Whoopi Goldberg | 09/08/2008 10:50 am

Whoopi Goldberg Reaches Out to Readers

So this idea that black people expect to be given stuff — I don’t think that’s the case. That may be the case in your mind but I think people just want what’s right. They want what’s given to everyone else in this country. You say, “They call themselves African American.” I don’t call myself an African American and when people put these blogs in order for me they change it because they feel that’s the better word. I always refer to myself as “the black person” and first as an American. And if you go to any of the things I’ve said over the years, you’ll hear me talk about the fact that having not been born in Africa, I don’t feel like that’s anything that I need to claim. I need to call myself an American so that I can be privy to all the things that Americans are given at birth, all the things that Americans should have been given at birth. So I’m going to take you a little to task there, Joanne.

The other thing is that race in this country is one of those things that no one wants to talk about. We brought it up on "The View" last week — that there seemed to be only one black person at the Republican convention. Now, of course, there were more, but it just seemed so odd to look out over there and not see the mix that America is. Maybe it was because of the angle of the cameras; I don’t know what it is. But as a person who has some color in them it’s hard to look out and see that and not think, “How come we’re not included?” Or Hispanics or anyone who doesn’t look like John McCain. It just feels odd sometimes.

We are always going to disagree about certain things because that’s the nature of human beings. We don’t all think alike, we don’t all talk alike ...

I say all of that simply to say I didn’t hear much from John McCain that was different from what I’ve been seeing over the last couple of days. It does bother me that he has changed the way that he has done a lot of things. I don’t understand why there wasn’t more talk about issues having to do with health care, whether they’re special-needs children or just regular children. Or our vets — I’ve been on some of the hospital wards with some of the veterans who have come back without hands and faces and legs and arms. I don’t hear a lot of talk about how we’re going to support them and take care of them. I don’t hear a lot of talk about how we’re going to figure out how to balance the world back. Which is what America is really good at doing, we’re really good at balancing. I can’t remember in my lifetime cowboy politics until George Bush. I don’t remember it being: "It’s our way or the highway." I always remember us as being somewhat diplomatic. I don’t know, maybe that’s just the altruistic view I have of the world.

I want to address a couple of other things. When we are on "The View," there are sometimes five of us and we have opinions, and every opinion is valid, I think. Every opinion is valid because it’s what someone believes or feels and I think passion is really important. One of the things we try not to do on "The View" is ridicule people. We don’t ridicule them because they feel differently or see things differently than we do. We don’t name call. Maybe they used to or maybe it’s happened once or twice in "The View’s" 11-year history. But it hasn’t happened with us. And it’s important to take note that when we have discourse we can be passionate — we can disagree vehemently — but the bottom line is that we can talk about other stuff. We can talk about our families and our children and our struggles and our race and our culture and how they’re different and how they’re alike.

Read more about: Election, News, Politics, Sarah Palin, Television, The View

404 Reader Comments (so far…) Sign In or Register to comment

Thanks, Whoopi. I had no clue to reply to Marjorie when her response to one of the most soul-bearing posts I’ve ever written was answered with, while she said she agreed with most of what I said, the real problem is “blacks need to stop hating whitey.”

By Lorraine Bates on 09/08/2008 10:01 am

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Hey Whoopi G. I’m glad to see that you’re on the computer. I know that I’ve heard you comment on The View before that you didn’t do emails and such. You’ve certainly jumped into the waters with both feet here at wOw … Whew - so how’s it going?! I have to say that I didn’t read any of the commentary about your threads/articles. I find that the political commentary in open forums on the web always devolves into a cesspool of raw nasty hate. I’ll visit and highlight some of the ignorance (especially if it is mainstream) but I won’t get sucked in and passionate about it again because it saps me of good energy and changes nothing. My advice to you is to put your message out there, take a step back and not suffer the fools. Find that delicate balance and have faith that there are a lot of people out here (of all origins) who know a turd when its in front of them. If only wOw gave members the power to choose to ignore (hide) commentary from the members we choose to ignore.

