Multi-Billionaire Oprah Whines About Sexism & Income Inequality At DNC

[laughing dog]

I’m saying that the US is a country where one can achieve a tremendous amount of financial success even if you were born in modest or even impoverished circumstances. It’s so good that Musk apparently thought it presented his best chance for financial success.

Then say that when you get on stage.

Instead of droning on about identity politics, racism, and how bad you hate half of the US population

Ms. Winfrey did not say she hated anyone. Nor did she drone on about identity politics or racism. Again, I struggle with your vision here.

 

[GenesisNemesis]

I am glad that conservatives are focusing on Oprah rather than important issues though.

 

[pood]

A black woman from humble origins succeeding in white male supremacist patriarchal society and then pointing out that racism and wealth inequality are still big problems makes right-wing snowflakes and MAGGOTS froth at the mouth and lock and load their guns.

 

[Ford]

A black woman from humble origins succeeding in white male supremacist patriarchal society and then pointing out that racism and wealth inequality are still big problems makes right-wing snowflakes and MAGGOTS froth at the mouth and lock and load their guns get in the keyboard trenches.

FTFY.

RVonse seems really, really bitter, angry, and jealous of Oprah's decision to use her prominence and financial resources to lift up other people who find themselves struggling in this society.

 

[robnisch]

A little quibble about Bill Gates.
The story I heard was that he did not inherit a lot of money.
His father said he would give him a good education.
And, the rest is up to him.
Same thing his grandfather did for Gates Sr.

That's a very popular story about successful people, in all fields and throughout history.

Which is an excellent reason to disbelieve it, in the absence of compelling evidence.

Do you have any compelling evidence?

He came from a wealthy family. Had the best education. But did not inherit wealth.
https://www.snopes.com/factbot/?query=did+bill+gates+inherit+money+

 

[Derec]

I'm not sure exactly what RVonse wants here. In our virulently capitalist society, the selling point has always been "you, too, can become rich and famous no matter how humble your beginnings if you just work hard enough."

I think the selling point is that you can become successful. Few people will become famous (for more than 15 minutes), and few people will become billionaires. "Rich" is a fungible term though.

Strip away the race and gender, and Oprah is STILL a better example of that than the likes of Trump (rich daddy), Bill Gates (wealthy parents), Elon Musk (same), and a whole host of other billionaires who were born on third base and thought they hit a home run.

Parents matter for much more than just money. How children are raised from an early age matters for their cognitive development. As does the genetic inheritance, the DNA and inheritable epigenetic modifications.

On top of all that, Oprah wasn't born with supermodel looks, and has publicly struggled with her weight for most of her life. Along the way to her perch at the lonely peak of Black Female Billionaire Mountain, she has helped a lot of others along they way, providing jobs, a leg-up in the industry, and as already mentioned, her many charitable efforts.

She made her money with a talk show that was, at best, inane blather and at worst spread misinformation. You may despise somebody like Musk for his political opinions, but he did much more for humanity than Oprah. Tesla Motors (which he did not start, I know, but he did develop it) made electric cars mainstream. Space X is a successful space launch company that will bring stranded astronauts from ISS in February after Boeing fucked up.
NASA will bring stranded astronauts back on SpaceX — not Boeing's Starliner
Both of these endeavors are far more meaningful than some insipid talk show or a song about umbrellas.

Is she entirely noble? No, but I'd point to her as a role model before I'd do the same for the likes of Sheldon Adelson, Rupert Murdoch, or the Koch Brothers.

Why? Especially the Kochs. They are well educated in chemical engineering and ran a successful energy and chemical business. I benefit far more from stable and affordable supply of energy than from any of Oprah's endeavors.

 

[Derec]

We probably all experience racial or sexual prejudice in some form or another. But it is mostly the young white men trying to get a college degree who do experience most of the prejudice these days.

What makes you believe that?

Racial preferences in higher education.
Your Ilk has dropped denying that it goes on, now they are arguing that it is a good thing to have e.g. more black doctors even if that means discriminating against white and Asian applicants to med school. Hostility on the Left to standardized tests and other objective measures over subjective measures like essays or "personality scores" is also part of this rot.

 

[Derec]

She’s a human who cares about other humans.

Does she care about other humans more than others do?

She may be a peddler of woo sometimes, but she also peddles a whole lot more than that.

Like what?

 

[Derec]

@RVonse started this thread, not some Dem.

Understood. But she was then loudly defended on here. I do not get the appeal.
But I have noticed that before. Rich celebrities (athletes, musicians etc.) tend to be supported on the Left as much as those who became rich starting or developing businesses (Kochs, Musk, Bezos) get demonized. Beyonce good, Bezos bad. Lebron James good, Larry Ellison bad.

