Thursday, January 19, 2006

Oprah Winfrey & Holocaust: Guilt Marketing Payday

Thanks to Oprah, Elie Wiesel's " Night" a holocaust memoir/novel is on the best seller list. Winfrey got a black-eye from her recommendation of " A Million Little Peices". It turns out the book was a fraud in key areas. So Oprah, a master of guilt marketing, came up with " Night". Who would dare deny the veracity of " Night"? Who would dare question the gravity of the Holocaust?

It's all so tedious. Winfrey and Wiesel have both gone far in selling their respective races ( Wiesel is Jewish) particular problems with every other race over recorded history. Oprah has parlayed her backround in the Jim Crow south to take advantage of the affirmative -action doors that the Civil Rights movement have opened. Only a black woman could have won such acclaim for the airing of rather mediocre or less subject matter covered from the perspective of less than competent people.

Oprah's success reminds of the 18th century Scotish philosopher David Hume's comment on hearing how sophisticated newly settled Africans in Jamaica were. After further personal investigation he made the comparison to the Jamaican accomplishment to a parrot that could speak a few words of english.

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