Quebec is rich in poor people and poor in rich people.
We envy the rich when they are discreet. We look down on them when they flaunt their money. And if these rich people are women, we find them careerists or opportunists.
Misery that we have a strange relationship with money!
We realized this last Sunday at TLMEP.
Séraphine Poudrier
Guy A. Lepage received five women “richer than him” (as Jean-Sébastien Girard said), five women who participate in reality TV Dream life (broadcast on Crave from December 18).
Go take a look at the show’s Facebook page and I swear to you that the analysis of the comments is worth any sociological study on the complex relationships of Quebecers with 1) ambition, 2) success, 3) social solidarity and 4) money.
“Ridiculous”, “pretentious”, “superficial”, “gold digger», “empty of meaning”, “insignificant bling bling”, “upstarts”, “women who are ready to do anything for money!”, “you earn a good living, it’s great but you don’t have to let people know it to everyone”, “beautiful girls”, “the summit of the void”, “After the alpha males, the capitalist nunuches”. Phew! Of the 1200 comments, the majority of them were extremely contemptuous.
I found them inspiring. I have deep admiration for entrepreneurs in general, men or women. People who constantly take risks, and who experience almost daily stress to keep their business afloat. When I see a successful entrepreneur, the first thing I think is not, “Who did he steal from to get there?” but rather “What sacrifice did he make to get there?”
The 2 Pear Trees
One thing bothers me. Claude Poirier, present on the set, said to the five women: “I’m looking at you and you don’t weigh 275 lbs with lots of pimples either”.
Of the five women, only two were “entrepreneurs’ wives”, the other three were female entrepreneurs. To suggest that they are successful only because they are pretty is macho! And why did he ask them if their husbands agreed that they participate in this show? Would he have asked men if they had permission from their wives?
Let’s talk about the other Poirier, the businessman Luc Poirier, recently invited to A wonderful time, by Stéphan Bureau, at Télé-Québec.
He caused quite a shock when he claimed he was spending a million dollars a month. It caused a lot of talk. Many people dream of living like Luc Poirier and his wife, Isabelle… but how many would be willing to work 95 hours a week, to risk their money, to get back up after one, two, three failures?
When Luc Poirier and his wife, Isabelle Gauvin (who was at TLMEP), do fundraisers for Audition Québec, no one talks about it.
Luc Poirier explained five days ago on Facebook: “It’s a cause that particularly affects Isabelle and me, because our daughter, Mégane, was born hearing impaired. […] Together, we do more than raise funds: we create a lasting impact in the lives of many families. Let’s continue to make noise for this great cause!”
Yes, friends, to distribute wealth (and donate large sums to charities), you have to create wealth.