Why is Oprah Winfrey considered a "hard worker" but Elon Musk isn't? Is talking nonsense on TV really that hard a job?

Oprah is a wildly successful person who overcame the obstacles put in her way by being black and female. She expressed a strong message concerning other people who face the challenges she did.

I agree that she is "wildly successful". And I agree that she had obstacles. But she made her money peddling inanities. I do not see her as a role model for that reason.

Somehow, that got described as hypocrisy.
What's up with that?
Tom

A billionaire complaining about income inequality is indeed rich. With other billionaires, the standard Leftist line is that billionaires should not exist and that they would not exist if they paid their employees fairly. Why isn't Oprah eliminating income inequality in her media empire?

 

[Derec]

Wealthy people are not allowed to see a problem with wealth inequality???

Be the change you want to see in the world.

 

[ZiprHead]

A little quibble about Bill Gates.
The story I heard was that he did not inherit a lot of money.
His father said he would give him a good education.
And, the rest is up to him.
Same thing his grandfather did for Gates Sr.

His mother used her business connections to get Bill his contract with IBM selling what was basically someone else's software.

 

[laughing dog]

We probably all experience racial or sexual prejudice in some form or another. But it is mostly the young white men trying to get a college degree who do experience most of the prejudice these days.

What makes you believe that?

Racial preferences in higher education.
Your Ilk has dropped denying that it goes on, now they are arguing that it is a good thing to have e.g. more black doctors even if that means discriminating against white and Asian applicants to med school. Hostility on the Left to standardized tests and other objective measures over subjective measures like essays or "personality scores" is also part of this rot.

Are you arguing that medical school acceptance rates is the reason a rational person who think that young white men trying to get a college degree experience most of the prejudice these days? Your rant literally makes no sense to me, since I believe a college degree is a prerequisite for entrance into medical school.

If that is not your argument, then what makes one think that hat young white men trying to get a college degree experience most of the prejudice today?

 

[laughing dog]

Wealthy people are not allowed to see a problem with wealth inequality???

Be the change you want to see in the world.

Is that some sort of koan or is just psychobabble?

 

[ZiprHead]

Wealthy people are not allowed to see a problem with wealth inequality???

Be the change you want to see in the world.

She already does that.

 

[Toni]

I'm not sure exactly what RVonse wants here. In our virulently capitalist society, the selling point has always been "you, too, can become rich and famous no matter how humble your beginnings if you just work hard enough."

I think the selling point is that you can become successful. Few people will become famous (for more than 15 minutes), and few people will become billionaires. "Rich" is a fungible term though.

Strip away the race and gender, and Oprah is STILL a better example of that than the likes of Trump (rich daddy), Bill Gates (wealthy parents), Elon Musk (same), and a whole host of other billionaires who were born on third base and thought they hit a home run.

Parents matter for much more than just money. How children are raised from an early age matters for their cognitive development. As does the genetic inheritance, the DNA and inheritable epigenetic modifications.

On top of all that, Oprah wasn't born with supermodel looks, and has publicly struggled with her weight for most of her life. Along the way to her perch at the lonely peak of Black Female Billionaire Mountain, she has helped a lot of others along they way, providing jobs, a leg-up in the industry, and as already mentioned, her many charitable efforts.

She made her money with a talk show that was, at best, inane blather and at worst spread misinformation. You may despise somebody like Musk for his political opinions, but he did much more for humanity than Oprah. Tesla Motors (which he did not start, I know, but he did develop it) made electric cars mainstream. Space X is a successful space launch company that will bring stranded astronauts from ISS in February after Boeing fucked up.
NASA will bring stranded astronauts back on SpaceX — not Boeing's Starliner
Both of these endeavors are far more meaningful than some insipid talk show or a song about umbrellas.

Is she entirely noble? No, but I'd point to her as a role model before I'd do the same for the likes of Sheldon Adelson, Rupert Murdoch, or the Koch Brothers.

Why? Especially the Kochs. They are well educated in chemical engineering and ran a successful energy and chemical business. I benefit far more from stable and affordable supply of energy than from any of Oprah's endeavors.

I’ll take issue with your characterization of Winfrey’s talk show as being merely blather. Instead she often highlighted topics that many women find very pertinent. One example: she made it much easier to talk about sexual abuse and rape, subjects that are and remain difficult to talk about and are very often quite isolating and shameful for victims. While this may not affect you personally, it is unfortunately an issue that many people deal with—or fail to deal with.

