Oprah Zombies—Who Are These Women?

The house that Oprah built came at a time of social change in America. Affirmative action and political correctness were coming into vogue. The limited programming of early 1970s television created a captive but massive audience that had very little to choose from on their television dials.

Somewhere around 1972, I met a pudgy young Oprah Winfrey who was standing with a cute girl I was trying to pick up in the lobby area of Marina City Apartments, where I used to live in Chicago. They were both going to a Women In Broadcasting meeting for wannabe broadcasters. Looking at her I would never have envisioned Oprah’s success in a million years.

Oprah had some kind of incredible business sense that enabled her to own her TV projects where her talk show peers merely punched a clock as workers. Who could guess what massive empire would result. Oprah really learned how to use her race as a weapon.

I’ve never figured out how such a lame talk show, built on political correctness could captivate the hearts and minds of millions of American women. Oprah’s fans seem to double every time Oprah started a new diet. The world’s dictators must be envious of Oprah’s hold on people. If Oprah commanded her legions to drink poisoned Kool Aid there would be millions found dead the next morning.

I’ve talked to these Oprah Zombies and tried to understand the Oprah phenomenon. If I could understand it perhaps that kind of massive wealth could come my way. I’m sorry. I just don’t get it.