# Can someone please tell Oprah Winfrey she isn't God? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 8, 2008, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-please-tell-oprah-winfrey-she-isnt-god/436849 "2008-02-08T20:58:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![Wee\_Bairn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/90db22/32.png) [@Wee\_Bairn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wee_Bairn)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2008, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-please-tell-oprah-winfrey-she-isnt-god/436849/141 "2008-02-12T17:06:21Z")
[QUOTE=fessie] I’m Sally Housecoat. Where’re your proof that you’re superior to me? [/QUOTE] Where do you get that I said anything like that? I’m pretty much the male equivalent, and the last book I read was Catcher in the Rye 20 years ago. No one is calling stay at home moms stupid. The average person period is a moron- housewives, househusbands, working men, women, etc- 90 million people still support GWB for instance. And yes, if she’s encouraging people to read the classics, whats the point- its like me telling someone Citizen Kane is a good movie- really? who knew? If someone is so dumb they need Oprah to tell them Faulkner is a good writer, well, that’s pretty telling. ---
**Author:** ![Wee\_Bairn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/90db22/32.png) [@Wee\_Bairn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wee_Bairn)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2008, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-please-tell-oprah-winfrey-she-isnt-god/436849/142 "2008-02-12T17:57:45Z")
In the interest of fairness, I just had friend read this thread and he told me I’m a complete idiot and that **ascenray** ’s rebuttals to my posts are spot on… ---
**Author:** ![fessie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c37758/32.png) [@fessie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fessie)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2008, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-please-tell-oprah-winfrey-she-isnt-god/436849/143 "2008-02-12T18:00:32Z")
:snort: LOL I was planning to find a quote from Salinger for you. I think it’s from _Seymour, and Introduction_. Salinger tells it as an old Chinese (IIRC) tale about a village wise man who’s on his deathbed. All of the village elders are gathering around to praise his many virtues. Meanwhile, he’s wishing they’d STFU so he could better hear the washlady out the window as she gossips about the neighbors. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2008, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-please-tell-oprah-winfrey-she-isnt-god/436849/144 "2008-02-12T18:05:16Z")
[QUOTE=Wee Bairn] In the interest of fairness, I just had friend read this thread and he told me I’m a complete idiot and that **ascenray** ’s rebuttals to my posts are spot on… [/QUOTE] Let me know if your friend needs a sponsorship. ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2008, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-please-tell-oprah-winfrey-she-isnt-god/436849/145 "2008-02-12T18:06:07Z")
[QUOTE=Wee Bairn] In the interest of fairness, I just had friend read this thread and he told me I’m a complete idiot and that **ascenray** ’s rebuttals to my posts are spot on… [/QUOTE] I appreciate you having the gumption to post this. ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2008, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-please-tell-oprah-winfrey-she-isnt-god/436849/146 "2008-02-12T18:07:24Z")
As a quasi SAHM (I work part-time), I have to say that daytime television is demeaning. From the commercials which urge me to contact a lawyer if I’ve been injured in an accident to the inane soap operas, I’ve learned to simply turn off the television rather than search for something that doesn’t insult my intelligence. If Oprah has a book club and tries to take the highbrow route, then good for her. I wish more tv producers would act like her and start trying to lift people up instead of programming to the lowest common denominator. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2008, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-please-tell-oprah-winfrey-she-isnt-god/436849/147 "2008-02-12T18:22:50Z")
[QUOTE=Wee Bairn] In the interest of fairness, I just had friend read this thread and he told me I’m a complete idiot and that **ascenray** ’s rebuttals to my posts are spot on… [/QUOTE] Apparently you keep good company. 🙂 [QUOTE=PunditLisa] As a quasi SAHM (I work part-time), I have to say that daytime television is demeaning. From the commercials which urge me to contact a lawyer if I’ve been injured in an accident to the inane soap operas [/QUOTE] My television thinks I need commercials on getting rich quick and losing weight without effort. I feel demeaned too. ---
