I have never got it

"I’ve never understood the cult of Oprah.  As with many things, I attribute this to my 80-year-old mother, who said she'd never watched the program in her entire life.  Me neither, which I take pride in.

"I rarely thought about Oprah, except on occasions when she was giving stuff to her audience. I know that at least one time, each person in the crowd got a car.  I could sit through an Oprah taping if the pay off was a car."  So said a great column by Tom Olsen in The Calgary Herald today. 

I too don't get Oprah.  The Herald has been full of coverage of her Edmonton visit for days and days on end.  The other day the entire front page was given over to a HUGE photo of her.  Turning to the next section, there was her mug again.  Today, it's all-encompassing coverage of her "fabulous" show and "brilliant" advice.  Olsen goes on:

"Oprah’s raising my children. And she’s happy to raise my grandchildren.  Here’s the direct quote: 'I have a bunch of children in Edmonton that I have raised.  Now you have children and I’m raising your children.'

"Huh?  The pomposity of this woman is stunning," adds Olsen.

Surely there must be more to cover in Calgary and Alberta than an overweight American talk show host?!  It's sad.  The quotes and gushing from women who went to the show are pathetic.  And yes, 99% of the audience was female. 

So much for independent, thoughtful women.  It's all so segregated, cringe-inducing and hideous.