts.
“Selfish for paying off one’s own loans, and not wanting taxpayers to cover the dumb decisions of others? You’ve got money, Val. Why don’t you help them pay those degrees off?” the person tweeted.
Bertinelli replied, “I’ll never be wealthy enough to not pay taxes. So, you see, dear, I am one of those ‘taxpayers covering the dumb decisions of others’. I have an idea tho, how about we get tax dodgers (*coughmultibillionaires) to actually pay their fair share.”
In a tweet responding to comments made by Ian Haworth, Bertinelli noted, “Dude, I don’t even have a dog in this fight, I never graduated high school. Forgiving debt that never should’ve been incurred by greedy colleges … and changing the system should be a no-brainer.”
Others also criticized Dillon for feeling outraged over the prospect of the government forgiving student debt.
“The lesson of this @kassydillon person’s tweet is that only SHE, and no one else, matters – yet she asks us to set aside OUR own interests and worry about her becoming livid #LividForKassy #OnlyKassyMatters #ThinkOfKassy #WontSomebodyThinkAboutKassy,” Keith Olbermann tweeted.
Someone else drew the following bizarre analogy: “Here’s what you sound like: My mom died from Alzheimer’s disease a few years ago. If they find a cure now, I’m going to be livid. You are an idiot in my opinion. You want people to remain drowning in debt because you’re a fragile little snowflake that will melt in the sun.”
“Imagine thinking someone getting Alzheimer’s is the same as willingly taking on a loan that you agreed to pay back,” Dillon responded.
Another individual likened Dillon’s position to someone who opposes Polio vaccinations because they were crippled by Polio during their own childhood: “‘I was crippled by polio as a child so why the hell should you get vaccinated???'”
“Student loan forgiveness isn’t a vaccine to a disease. It’s enabling the universities that are overcharging because they know they’ll get government help. These people willingly took on these student loans, no one willingly takes on polio. This is a ridiculous analogy,” Dillon noted.
President Biden said on Thursday that he is “considering dealing with some debt reduction.”