**Author:** ![Wee\_Bairn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/90db22/32.png) [@Wee\_Bairn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wee_Bairn)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2008, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-please-tell-oprah-winfrey-she-isnt-god/436849/148 "2008-02-12T18:24:06Z")
I just don’t get the mass support for her, even by those who don’t care for her. My pal doesn’t give two shits about her yet spent an hour on the phone defending her. There have been threads here talking about X famous person you don’t like for no good reason, and many well known good people rub people the wrong way- Angelina Jolie who is pretty much a saint gets bashed by many here and elsewhere when she has done nothing wrong and is clearly a selfless and caring and charitable person, but Oprah rubs you the wrong way and its heresy? No one here knows her or her mindset or anything about her, but everyone jumps to her defense? No one knows her motives, anything- Grosie O’Donnell was once the queen of daytime TV, then the real person surfaced. Oprah gives billions to charity, yeah what billionaire doesn’t? Leona Helmsley gave billions too, but no one is running around defending her. Oprah could really actually have a god complex, and think its her lot to direct the lives of her audience- who knows? ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2008, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-please-tell-oprah-winfrey-she-isnt-god/436849/149 "2008-02-12T18:59:04Z")
[QUOTE=Wee Bairn] No one here knows her or her mindset or anything about her, but everyone jumps to her defense? [/QUOTE] Yes. Because you shouldn’t attack people without a good reason. It’s not nice. ---
**Author:** ![fessie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c37758/32.png) [@fessie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fessie)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2008, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-please-tell-oprah-winfrey-she-isnt-god/436849/150 "2008-02-12T19:02:07Z")
[QUOTE=PunditLisa] As a quasi SAHM (I work part-time), I have to say that daytime television is demeaning. From the commercials which urge me to contact a lawyer if I’ve been injured in an accident to the inane soap operas. [/QUOTE] I wanna know why SafeAuto is so determined to get these people back on the road (and JDBuyRider wants to sell them cars) just so Ken Nunn can go sue them. Gotta go, Judge Milian is getting read to kick some ass… ---
**Author:** ![The\_Hamster\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8edcca/32.png) [@The\_Hamster\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Hamster_King)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2008, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-please-tell-oprah-winfrey-she-isnt-god/436849/151 "2008-02-12T19:29:24Z")
[QUOTE=Wee Bairn in post #141] No one is calling stay at home moms stupid. [/QUOTE] [QUOTE=Wee Bairn in post #108] Telling the housefraus what they should read to me is the height of pomposity, and yes, its their fault for making every book club choice a million seller, **but they’re stupid and don’t know any better.** [/QUOTE] Just put the shovel down and walk away, man. ---
**Author:** ![descamisado](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@descamisado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/descamisado)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2008, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-please-tell-oprah-winfrey-she-isnt-god/436849/152 "2008-02-12T20:29:38Z")
**Wee Bairn** ’s Ass, meet **Wee Bairn** ,'s Hand. Oh! You’ve met before. When was that? Oh, around [10-30-07](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=442177&highlight=Oafrah) or so, you say. Hand, take Ass and cradle him well and securely. You might as well keep him, he’ll be back soon anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hazle_Weatherfield)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2008, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-please-tell-oprah-winfrey-she-isnt-god/436849/153 "2008-02-12T20:41:42Z")
[QUOTE=Wee Bairn] The idea that Sally Housecoat maybe goes out and spends 30 bucks she doesn’t have on a book she won’t read because her hero Oprah tells her to is kind of offensive to me, especially when the only effect of such a chain is more cash in Oprah’s pocket that she doesn’t need at the expense of one of her brainwashed lemmings. I don’t believe you should take advantage of people just because you can. But it doesn’t upset me- I could care less about people I don’t know. I’m offering my opinion on the topic, but I’m not shaking with rage and my forehead isn’t red and throbbing as I’m typing this. [/QUOTE] I believe that the blame, there, lies with Sally Housecoat. No one can turn you into a lemming without your permission…or something like that. ---
**Author:** ![Wee\_Bairn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/90db22/32.png) [@Wee\_Bairn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wee_Bairn)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2008, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-please-tell-oprah-winfrey-she-isnt-god/436849/154 "2008-02-12T20:53:36Z")
No, I forget exaggerations are not welcome here- my bad. I’m sure I can find a post somewhere where I’ve said “people are stupid” as well, meaning most people, as I meant most people watching Oprah are dumb, just like most people doing anything at a given time are dumb. I’m sitting at a desk right now, and most people currently sitting at a desk right now are dumb as well. ETA: and its not like my concept is a novel one- [The Onion](http://www.theonion.com/content/node/28906) agrees. ---
