Pop Blog: Stop Oprah Bashing
By Jennifer Daniels
Posted Jan. 11, 2007 -- Pet peeve #2213 of mine:
Listening to a bunch of broke, bitter Negroes who haven't donated as much as a pack of pencils to their local schools dissing Oprah “No Last Name Necessary” for recently opening the Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa. The main argument is that Oprah should be more concerned with the education in America than overseas. Why Oprah should show more concern for her country than our own government does, I have no idea. But I digress.
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Poverty in the United States – especially where Blacks are concerned – is a serious problem. Just because it's not on the devastating levels of Third World poverty doesn't make it any less detrimental. But I'm disgusted that there are people actually criticizing Oprah for helping young South African girls, arguably the least protected and most vulnerable group of people in the world. Is she doing it for publicity? Maybe. Will she get all of that money back in tax write-offs? Probably. Could she have helped far more girls with the kind of money she had? Sure. Does any of that matter? Er, no.
As many grievances as we have against the gub'mint, they don't come close to problems surrounding the laws (or lack of them) that govern lots of countries overseas, especially where women are concerned. South Africa, for example, is frequently dubbed “the rape capital of the world.” The myth that s*x with virgins can cure AIDS still circulates in South Africa, but statistics are starting to show that the “ignorant Black savages” excuse seems more like a cover to condone child rape and that only a small percentage of the men there ever believed such a thing. Last July, when confronted about the staggering crime rate – South Africa is second in the world for both rapes and murders – Charles Nqakula, the minister of Safety and Security, replied that the citizens could stop whining and leave the country. So how could anyone be mad at Oprah for helping children of a country who has that man in charge of their safety? Are these people serious? /Pleeeeeease, Lord, don't let me cuss out no Black folk today!!!/
Here in America, where over 40 percent of Black children are aborted and nearly 70 percent of the ones who are born will be to single mothers – very few of whom will be shot, stoned, hanged or doused with acid for making such choices – Oprah is taking flack for donating to a country with 1.1 million AIDS orphans. This is a country where an entire generation has been wiped out, leaving the elders to raise children. They're upset that Oprah isn't all that interested in being our Messiah, choosing to help those who are far more desolate than even the poorest of Americans. For goodness' sakes, we don't need Oprah to deliver us from poverty. There are plenty of rich and middle-class American citizens who can help the poor and the undereducated. We have the resources. We have the technology. What we lack is the drive, unity and interest to do so. And there's nothing that Oprah's money can do about that.
Posted By: Alexandria Jackson
Friday, January 12th 2007 at 12:42PM
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