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More of what people are saying Oprah: I am a senior in high school in Dallas, Texas at Townview
Magnet Center, and I have to write a report about what is going
on betweeen you and the cattlemen. I really think this whole
thing is ridiculous. I wish you the best of luck in trying to
get through this and I hope none of this affects you in your
role as a role model for all black women. I look up to you and
think to myself, "Now there is a black woman that has acomplished
something." Stay strong sistah and don't let all of this
put you down. Remeber I'm looking up to you. I think this whole thing about the "MADCOW" disease
is crazy. If you said you were going to jump off the bridge
was everyone going to jump with you? Hang in there Oprah we
are rooting for you. Not all Texans are MONEY HUNGRY. I am by no means a vegetarian. I believe my teeth were designed
for ripping and tearing of fleshy foods, however, that is my
own opinion. I believe you have every right to your opinion.
I can't believe the flack that has been created for simply sharing
your opinion. After all, that's what this country is all about.
I find it interesting that the people who are suing think so
little of consumers that they believe that we are a bunch of
mindless drones who can't make up our own minds about what we
choose to consume. Come to think of it, that is very insulting. Mr Lyman, your message of truth has been as the prophets of
old. Unfortunately, then as today, most people didn't want to
hear the truth. And when they couldn't stop the prophets from
speaking, they tried to stop them physically. But no matter
how hard of heart the people became, they could not stop the
truth, for it has been passed on from generation to generation,
even to this very day. Every group of people and every nation
that has tried to stop the truth has fallen, being brought down
by the very truth they attempted to silence. May the words of
Isaiah be of comfort to you and Oprah during your trial in the
wilderness. "Yet those who wait for the Lord Will gain
new strength; they will mount up with wings as eagles, They
will run and not get tired, They will walk and not become weary." Your Honor--I am a hearty beef eater, however, I also believe
in free speach. Thee Angels Broadcasting System owned by the
Sheltons of Ill. are seventh Day adventists and run the station
internationally and 24 hours a day-- what some of their guests
have said about beef, hamburger, and mad cow disease is pretty
overwhelming and remember this message is repeated weekly in
some form or other , the people delivering these messages against
beef are M.D.`s and sceintists and home economic people thusly
can have far more impact than Ophra--she is a high profile person
with money--how ridiculous! Oprah, I'm just writing a short note to say best of luck. I
don't know if you knew how much trouble you would get into for
saying what you thought and felt, but I simply wanted to tell
you that I'm proud of you for fighting these hillbilly hicks
for the right to free speech. Cactus Feeders -- To whom it should concern a lot: OPRAH- I have read what others are saying and tho I am not a vegetarian I agree with much that is said; I am ,however, an American and it upsets me that the 1st amendment is being attacked in such a way. What I don't understand is with all the support for Oprah and the 1st amendment out there, why is everybody content to take this without a fight! Since the first day Oprah set foot in that courtroom, I have refused to eat beef or buy beef. If you want to show your displeasure for something, you hit
them where they will listen -- their pocket. STAND UP AND SUPPORT
WHAT WE ALL BELIEVE IN -- DON'T BUY BEEF. It won't take more
than a few days for the cattle industry to get the message. I'm a Brit living here now, but was in Britain when all this
disgusting BSE business surfaced. We in the animal rights movement
had been telling the government for years not to make cannibals
out of herbivores. Well, we were proved right. How in the world did we arrive at a place where anything and
everything has been said publicly about our President and we
can't talk about meat!!!???!!! This is incredible to me
especially considering that President Clinton is great and has
been wonderful for our country - the same as you; whereas, I
believe that beef is very suspect and cattle have been very
damaging to our health and that of the planet! I reference rainforest
destruction (one way among many) so fast-food places can have
price wars over burgers! It is a sorry trade-off. I think that
these "veggie-libel" laws are absurd and so is this
trial. The cattlemen are inconsistent. They want the least drastic reaction to a very likely disease in one case, but they exercise the most drastic reaction in to a very unlikely disease in another case. I refer to the "mad cow" disease in the first case with its proven existance and transmission as was experienced and well-publized in Britain. (This, by the way, happening subsequent to the same assurances of safety by the industry there as we have been hearing here.) However, the second case elicits a far greater reaction from the cattemen than talk and discussion, to which, even that, the cattlemen object. The second case concerns the Bison of Yellowstone. With the first step outside the park, they are greeted with a bullet from a Montana cattelman's gun. Nearly 1100 have stepped outside the park. Nearly 1100 have been killed. This slaughter is being done in the name of prevention of a
disease called Brucellosis, of which their has never been an
instance of transmission from Bison to cattle. Thus, cattlemen
take the most drastic reaction - killing, to a very unlikely
disease; yet, they expect everyone else to take the least reaction
- silence, to a very likely disease! Oprah, this court case is more than a fight for the freedom of the speech and the 1st amendment, it is about the public's right to know the TRUTH. For too long the Tobacco industry treated the public like "mushrooms" (kept them in the dark and fed them bullsh*t). Finally TRUTH prevailed and these selfish tobacco tyrants were forced to pay up and apologize. That took twenty or more years. Let's hope it doesn't take
another twenty years before the TRUTH conquers the cattle industry
and the public are released from their imprisonment as "mushrooms."