By E . on 09/08/2008 10:29 am

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To Whoopie, I am an African American women and I wanted to let you know that your comments/treatment of Senator McCain were inappropriate on 9/12 at the View. For you to infer he would bring slavery back and that he was a racist was ignorant. You are an embarasment to African Americans and to women. You need to get some class or educate yourself if you are going to represent us on TV. Sen. McCain deserves more respect from you ladies. You, Joy, and Barbara come across as very unhappy, sexless, insecure bitches. You sabotaged Senator McCain and you did not do the same to Mr. Obama. You practically kissed Obama’s butt in addition to his wife. Sherry and Elizabeth showed class and treated him like a guest. You have absolutely no class. Your purely guetto. I do not understand why you women are allowed to express your views on national TV. You are uneducated and do absolutely no research before you open your mouth. You can not relate to normal people. I would like to see you debate common people from the streets. You would be out debated. I can’t wait until they cancel your show or fire you like Rosie and Star. It is coming. I will celebrate.

By gina gina on 09/13/2008 3:33 pm

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I think if you are going to call someone else uneducated, Gina Gina, you might want to learn the difference between “your” and “you’re.” And your comments about class show how little you have of it. People with class do not call others the names you call the women on the The View, or anyone else for that matter, in your comments. And FYI, McCain showed his racism in his commercial saying that Obama was disrespectful to Palin when he used the expression “pig in lipstick” which McCain uses all the time. I am not sure of your age Gina Gina, but once upon a time, black men who were disrespectful to white women were whipped or lynched. I am white and I find McCain extremely racist and I am ashamed of his behavior, Barbara Walters was right to question him as she did and he evaded her questions like the master Republican politician that he is.

By Rita T on 09/13/2008 10:04 pm

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My sentiments exactly. And another thing, the republican campaign didn’t have any seasoning in it. I saw no pepper mixed in all that salt. I think I may have seen one ‘grain’ of pepper once but that was about it. No offense to John McCain but the man could at least [try] to get some blacks in the background. You would think that someone would notice this and say something about it or at least mention it on t.v. Why couldn’t he say, “Hey America! We are for minorities as well so don’t be afraid to come out to the convention.”

By Rev. Esther Scott on 09/15/2008 7:52 am

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RITA T., ALL I CAN DO IS AGREE COMPLETELY AND I AM A WHITE SR. LADY. 10-4 LADY STAY WITH US. GINA GO TAKE A TOOTDIER ROLL THAT WILL HELP GET THE TURDS OUT OF YOUR LIFE MAYBE . HPWEVER YOU HAVE PICKED ON A REALLY WRONG SUBJECT AND HERE.? SHOWS CLASS OR INTELLIGENCE? YOU MISSED IT GINA. START AGAIN IF YOU DARE.

By newzie snoozie on 11/10/2008 5:10 pm

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You don’t really think that Whoopie takes out her personal time to read the entire contents of a degrading post as this do you? First of all, I don’t really believe that you are black and secondly, a “real” black woman wouldn’t put another’s job on blast like this.

By Rev. Esther Scott on 09/15/2008 7:46 am

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You are so silly.How far did you go in school?Not as far as Whoopie I’ll bet. And you don’t sound black. No black person would make such comments,and if you are,I am embarassed to say I am black because of your sillyness. At your heading,you wrote, I am a black WOMEN. IT IS WOMAN,not a black WOMEN.. You are one, not many.Get a life.AND GUESS WHO IS NOT ON ANY SHOW??YOU AND I AM SO GLAD.WHAT AN EMBARRISMENT IT WOULD BE.STOP THROWING BRICKS AT THOSE WHO HAVE MADE IT AND TRY TO ENCOURAGE THEM,WHETHER BLACK,WHITE OR ANY COLOR FOR THAT MATTER.YES, I PUT THIS IN BOLD & CAPITALS SO YOU CAN SEE AND READ IT.I have made my point and I don’t care what you write.I will trash it anyway.

