Thursday, June 19, 2008

oprah feeling some bLacklash

sometimes star magazine has important news ... AND reveals something important about america. i read in the june 16th edition (i was in the dentist's office no bullshit) that oprah is "losing it."

pasted on top of a big picture of oprah hugging barack obama are the words: "her ratings are down, her magazine is on the decline, and she is miserable."



the rag mag goes on to say "even tom [cruise] can't save her."

then they published the results of their poll which addressed the question: ARE YOU TURNED OFF BY OPRAH'S SUPPORT OF OBAMA? 61% of STAR rag mag readers said YES! and 39% said NO.

hmmmmmmmmmmmmm .......

what does this all mean? star mag readers are racist? fa sho! but what else? who reads star? many "average" americans who obsess about pop culture, superstars, and fame. but still, A LOT of people read that shit. and now more than half of them ain't fucking with oprah - cuz of barack. and i quote: "oprah's endorsement of democratic presidential candidate, Sen. barack obama made some fans change the channel."

WOW. first, i was struck because i thought white people and other americans would never turn their back on her. oprah is the beloved dark child of white america. oprah has often been the frustration of progressive, radical black americans because she was the beloved of white america and did little to change that image.

second, i was hit with the irony that oprah may have been right all these years. i can't lie, i won't front ... i hated on oprah cuz her show was whitewashed, she catered to whitey, she had damn near all-white audiences, she stayed away from controversial race issues for twenty years ... she used none of her PUBLIC influence to intervene in racial conflict ... she was very negro. old school. blah blah ... but ... maybe she was right.

if she had talked all that rah rah black power shit ... she might not be as famous as she is now ... she might not have as much money (fa sho) ... and she might not be so "well-respected" ... she might not have gained so much power ...

or maybe ... the lesson is that pandering to whitey always makes your power temporary ... at any moment they can revoke your race-invisibility card ... at any moment they can yank your power plug ... even after 24 years on air ... they can decide to paint you black and deem you powerless.

the rag mag says it all started to go downhill three years ago. "oprah's ratings dropped nearly 7% in the last three years. in that same time 'O' magazine lost 1 out of ten readers." gee ... what happened three years ago ... oh maybe barack anounced his candidacy and oprah threw her chips in with the BLACK MAN ...

these are the kinds of observations black people laugh about at the dinner table. i never thought star magazine (or any publication) would print a real article about it ... i know i know, it's star mag ... but it's indicative of larger society.

some very regular unassuming americans read STAR magazine (you'd be surprised) ... even some men read it ...

so now, i sit and wonder (as i often do about oprah) ... how does this make oprah feel? does she feel like she made a mistake? does she wish she could take her endorsement back and be race-neutral again? or was she biding her time - by waiting 24 years to come out publicly as a black person on her own terms, with millions in the bank? i'll probly never know ... and i am content with that.

as for star magazine ... i think i might boycott ... i think it's their turn for some blacklash.

we love you oprah (why not?)! keep the faith! (and get that school in south africa FIXED).

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