In a recent interview with the BBC, Oprah Winfrey made a racist comment about Barack Obama. Her statement was “There’s a level of disrespect for the office that occurs in some cases and maybe even many cases because he’s African American,” she said. “There’s no question about that. And it’s the kind of thing no one ever says, but everybody’s thinking it.”
Well Oprah, maybe you are the one who is thinking it yourself because in case you haven’t noticed, the world has moved on, but your own racist views remain.
Pardon my candor but someone needs to say it! When Barack Obama is criticized on his performance, the subject is frequently shifted to racism in order distract from the issue at hand. And when one of the most famous women in the world, who happens to be black, purposely uses the race card in order to shift the blame of Barack Obama’s abysmal performance to racism, Obama avoids all accountability to the reality of his record.
When a person of color’s (white, black, yellow or any color in between) poor performance is excused by way of calling anyone that exposes substandard, inept or poor performance a racist, the pitcher of the accusation uses the discrimination card to their advantage. And the one who yells “racist” is the real racist by shifting the issue away from the facts.
One might turn the tables and pose the question to Ms. Winfrey: Ms. Winfrey, do you think that you have become one of the most famous women in the world because you are of the black race? I would venture that Ms. Winfrey would bristle with anger at the implication that she would not have achieved the same level of success if she were white. I would also wager that Ms. Winfrey would be sorely angry that all of her hard work to become the success she is today could be negated by the charge that all was awarded to her because she is of the African American race.
Perhaps if Ms. Winfrey had failed to be successful in her endeavors, would she have given herself a pass and applied the same strategy she used for Barack Obama, making a similar comment like: there’s a level of disrespect for my industry that occurs in some cases and maybe even many cases because I’m an African American Woman. There’s no question about that. And it’s the kind of thing no one ever says, but everybody’s thinking it.
The strategy of playing the race card in order to avoid addressing the facts has to end. The fact is our country is facing so many crises that there is little hope that it can be turned around. The grownups have to face actualities by standing up against the polarization of truth in order to take care of business. And the very business at hand has and continues to affect every American black, white, yellow (and every color in between) man, woman and child.
And please forgive my bunny trail here, but Barack Obama is half Caucasian American and half African American. I guess Oprah gets to choose which race card to play according to her intended outcome.
Tricia Erickson was the first Damage Control and Crisis Management Expert in the country, as stated by Barbara Walters on the show, “20/20.” Tricia is also a political consultant and frequent on-air contributor who has opined on FOX News Channel, CNN, MSNBC and most major TV networks plus hundreds of radio shows. Some of the issues she has been called to speak to are the dangers of radical Islam, gay marriage, Barack Obama, Mitt Romney, the well-masked cult of Mormonism (she’s a recognized expert on Mormonism), media bias, all things political, the imaging-posturing-positioning of Presidential Candidates, all things regarding Hollywood, ethics in the media, the culture wars and more. She is the President of Crisis Management Incorporated (crisis management & communications) and also the President of Angel Pictures & Publicity, a conservative pundit publicity company. Tricia is also a casting director and has worked on many major blockbuster films. Tricia is also the publisher of TheConservativePundit.net.
By Tricia Erickson
