Oh no Oprah

After reading a superb blog on Oprah, which includes an ONSD moment, I had to give some space to my Oprah commentary. I know this story is not new but it deserves some space! Now, I love me some Oprah. Remember In Living Color's gossip monger with the undying affection for Ms. Jenkins? Well, I feel the same about Oprah. On any normal day, I would say "Nobody betta not eva say nuttin' 'bout Ms. Winfrey," just like she did. But today is different. For a few weeks, I've marinated over Oprah's comments and the hypocrisy has driven me batty.

Eugene Robinson, of the Washington Post, made excellent points in the aforementioned blog (get it here.) He points to an article, in Ms. Winfrey's mag, where she talks about the South African children she blessed with a big home, caretaker and many "things". Upon visiting them unannounced (the apparent price of her gift), she noticed the children all had cell phones ringing constantly and that they preferred discussing Ipods and sneakers....WAIT. STOP THE PRESSES. Isn't this the same conclusion she drew about American kids. Didn't Ms. Winfrey defend her lavish spending on foreigners by saying WE are the ones out of touch with the importance of education. Didn't she claim our kids are too interested in Ipods and sneakers? Didn’t she imply that our children were not worthy of her billions because they are greedy and selfish bastards? Something is awry Ms. Winfrey. Something is awry.

More hypocrisy:

**Last year, The Oprah show did a week long special on the education crisis. She had Mr. and Mrs. Bill Gates kick it off. They spoke of how far behind our children are (in comparison to other nations) and warned that America’s superpower status was quickly fading. Additionally, she showed us the terrible conditions children in Washington, DC and Chicago have to deal with. She asked; “how can we expect them to succeed when their conditions don’t encourage success?” I cried and applauded Ms. Winfrey for examining this issue. Education has long been a major concern of mine. Seeing as how Black children are the ones hurting the most, I see education as THE most important issue preventing financial growth in our communities. But, Ms. Winfrey felt the need to bash our kids? Didn’t Ms. Winfrey say the majority of the problem lies in no one expecting much of them? And here I was thinking she was our savior.

**“Oprah’s favorite things” is possibly the most watched episode every season. We tune in to see just what Ms. Winfrey is into. As with her book club, we take her word as golden. If Oprah says it’s good, well it’s good. Certainly, a billionaire TV host knows the good stuff right? And that she does. From Ralph Lauren purple label sweaters to Ugg Boots and overpriced beauty products, Ms. Winfrey knows the good stuff….So why the hell can’t our kids want that too? Seeing as how she’s a role model for many, maybe their Ipod and sneaker fascination was slightly influenced by rich folks like you…and Mr. Gates ;)

**Did she really spend $1 million the opening party? Did said party involve flying her celebrity friends to South Africa, on chartered jets, so they could stay in a FIVE star hotel free of charge? Wow, how un-materialistic of you Oprah! I guess you showed those Africans how to keep education at the top of their list.

**Reports say Oprah’s school is costing more than $200,000 per kid. And here and I was thinking the $9,000, spent by my county, was good. Damn Oprah, you showed us!

In all fairness, Ms. Winfrey has a new defense. She says she has given a lot to American schools but kept it a secret. Well, I’m sure, had she done something CLOSE to what she did for those South African girls, we would all know about it.

Apparently, money and materialism are the America way. Who knew?! ;) Oprah, when you decide to give away all of your billions and live in a South African village breastfeeding sick babies, I’ll give your saint status back. But, for now, I reserve the right to say something bad ‘bout Ms. Winfrey.