Oprah Winfrey will not invite Palin! (broken link)
The comments made under the above post by the Gateway Pundit is what spurred on a post here. In particular, it was the post below made by an “anonymous” poster who stood up for Oprah’s right to NOT invite Palin to her show.
Quickly… I believe it is Oprah’s right to invite or not invite anyone she chooses… why she makes these decisions are what people are debating. Personally, I don’t care who she favors but she does have a great influence over many people.
9/8/08 9:50 AM
Anonymous said…
I don’t watch Oprah….but I have to agree that I really am scared about the ignorance of the American people. Some simple facts: Oprah did have Obama on her show once after the 2004 DNC and before he ran for senate and again after he won his senate seat and before he announced his decision to run for president. In both cases he was an incumbent (ie already in a position) and he was not being veiwed as someone running for anything. Another fact: She has openly supported Obama but not on her show only at rallies, fundraisers etc…..and the last time a checked every American no matter who they are or how well they are known has the right to support whom ever they want. Lastly, she also states that she is willing to have Palin on her show after Nov. 4. Whether some of you know this or not she would therefore have to have Obama on her show if she invited Palin or even McCain on her show prior to Nov. 4th.Two last comments as a woman of color I am so insulted to here people calling Oprah racist because she supports a different candidate than you do….also maybe some of you don’t realized that most of the people on her show are not black and she has had even Hillary Clinton on her show but again not when she was running for office. Her show has always been a show about entertainment and education and the argument most of you have about why gov. Palin should be on the show is very very valid however, no one can answer the question as to how the validity of this argument is diminished in anyway after Nov. 4.
I also awed by those who said that they have stopped watching her show because of the fact that she supports Obama. My only response to those people is how very narrowed minded of you. Again does she not have the right to support any candidate she wants. Believe it or not there have always been celebrities supporting candidates on campaigns, does that mean that you stop watching their movies and shows as well. Honestly if you only listen to what people on the right say or only to people on the left…its no wonder our country seems so divided and screwed.
The basis for my response to this person’s post is the point she made wherein she states she is insulted that people are calling Oprah a racist because she does not support John McCain. I can understand that feeling… I get it every day when I hear the liberals calling yet another person who doesn’t support Obama a racist.
My response:
11:32 AM
Just Jill said…
I feel it is Oprah’s right to choose whom she wants to come on her show… it IS her right. I am addressing the post made regarding how upset one of the commenters is that people are suggesting that Oprah is racist… I would like to point out that I, as a white woman, am appalled at how many times I see fingers pointing and people saying that those who are not black (especially whites) are racist because they don’t want to vote for Obama when there is no justification for such an accusation. Oh, there may be those who are, but they aren’t as common as its being made out.I am not voting for Obama because I do not agree with his policies nor do I think he is qualified nor ready to be president. I do not care; as I have said in numerous places on the web, if the man is purple with green polka dots… it means NOTHING to me what color his skin happens to be.
My point is… the anger you feel towards others claiming that Oprah is racist because she is supporting Obama and not a white candidate is exactly what so many people are feeling when they are accused of racism because they don’t want Obama as their president. It’s insulting, obnoxious and just another way of trying to coerce people into doing something they don’t want to so they won’t be labeled.
I’m sick of it!
I will defend myself valiantly that I am not racist in any manner and I do not believe in any way whatsoever that a person who defends themselves against such an accusation is therefore exactly what they are fighting against being called. I will not turn the other cheek, I will not be called something I am not and just stand here and say “maybe you’re right… maybe I really am a bad person”.
NO!! No more!!
I care for people whom I wish to care for and it matters not what they look like… it matters what is in their heart and in their mind. Those who point their fingers and scream “racist” must be racist themselves for noticing these differences… I have no more time for these individuals than for criminals.
So with that in mind, it isn’t appropriate to call Oprah racist either… no one should be accused of such an act unless there is undeniable proof. Now… with Obama’s book, there is a lot of doubt about whether or not HE is racist and HE has put it out there right in front of our noses. I have my questions about his thoughts and it worries me a great deal.
The lines are blurred between realities. Regular people (liberals, conservatives and those in between) believe they are right and that they are the ones being victimized. Can all sides be right? I would like to point out that the radicals are the ones doing the pointing, lying and screaming and it’s the regular folk who are being sucked in, consumed and MADE to feel angry (I know they’ve made me angrier than I have ever been in regards to standing up for my country, my beliefs and my rights).
It is these radicals who want another civil war and it seems race is the easiest fuel to add to the already lit fire. It has been and may always be (if we can’t change) a subject that will flare up, smolder out and flare up over and over again. There are people from every race who are prejudice against some other race… they will inevitably always exist; but they are not the majority.
I do understand the desire for individuals to be surrounded by others who are like them and it seems “appearance” is a major factor. We want to feel a part of a family even outside our own immediate family. We want to be welcomed, accepted and special and what better way than to be with those who are “like” us and understand us. It is a frightening feeling to be surrounded by those who do not understand us or are against us for whatever reason… it makes us want to flee to our homes and our groups.
I was shunned growing up, particularly in High School, because I did not LOOK like everyone else. No… it wasn’t the color of my skin… it was a disfigurement in which I was made fun of or, even worse… I was ignored. I’ve come a long way from that type of prejudice but it hurt and I feel hardened inside at times in an effort to “not feel” any pain or rejection.
I’ve learned during the last 20 years after High School that I am beautiful, inside and out! It was my own lack of self esteem that made me ugly. I have been told numerous times that I am beautiful and, to my own joy, I do turn heads. And, no, I don’t say that because I’m stuck-up (it is often hard for me to boost my own ego)… I say that to show that it was the inside that needed to find the beauty and in so doing, the outside just played along.
Growing up… my desire was not to be accepted by a group or race… my desire was just to be accepted by the human race.
Oh, I know someone will tell me that I can not compare prejudice against a disfigurement with prejudice to skin color because you can change a disfigurement but not the color of your skin. I have fixed what I could but there is no way I can look completely “normal”. I have to say that the only people who notice, are those who are more interested in perfection of appearance than the regular people of the world.
If I “notice” a person’s skin color or race… it’s because I’m interested in them… their life, where they have been or where they are from, how they think, what they want out of life… and I want to know if any of that comes from their experiences being raised in another community, another country or within the walls of another religion. I crave the knowledge of how life was for someone else. One of my good friends just recently moved back to Korea and she and I could sit and talk about what it was like for her growing up in Korea. I would ask her questions about the Korean language and what it was like learning English (her second language) and she would ask me questions about what it was like for me to learn Japanese. We would joke about things… and there was no animosity or resentment… I knew what she meant and she knew what I meant.
And I miss her.
One day I hope appearance won’t matter… it doesn’t to me. But until the day when the self-involved stop trying to hide behind “fairness” and “equal rights” in order to suppress or disguise their own racist beliefs… nothing much will change.