By Betty Besor on 09/15/2008 4:26 pm

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gina gina gina, how in the world do you get off telling whoopie she is uneducated? do you know —-do you have any idea whatsoever what it takes to stand , sit, or lay on t.v. in front of millions of people and do anythign??? coul;d you sit and make out plans for a movie or a tv program? could you sit in front of peopel and write out a contract? could you sit in a room of say 20 peopel and guess what they are about to say? are you so good that you know what will be said by a complete stranger about any conversation? whoopie and the girls on the view have to be so close to be able to come back with a fast saying, question, or whatever the comments may be. could you do what they do? i doubt it very much. it’s nopt an easy thing to sit as composed as the 5 of them do that and still look attractive. to be able to sit and not mess up your closthes by the moves they make is not easy dear. could you imagine sitting in front of all the people in the studio alone not counting the tv audience and be as calm, prepared to handle whatever comes up takes from them or anyone doing that? do you actually think that is easy? educated gina? you do not feel like they are educated? i bet they are each one very educated…. now how they talked with mc/caine was so well done! that is all i will say other then i watched them talk with mc/caine. and his wife they did well with. did you not know elizebeth introduced sarah palin to the audience ? and i honestly do believe michelle obama will make us a 1st lady we will be proud of. what gets me and my family is how well michelle and hubby still love each other and they do not care if we do watch them. i’ve not seen very many precious momenst with any other president elects because they are trying to be deginfied that they are just too good to show they have any feelings except for getting the man into office. wowOwow is like the view. think on it, we are happy individuals most generally sharing our feelings , just like you did here. and that is showing emotiions just like you did there gina. the view gives us all a different way to think on a subject . it gives us all a whole new outlook on the subject. I LIKE THE VIEW AND OUR GREAT GRAND DAUGHTER AND I CALL THE 5 GIRLS “OUR GIRLS”. I HOPE TO SEE WHOOPIE ON THE VIEW FOR YEARS TO COME. WHAT I WISH IS I WISH I COULD BE HALF AS DEAR AND PRECIOUS AS THEY ARE.!!! I AM STILL EXCITED WHEN THEY ARE ON. TAKE A LOK AT IT AGAIN. IS MY SUGGESTION…………… WHOOPIE , JOY, SHERRIE,ELIZEBETH,& BARBARA, DO NOT LET THIS MAKE ANY OF YOU FEEL BAD THERE ARE PLENTY OF US OUT HERE WHO WOULDN’T MISS YOU FOR ANYTHING. WHEN IT IS 11A.M. THE BABY AND I HEAD FOR THE TV. THE VIEW IS COMING ON AND THERE SITS US..

By newzie snoozie on 11/10/2008 4:59 pm

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WHOOPI ARE YOU A MAN OR A WOMEN?