**Author:** ![Waenara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/50afbb/32.png) [@Waenara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waenara)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2008, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-please-tell-oprah-winfrey-she-isnt-god/436849/155 "2008-02-12T22:14:47Z")
[QUOTE=Wee Bairn] ETA: and its not like my concept is a novel one- [The Onion](http://www.theonion.com/content/node/28906) agrees. [/QUOTE] When it appears that, in all seriousness, you agree with the _Onion_’s greatly-exaggerated-for-humor articles, perhaps you should re-evaluate how to present your argument. Besides, for _Onion_ Oprah mockery, I prefer: [Oprah’s Contraceptive Club Prevents 450,000 Pregnancies In First Month](http://www.theonion.com/content/node/39247): > [@](#): > > During last month’s special episode, the studio audience watched carefully and was uncharacteristically quiet as Winfrey explained, slowly and with no big words, the fundamentals of reproductive biology and family planning. In doing so, Winfrey exposed her largely white, female, unemployed, lower-middle-class audience to the concept of “pregnancy avoidance” for what was, in most cases, the first time in their lives. > “Oprah’s right,” said Shelley Collica of Jackson, MS, a longtime Oprah viewer and mother of seven. “I never looked at it quite this way before, but if you think about it, there’s no reason that a woman has to be pregnant all the time.” > > \ > > With Winfrey’s latest crusade another unqualified success, even the most skeptical concede that her power to get TV viewers to unflinchingly do whatever she tells them is virtually limitless. Among Winfrey’s future ventures: an “Eating With A Knife And Fork Club”; a “Not Throwing Things On The Floor Club”; and, perhaps most ambitious of all, a Breathing With Your Mouth Closed instructional videotape. ---
**Author:** ![Catamount](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/catamount/32/2840_2.png) [@Catamount](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catamount)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2008, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-please-tell-oprah-winfrey-she-isnt-god/436849/156 "2008-02-12T23:44:40Z")
[QUOTE=Wee Bairn] The idea that Sally Housecoat maybe goes out and spends 30 bucks she doesn’t have on a book she won’t read because her hero Oprah tells her to is kind of offensive to me, especially when the only effect of such a chain is more cash in Oprah’s pocket that she doesn’t need at the expense of one of her brainwashed lemmings. I don’t believe you should take advantage of people just because you can. But it doesn’t upset me- I could care less about people I don’t know. I’m offering my opinion on the topic, but I’m not shaking with rage and my forehead isn’t red and throbbing as I’m typing this. [/QUOTE] Your misogyny is showing. Might want to tuck that back in. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2008, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-please-tell-oprah-winfrey-she-isnt-god/436849/157 "2008-02-13T00:54:55Z")
But…but…people ARE stupid! ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2008, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-please-tell-oprah-winfrey-she-isnt-god/436849/158 "2008-02-13T03:15:35Z")
[QUOTE=featherlou] But…but…people ARE stupid! [/QUOTE] Well, there are certainly some stellar examples of that in this very thread. ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2008, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-please-tell-oprah-winfrey-she-isnt-god/436849/159 "2008-02-13T16:12:51Z")
Show of hands…who’s for voting **Wee Bairn** off the island and getting his clearly more intelligent friend to take his place? Listen up, she doesn’t tell people what to do, she’s not telling them what to watch or what to read or what charity to support. Her shows are a response to the thousands of letters she gets every week, each of which gets read. Get it? People write in and say, “What are you reading?”, “What should I do about…?”, etc. etc. Your frothy derision notwithstanding, all of this is widely known and easily available. Which is why you ain’t getting any respect for your half baked screed. You are passionately upset about something you haven’t bothered to investigate in the slightest. Worse yet, everyone in this thread can see as much. Worse still you appear to be willfully ignorant, choosing to ignore every point people here have used to tried to fight your ignorance. ---
**Author:** ![you\_with\_the\_face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ecccb3/32.png) [@you\_with\_the\_face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/you_with_the_face)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2008, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-please-tell-oprah-winfrey-she-isnt-god/436849/160 "2008-02-13T16:22:27Z")
Can someone explain to me the etymology of “Oafrah”? Surely there has to be something more to this than just deliberate misspelling. If so, I ain’t getting it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-please-tell-oprah-winfrey-she-isnt-god/436849.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-please-tell-oprah-winfrey-she-isnt-god/436849.md?page=9)