 

[Ford]

I'm not sure exactly what RVonse wants here. In our virulently capitalist society, the selling point has always been "you, too, can become rich and famous no matter how humble your beginnings if you just work hard enough."

I think the selling point is that you can become successful. Few people will become famous (for more than 15 minutes), and few people will become billionaires. "Rich" is a fungible term though.

Strip away the race and gender, and Oprah is STILL a better example of that than the likes of Trump (rich daddy), Bill Gates (wealthy parents), Elon Musk (same), and a whole host of other billionaires who were born on third base and thought they hit a home run.

Parents matter for much more than just money. How children are raised from an early age matters for their cognitive development. As does the genetic inheritance, the DNA and inheritable epigenetic modifications.

On top of all that, Oprah wasn't born with supermodel looks, and has publicly struggled with her weight for most of her life. Along the way to her perch at the lonely peak of Black Female Billionaire Mountain, she has helped a lot of others along they way, providing jobs, a leg-up in the industry, and as already mentioned, her many charitable efforts.

She made her money with a talk show that was, at best, inane blather and at worst spread misinformation. You may despise somebody like Musk for his political opinions, but he did much more for humanity than Oprah. Tesla Motors (which he did not start, I know, but he did develop it) made electric cars mainstream. Space X is a successful space launch company that will bring stranded astronauts from ISS in February after Boeing fucked up.
NASA will bring stranded astronauts back on SpaceX — not Boeing's Starliner
Both of these endeavors are far more meaningful than some insipid talk show or a song about umbrellas.

Is she entirely noble? No, but I'd point to her as a role model before I'd do the same for the likes of Sheldon Adelson, Rupert Murdoch, or the Koch Brothers.

Why? Especially the Kochs. They are well educated in chemical engineering and ran a successful energy and chemical business. I benefit far more from stable and affordable supply of energy than from any of Oprah's endeavors.

I’ll take issue with your characterization of Winfrey’s talk show as being merely blather. Instead she often highlighted topics that many women find very pertinent. One example: she made it much easier to talk about sexual abuse and rape, subjects that are and remain difficult to talk about and are very often quite isolating and shameful for victims. While this may not affect you personally, it is unfortunately an issue that many people deal with—or fail to deal with.

In a way, Oprah affected my life...albeit indirectly. There was this morning radio DJ I knew back in the day (who has unfortunately since passed away) that was struggling to find an audience. He got fired from his job at a Dallas radio station, but because he'd done a good job negotiating his contract, he was able to spend the rest of that year essentially sitting on his couch. He couldn't go work for another station in Dallas (thanks to a non-compete) but was still getting paid. What did he do with his time? Watched Oprah. And other daytime talk shows. It made him realize that what he and other "wacky morning radio DJs" were saying didn't relate to the audience of moms staying home and watching Oprah.

When he got back on the air, he created a show that was entirely different from the usual "wacky morning radio" show with bits and funny voices. He talked to people about topics that meant something in their lives. A lot of people in the radio business were like "I don't get it. This is just a conversation. Where's the entertainment?" But his show was wildly successful in Dallas, eventually became nationally syndicated, and today - over 20 years after he died - it is still on the air. I knew him and a few people on the show, we networked and traded ideas, and I came close to moving to Dallas to work for him. That didn't pan out, but I took what I learned from him and wound up producing a show here in Phoenix that was very successful and even won national awards. Along the way I participated in fundraising efforts for a shelter for domestic abuse victims and a children's hospital.

So no...Oprah's show was not just "blather." The entire landscape of daytime TV talk and a good bit of radio talk was impacted by her show. Some of it turned out to be arguably bad (Dr. Phil and Dr. Oz) but I owe at least a little bit of my success to Oprah.

 

[pood]

Great story, @Ford

 

[Rhea]

Sounds like if Rvonse and Derec wanted to have that college education so badly, they might have benefitted from watching Oprah. She talked a lot about ways people could improve themselves.

 

[ZiprHead]

Sounds like if Rvonse and Derec wanted to have that college education so badly, they might have benefitted from watching Oprah. She talked a lot about ways people could improve themselves.

Maybe they should be the change they want to see in the world.

 

[Shadowy Man]

@RVonse started this thread, not some Dem.

Understood. But she was then loudly defended on here. I do not get the appeal.

some of the “defense” was merely counters to ridiculous suppositions like if a black woman becomes wealthy in this country she couldn’t have been subjected to racism and/or sexism.

I have no strong opinions about Oprah but I like seeing well-reasoned arguments rather than rubbish ones.