Wake up America! There shouldn't be anything wrong with you stating your opinion on air. After all, isn't that part of the definition of freedom of speech. Those angry cattlemen are just looking for a scapegoat to blame their "declines in the cattle industry" on, and it appears they thought you to be the ideal target! Keep at it, I believe you'll come out on top. Happy Birthday, Oprah!!! Over the years I've watched you inspire so many with your show & sincere message of growth for our whole planet. Uncovering lies, rewarding the forgotten angels of our times, & using communication to heal our relationships & understandings of the many wide subjects that your show covers. I became vegetarian at age 13 after I realized that "tongue" actually meant a cows tongue! The diseases from the way they keep the cows on steroids & anti-biotics in the meat industry is a real problem and needs more voices in the public eye to stand up as you have for so many important ideas of our time...not just this one. Are the Lumberjacks going to sue the ones who are being forth
the information that our planet is in serious shape from all
the forests that have been cut down? Cattlemen: Good Day, and thank you for making such a big deal about the Oprah show. You are going to give yourself such bad press and make Oprah and Howard such heros I love it!!! This country is all about freedom of speech, all your money
can't buy your way out of this! Dear Judge, It's really to bad that the right to free speech, and the right for the american public to know has to be taken to court by a bunch of red neck, bubba beer drinking good buddies. Could it possibly be that just because the program aired during the Mad Cow craze that beef sales would have wen"t down anyway? It's just another sue happy person(s} way to try to milk someone
for money. I don't know about you, but chicken and samonella
is looking a lot better. This trial bears great similarity to the famous Scopes Trial
or "Monkey Trial." The antediluvian mentality of the
meat industry in Texas is the equivalent of the anti-darwinian
thinking of the folk of Tennessee in the 1920's. I believe that
this trial should be either filmed in great detail and presented
to the national TV audience or dramatized. In either format
it would draw a great audience and would probably help both
in chastening the meat industry and causing a national reconsideration
of the "product disparagement statutes." I think the
Texas meat industry has provided the networks and the entertainment/education
industry with a very great opportunity. Judge Robinson: After watching the Oprah show in question two
times, I would like to say that it was, first, very fairly done.
A spokesman for the beef industry was present, after all, and
was given the chance to present his case. Further, I believe
that Oprah's strong reaction was in response to the Oprah, Dear Judge: I am writing in response to the frivolous lawsuit that has been filed against Ms. Oprah Winfrey. I believe that the statement," That will stop me cold fom eating another burger again!", was a personal statement made about herself and her choice of food. I do not believe that her statement was directed toward any person or organization nor was it made to persuade others to the same train of thought. The argument that she is a celebrity and her statement influences
others is a disgrace to the viewers! By saying this, it implies
that we, the viewers, do not have the intelligence to decide
for ourselves what we do or do not want to eat. In conclusion,
I believe that the pursuit of this lawsuit will be an insult
to the public and an unnecessary waste of taxpayers' money. The public at large knows that meat is unhealthy and that the meat industries are unsafe. These facts have been demonstrated to them in repeated news exposes. Yet they flock, kids in tow, to the fast food joints for their fat-filled, bacteria-ridden burgers. Those news reports are all too soon forgotten, but this case won't be. By bringing Oprah to court, your industry is exposing itself to a bright spotlight indeed. That should make you nervous. I watched (and taped) Oprah's show, and can honestly say that it was very fairly done. Oprah brought the nasty business of beef to light with absolute fairness. Now the court is bound to do the same, finding that the beef industry is, in fact, unsafe and that you are trying to silence Oprah for simply presenting that information. Perhaps Oprah did not make that statement for reasons of health
but for reasons of morals. Oprah was appalled that cows were
being fed the bodies of dead cows. Maybe she thought that it
was wrong. And perhaps that is the real reason for this suit.
The beef industry isn't as afraid of a public health debate
as it is of a moral debate. Now that debate is being brought
to the nation, and the beef industry is in quite a stew! Dear Oprah Winfrey, I'd just like to say that I'm not a vegetarian, and probably
never will be, but I certainly am a strong believer in our right
to state our own opinion. I watched the show in question, and
I can't believe this suit hasn't been thrown out of court yet!
I eat meat and like it. However I have read a lot of material
on the meat issue, and in my heart, I believe I would be better
off just eating vegetables, grains and the rest - it's a discipline
problem I face! Oprah, you take the time to listen and when you state your
opinion, you are effective and non-judgmental. Thank you for
voicing your opinion. You are an inspiration to the rest of
us and I for one, will support your case. |