The Washington Post offered insight into the public reaction to comments Oprah Winfrey made in an interview with People magazine. According to the Post, during a video interview with People magazine posted on their website Oprah commented:
“I think it’s wonderful to march and to protest and it’s wonderful to see all across the country, people doing it. But what I’m looking for is some kind of leadership to come out of this to say, ‘This is what we want. This is what we want. This is what has to change, and these are the steps that we need to take to make these changes, and this is what we’re willing to do to get it.’ ”
The statement was made during an interview about Oprah’s latest movie production, Selma. The statement was not offered independently, it was an answer to a direct question. When does giving your opinion, that offers firm direction, count as ‘criticizing’ a movement?
For those who took to Twitter to send angry tweets asking why Oprah won’t reach out or send help or offer her voice to lead the movement, um, why don’t you do it? Why are we always waiting for someone else to tell us what to do?
Oprah is right. So far this country can tell that we are angry and fed up about the issues surfacing between the police and the public. There needs to be a formal dialogue created and there needs to be an initiative put in place to help debase this problem. To this day, no one has sat down and wrote out what could be done to solve or assuage this issue. All anyone has expressed is anger and outrage and through the emotional turmoil no one has offered a viable solution or stepped up to the plate to demand one be implemented.
But there are certainly a lot of keyboard warriors willing to point out the people who are NOT jumping in to take the lead as they sip their hot chocolate and click over to Netflix to enjoy the rest of their evening.
Change will only happen when:
- A plan for changing the behavior is developed
- A system of checks and balances is implemented
- A team of people from both sides work together to see this plan implemented
- Someone steps up to hold both sides of the issue accountable
Enough of the temper tantrums and passive aggressive attacks. If you see a problem and are willing to openly criticize the issue, then it is up to you to develop a remedy or create a resolution.
Bashing others for not doing what you fail to do or standing up for you is a sign of weakness. You aren’t weak. They aren’t the only strong ones. You can stand up too.
