I gotta admit, that’s not a bad retort. 
I didn’t see the show at the Astrodome, and don’t watch Oprah very often. I do like and admire her, though, in a general knowledge sense of what she does.
One point I don’t see brought up here, that I believe counts for a lot: Imagine being a hurricane evacuee, one of the Dome People. After all they’ve been through, I would think to see Oprah, and all other celeb people who came down to Houston, would help them see that the world is paying some attention to them, that they aren’t just lost in what must be a frustrating place. People get to tell their stories, realizing that it will be heard by the whole country. I’d think that would offer much relief and hope that their plight is recognized. I just don’t see the exploitation here.
I would like to note that hurricane survivors are sharing their stories with Dr. Phil on Larry King tonight.
I am fortunate to have a spare TV in the closet. If I don’t get the Rockies game first try and land on that show, I may need it.
I’m all for hearing the stories of the survivors; I’m sure there are both horrific and inspiring tales among them. But Dr. Phil and Larry King at once? The earth may crack asunder.
Hell yes.
Yeah, I suppose our hero is saying Oprah acts the same way. I’d disagree.
It works from his perspective, if you see Oprah as a preying opportunist.
I hope you aren’t referring to me as “our hero” because if you were to compare me to the people who are in the area of the Katrina devastation working their asses off and enduring the unholy hell they do, I’d be inclined to suggest you lick the E. coli bacteria off my throbbing asshole.
Now that I have actually watched the first hour of Oprah’s shows on the hurricane, I’d like to add a hearty and committed “Fuck off, asshole” to the OP. She’s doing wonderful things and not being the slightest bit exploitative.
Oprah rocks right down to the ground, warts and all.
And by the way: it is difficult to imagine Oprah or anyone who has accomplished anything worthwhile in this life being able to do so without a healthy ego. Apart from the Hermes incident, I’ve never seen any evidence that hers exceeds reasonable boundaries, given her extraordinary accomplishments.
So again, with feeling: bite me.
I wouldn’t worry too much about that.
I watched Oprah’s show yesterday and the day before, and also with to extend a hearty “fucko off.”
There was one segment that made me feel uncomfortable in the second part: Julia Roberts. She came off as pretty condescending and, well, phony.
Was it my imagination or did Oprah observe that too, and stick a subtle knife in when she transitioned away from that bit? “Thank you, Miss Julia.” Was that a deliberate invocation of a form associated with a time when that sort of bullshit paternalism was taken for granted? Or does Oprah usually talk this way?
Anyway, I wish that Unregistered Bull saw the first part. I totally lost it when they showed that young guy’s reaction to the arrangements that had been made for the dog that he’d had since he was ten years old. Watch that and argue that looking after pets does a disservice to humans, prick.
I felt just the opposite. I hate Julia Roberts with the fire of a thousand suns, but I thought she acted natural with the people she talked to. She’s a good hugger.
Can’t one admire Oprah for what she’s accomplished and at the same time be put off by her enormous ego and her glurgy-new-agey-guru-know-it-all schtick?
Apparently not.
However, in my world it is okay to want to light my farts on her for saying autoimmune diseases can be cured by coming to terms with childhood abuse. Want to get on my bad side, bitch?* Say something like that.
*Oprah, not Guin. As far as I know, Guin’s never even suggested anything like that.
Ah, Oprah.
She seems to have lost her way a bit in the past few years. I think she must have a monstrous ego. And the Hermes bit didn’t do her any favors.
but as has been said, she does alot of good–alot of neccesary good. So, I go easy on her.
And I agree with the upthread notion of ANYTHING that gets any American to read a bit more is not a bad thing…
Now, we didn’t get Oprah here for the first years of her show, but my understanding was that she did go Jerry Springer and then went present-day Oprah.
Whoa, she said that? When was this? Are you sure you’re not thinking of some Scientologist type?
A bit of Googling turns up this. She had some crackpot on who gave a “reading” to an audience member which gave that impression. (Note, however, that as clearly crack-brained as Ms. Myss is, she doesn’t say that evironmental or psychological factors are the root causes of illness, just that mental attitudes influence how people deal with them.) It’s “The Power of Positive Thinking!” with new, more eye-roll-inducing jargon added in.
For the record, I think that Oprah’s credulity with regard to medieval bullshit like (literal) angels and charlatans like Caroline Myss and Dr. Phil is totally pitworthy.
That being said, I think it speaks volumes about how awesome she is that her accomplishments in other areas totally dwarf her occassional forays into this sort of nonsense and make them (for me) remarkably easy to shrug off, considering.
Naw, naw, naw, exploiting the tragedy of the New Orleans refugees would be to bring on three families who each lost contact with the mother during the confusion … and bring on two mothers.
Which of these families will be re-united after heartbreak and disaster, and which will be sent home in agony? Find out after the commercial break!
You have a disturbingly promising career ahead of you in the talk show circuit, Fish.