"I bet the white people will have something to say about it," when she was interviewed about her financially started achool for girls in South Africa.
It's sad the girls don't get as much as boys, and I am with Oprah 100% on that project, but by her accusations on whites, that was totally uncalled for.
I don't care what one's race is, never insult it!
2007-01-07 17:42:09 · 37 answers · asked by Heyjay 4 in Society & Culture ➔ Cultures & Groups ➔ Other - Cultures & Groups
lifesbeau... I grew up around racism and could never understand why people hate someone based on skin color, religion or sexual preference, so this assumption of slipping out a rascist comment has no backbone!
The more I have to hear a racist word, the more I defend the one who's being judged..
2007-01-07 17:56:38 · update #1
andrea b, I don't take anything personally. There is no excuse to assume or judge anyone, regardless of race or anything else.
2007-01-07 17:58:35 · update #2
Tiny, get over it? I am not going to start tolerating racist statements. That's to say it's okay and that we condone it.
Yes, it's true the whites have owned slaves. But that does not mean the whole white race has any part of that.
2007-01-07 18:05:29 · update #3
Jen, I totally agree with you on so many levels. I don't care what race one is. If one needs help and we can provide some help, by all means. I felt like Oprah was indicating that all whites are going to "have something to say." Either she needs to apologize for her comment and clarify what she's saying.
2007-01-09 09:38:16 · update #4
She was referring to the white of South Africa....i.e. apartheid.
Duh.
Educate yourself before jumping to crazy conclusions.
2007-01-09 07:32:19 · answer #1 · answered by Chica Creole 3 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Well unfortunately she was right. White people did have something to say about it. There were some very heated questions on Y!A about her school, and all the people posing the questions were white.
I think there's a knee-jerk reaction whenever race is mentioned because it is such a loaded topic. In this case uninformed Americans (I'm American too) were offended that her school was mostly children of color, and they were enraged that she "didn't owe the white people of South Africa anything." They looked at the situation in South Africa through American eyes, which is what us Americans seem to do no matter what country is the focus.
The people posting the questions and getting so upset failed to realize that Oprah was right in this context, because in South Africa most white people have everything. There are very few poor white people (and it sounds like those few had just as much an opportunity to go to her school as other poor kids). It's not like in the States where white people have all sorts of different income levels.
This is because apartheid was squashed only in 1994. Before that (from 1948-1994) only white people could vote. White people were in power. And the country was forcibly segregated into several zones based on skin color. Those of color didn't have access to resources. They couldn't go to school because there were no schools. They had no healthcare. Basic things that a family needs to raise strong children. During this time, and for all the years after, white people continue to have the resources they had before. Therefore their schools never suffered and their children are already getting a top-notch education. Meanwhile people of color are oh so slowly starting to get the resources they need.
Oprah focuses on impoverished people of any color, but almost 100% of the white community in South Africa doesn't need her help. Think about it... the children entering her academy are the children of parents who had no access to these things when they were children themselves.
So... Oprah, a woman who spends so much of her time and energy focusing on people in need no matter what their color, gets slammed by white people for opening a school mostly for children of color, in a country where poverty IS based on color. And then she gets slammed again for predicting the backlash that she IS getting?
Please everyone. Think about it.
2007-01-07 18:11:17 · answer #2 · answered by Jen 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
It sounds to me, elee, that Oprah is implying that all whites are the same. If you have a room of 100 whites and 90 of them are racists, that does not mean - in any way, that the other 10 are the same way.
If I made the money she makes, I wouldn't be flaunting it by giving away a car for each member of my audience.
She always says "I did this," "I'm helping with this," "I this," "I that," "I, I, I, I . . . " The reward is in the efforts and results and not so on who gets it going.
Admittedly, it troubles me, when anyone other than a white man gets a job or career position, it has to be capitalized on the race. When are people going to grow up and appreciate the caring and leave out all the judging someone based on appearance and race?
Taking it personally is not it at all. Wrong is wrong no matter who you are!
2007-01-07 18:44:08 · answer #3 · answered by bambi_gets_lost 2 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Understanding both sides helps quite a bit. Yes, I agree more whites say harsh words and racist statements, a lot of us defend the innocent, regardless of family line. I'm taking a stand against racism of all races!!
I believe Oprah needs to make clear of her comment so that it is not taken out of content.
2007-01-10 14:10:59 · answer #4 · answered by Zacarrah M 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
She speaking on the fact that some white people would complain about there only being two white girls in her school when whites only make up 9% of the population and that same population is made up of the hereditary benefactors of apartheid since the 1800's so they are naturally those that are not poor. But those that were, she put in her school. The school is made of poor girls. As blacks were oppressed in their own nation, and apartheid didn't end until 1991, and income distribution is very unequal, and girls in Africa are treated as if they are only made for breeding and bearing children and she wishes to change that, it is natural that the school is nearly comprised of all blacks and girls. Her issue is whites having something to say about a school being built for African children, and she is correct because people have been complaining that "charity begins at home" when she has given money here in America for years.
Any whining about the school by South African whites is akin to Bill Gate's children and Warren Buffets, and Steve Jobs children being angry that they can't attend the school donated by Oprah for poor children and that it is somehow racist that they cannot. They make up the elite population of South Africa. The school is not built for those who are but for those who really need the help. It is what it is. And if she had the school built with black children in mind, who can blame her? They are the ones who need uplifting.
2007-01-07 18:27:28 · answer #5 · answered by JAdorE 3 · 3⤊ 1⤋
JAdorE, we're not discounting all the history's facts, but she is making clear accusation that all whites are against her helping out the African girls. I'm all for her helping out, but for her to claim whites by making an arrogant presumption is a racist statement. Even if she would have stated that about the blacks,
it's still wrong!
How far does condoning such behavior have to go in order for someone/anyone to make a stand and not accept it as a way of life??
2007-01-07 18:52:28 · answer #6 · answered by Bob D. 2 · 2⤊ 1⤋
Any kind of racism is wrong, IMO. But I've disliked Oprah for a long time - her statements and political issues always seem hypocritical to her as a person.
2007-01-07 17:59:25 · answer #7 · answered by Total Eclipse Of The Sun 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
i dont know why she would make that kind of a comment as she has been so much supported by the white audience. I am disappointed in her.... but have been since i see her on the cover of her own magazine each month... i like oprah quite a bit but am begining to feel she thinks it is all about oprah....this is sad
2007-01-07 17:46:56 · answer #8 · answered by lindasue m 3 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Oprah has an oversized ego. Don't believe me? Check out her magazine covers---EVERY MONTH! Don't listen to anything she says, she's just another celebrity using bored housewives to make a buck. And I agree that if white people aren't supposed to make slurs against blacks then it should be the same vice versa. Oprah rooting for equality is like Ron Jeremy rooting for abstinence.
2007-01-07 17:53:40 · answer #9 · answered by Charlie Girl 4 · 2⤊ 1⤋
What gets me about her donation to the school is that she said it was something she had always dreamed of doing. Give me a break! She has so much money that the second she thought of it she could of written a check for it. She could have done it anomomisly. But no, she makes a big deal out of it. Its all for publicity.
2007-01-07 17:49:07 · answer #10 · answered by Haven17 5 · 2⤊ 1⤋
People that grew up surrounded by prejudice as a child have a hard time overcoming it as adults. No matter how educated or wealthy they become, or how hard they try to cover it up, it just slips out every now and then. How sad! I really do like Oprah. She probably realized her mistake as soon as she said it.
2007-01-07 17:48:34 · answer #11 · answered by lifesbeautifulmelody 3 · 0⤊ 2⤋