By JIM KEENS on 09/29/2008 7:31 am

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Lorraine— Only twice in my entire life— prior to the Bush Junta seizing power in 2000—I witnessed overt racism. The first time in grade school when I was horrified by TV images of police turning dogs and hoses on black people in the South. And then in the early 80s when I was at Duke University in NC on business and a young NC woman in the project group said something so outrageously and nakedly hateful and racist that I was rendered speechless. I still feel ashamed today that I didn’t speak up and counter her remark. Never has this country been so polarized and divided and it has happened by Rove/Bush/NeoCon/Fox News DESIGN. For the people who are asleep, apathetic, myopic and ignorant to the root cause and aggregator, they are as guilty as were the German population that let Hilter rise to and remain in power. As FDR said, “Liberty of a democracy is not safe if the people tolerate the growth of private power to a point where it becomes stronger than their democratic state itself. That, in its essence, is fascism—ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power ” That’s what we have oil-corporate facist state. Who do people THINK are in control of Congress and the WH? Who WROTE our ”energy policy” behind closed doors with oil-man Cheney? Whe DETERMINED our Iraq policy? NOT the military but the NeoCon idiot think tanks. If people want to talk welfare—the biggest welfare receipients are the corporations and oil companies and families like the Bushes who have USED AND PROFITED by government. They have in no ways been public servants and neither McCain or Palin. McCain’s service is decades in the past. Subsequently, HE has BLOCKED legislation beneficial to POWs and there are many Vietnam Vet groups dedicated to exposing him: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vFM1xqqTX_g http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-CazKanlYDg&feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGh-vq0O5gw&feature=related JFK/RFK/MLK gave their lives trying to unite the country for the people. Bush Inc has wasted the lives of over one million innocent people (not going back to their earlier phony Contra wars etc) in service to the oil companies and multinationals. In the fact of abject evil people are concerned about political characterizations like Caribou Barbie? Can we say: Priorities? Do these delicate souls watch Late Night? The problem with GOP Sheeple is they don’t know they REAL history of their party or what it stands for besides the propaganda, smear machine of FOX, etc. We have a Corporate-Facist regieme racking in trillions and they’ll do whatever they can to keep it that way. Bush LIED us into an inhumane, immoral, illegal war and then turned it into a joke while his GOP audience laughed. What KIND of human beings are these? Do we see anyone get up and walk up as anyone with a SHRED OF DECENCY would? THAT’S the GOP today. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YjXPOxnu2N8 Caribou Barbie, give me a break. Forget the Bill of Rights and Constitution, this is what we are today thanks to Bush Inc: 1.) Powerful and Continuing Nationalism: Fascist regimes tend to make constant use of patriotic mottos, slogans, symbols, songs, and other paraphernalia. Flags are seen everywhere, as are flag symbols on clothing and in public displays. 2.) Disdain for the Recognition of Human Rights: Because of fear of enemies and the need for security, the people in fascist regimes are persuaded that human rights can be ignored in certain cases because of “need.” The people tend to look the other way or even approve of torture, summary executions, assassinations, long incarcerations of prisoners, etc. 3.) Identification of Enemies/Scapegoats as a Unifying Cause: The people are rallied into a unifying patriotic frenzy over the need to eliminate a perceived common threat or foe: racial, ethnic or religious minorities; liberals; communists; socialists, terrorists, etc. 4.) Supremacy of the Military: Even when there are widespread domestic problems, the military is given a disproportionate amount of government funding, and the domestic agenda is neglected. Soldiers and military service are glamorized. 5.) Rampant Sexism: The governments of fascist nations tend to be almost exclusively male-dominated. Under fascist regimes, traditional gender roles are made more rigid. Opposition to abortion is high, as is homophobia and anti-gay legislation and national policy. 6.) Controlled Mass Media: Sometimes the media is directly controlled by the government, but in other cases, the media is indirectly controlled by government regulation, or sympathetic media spokespeople and executives. Censorship, especially in war time, is very common. 7.) Obsession with National Security: Fear is used as a motivational tool by the government over the masses [Gee, we haven’t seen any of the Orange Alerts….because they became so blantly manipulative that they were ignored….guess Rove will have to stage something big to get Sheeple afraid again] 8.) Religion and Government are Intertwined: Governments in fascist nations tend to use the most common religion in the nation as a tool to manipulate public opinion. Religious rhetoric and terminology is common from government leaders, even when the major tenets of the religion are diametrically opposed to the government’s policies or actions. 9.) Corporate Power is Protected: The industrial and business aristocracy of a fascist nation often are the ones who put the government leaders into power, creating a mutually beneficial business/government relationship and power elite. 10.) Labor Power is Suppressed: Because the organizing power of labor is the only real threat to a fascist government, labor unions are either eliminated entirely, or are severely suppressed. 11.) Disdain for Intellectuals and the Arts: Fascist nations tend to promote and tolerate open hostility to higher education, and academia. It is not uncommon for professors and other academics to be censored or even arrested. Free expression in the arts is openly attacked, and governments often refuse to fund the arts. 12.) Obsession with Crime and Punishment: Under fascist regimes, the police are given almost limitless power to enforce laws. The people are often willing to overlook police abuses and even forego civil liberties in the name of patriotism. There is often a national police force with virtually unlimited power in fascist nations 13.) Rampant Cronyism and Corruption: Fascist regimes almost always are governed by groups of friends and associates who appoint each other to government positions and use governmental power and authority to protect their friends from accountability. It is not uncommon in fascist regimes for national resources and even treasures to be appropriated or even outright stolen by government leaders. 14. Fraudulent Elections: Sometimes elections in fascist nations are a complete sham. Other times elections are manipulated by smear campaigns against or even assassination of opposition candidates, use of legislation to control voting numbers or political district boundaries, and manipulation of the media. Fascist nations also typically use their judiciaries to manipulate or control elections. For more details: http://oldamericancentury.org/14pts.htm

By No Kill and Drill Palin on 09/08/2008 1:18 pm

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Excellent Suzanne—you knocked that one outta the park—btw it’s not only the probably over 1 million Iraqis killed in the Bush fiasco but the 1.5 millions Iraqis displaced into Syria and Jordan—these people are the professional class: the doctors. lawyers, nurses, small business owners, etc., we have been displaced and who are barely surviving at the poverty level because they do not have visas in Syria and therefore are unable to get work permits and in Jordan too and they are straining the budgets of these 2 countries to the limit—. And what are we doing to help? NADA! the UN Human Rights Coalition is and the Syrians and Jordanians are helping as much as possible as Arabic culture has a long history of helping those in need. WE need to do something as a country as we started the entire fricking mess in the 1st place for no reason whatsoever. One more thing: Syria and Jordan treat their immigrants thousands of times better that we do ours.

By Frank Peterson on 09/08/2008 1:30 pm

The Queen of Jordan has spoken out about the destabalizing effect and enormous strain the 2.4 million Iraq refugees have created in the Middle East. And after the enormous disaster of the Iraq debacle….McCain-Palin are gung-ho about bombing an infinitely larger, stronger and more strategically [scarily so] well placed Iran….that also poses no immediate threat and one that can be handled through diplomatic channels. McCain blowing his nose in public [real classy] and then joking about bombing Iran. So intelligent. They are contemptuous of everything. No brains so can’t give a legitimate brainy response as Obama did pre-invasion, in public, on tape, predicting precisely where we are and at a time when to speak out against Bush Inc placed himself in political and personal danger. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-zoPgv_nYg Where is Rice at the moment? Visiting a former designated terrorist. North Korea is much more of a danger…but it was OK to negotiate with them…they got no oil, son.

By No Kill and Drill Palin on 09/08/2008 2:03 pm

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I heard her speak on exactly this subject, ,Queen Noor, an American btw. She was interviewed on PBS, and seen visiting the poor, the displaced, and it seemed to me her heart was quite filled with them and she showed a great deal of love. I am much impressed by her. Much impressed,

By Frank Peterson on 09/08/2008 2:08 pm

I find the View to be a joke. It is a bunch of insecure, unattractive, unhappy women that complain alot. They have no expertise in anything. I am not sure why you people act as if they do. Whoopie is an embarrassment to African American women. She has a chip on her shoulder and does not have any class. She is uneducated and never looks into the facts before she speaks. She is always saying something stupid. Try using your own brain for a change and stop following stupid celebrities and taking their opinions as if they are God. Celebrities have no expertise in anything in general. They can’t even relate to normal people. They are uneducated but for some reason rich. They do not relate to you. So you should get a life and stop wasting your time on this joke of a blog

By tedyz robes on 09/11/2008 7:03 pm