I saw another thread talking about two more years of Oprah.  I thought I'd share a letter I sent to her after she had Michael Moore on her show:

Oprah Winfrey Show
24 March, 2003
Harpo Studios
1058 W. Washington St.
Chicago, IL

Dear Ms. Winfrey,

Several weeks ago I saw your program that featured Michael Moore of “Bowling For Columbine” fame.  I’d like to provide some feedback on the program and the views expressed.

Moore obviously set out to prove that gun owners are a bunch of paranoid nut cases.  With this goal in mind, he included only interviews with what could be considered the "lunatic fringe" of gun owners.  Of course any group has that fringe element, and reasonable people do not assume that the fringe minority is representative of the whole group.  However, Moore was not about to let facts like that get in the way.  Showing that for every "nut" there are thousands of responsible, law-abiding citizens who own arms wouldn't serve his prejudicial purpose.

Would it be reasonable to say that Louis Farrakhan represents the entire black population or that David Duke is the typical white guy?  Obviously not.

I tend to see myself as the typical firearms owner.  I work for a living, obey the laws, pay my taxes, provide for my family, and teach my children respect for others and general proper behavior.  There are millions of us out here, but we don’t get a lot of attention because you don’t hear about us on the evening news.

From his statements on your program, Moore seems to think that if we'd stop being afraid of people who don't look like us we'd realize that everybody is basically the same and we'd start getting along.  It seems that according to him, society’s troubles are mainly caused by white folks who are afraid of people with darker skin.  Alas, it is this irrational fear of other people that has stunted our social maturity.  Right.  I can think of a couple neighborhoods for him to stroll through so he can prove that his is not just an empty theory.  And, by the way, one can find such neighborhoods populated by almost any ethnic group.

I have associated with people of all races throughout my 21-year career in the U.S. Air Force, in my current job, and in church every week.  I believe that God is colorblind (or rather that He likes variety), and have taught my children that skin color is as incidental to a person’s identity as whether they have blond or brown hair.  When I was in the military I didn’t care if the person’s skin was orange or purple; I saw a man in uniform and expected him to perform his duties professionally.  Racial bias was a luxury I just didn’t have room for in getting the job done.

Something else that is colorblind, sadly, is crime.  Criminals come from all ethnic groups.  The fact is that there are genuinely bad people out there.  I don’t know if entry into your building is controlled, or whether you employ bodyguards.  All I know about firsthand is my life.  Since there are criminals out there, I have made the decision to enable myself to protect my family from them.  It is my sincere wish that I will never be faced with the situation, but reality dictates that one must be prepared.  Either that or live in denial.  

Some will say that we have the police to protect us, but that is not the position of the courts.  When police departments have been sued for not providing adequate protection the courts have repeatedly (and rightly) ruled that it is not the job of the police to protect everybody.  The police do a great job and I believe they are some of the most underpaid and under appreciated people in our society.  However, they don’t have the manning to provide everybody a personal bodyguard, they can’t be everywhere at once, and they generally come into play after a crime has been completed.  Add to that the response times for 911 calls, and the percentage of calls that are not responded to, and it gives a person cause for serious thought.

Professor Gary Kleck (Florida State University) documented in his book Point Blank: Guns and Violence in America (Social Institutions and Social Change) that American citizens use firearms for self-defense between 2 and 2.5 million times a year.  Without this means of defense, that would mean over two-million more successful crimes annually added to the statistics.  Adding credibility to his work and demonstrating his academic honesty, Kleck is a liberal Democrat who originally set out to “prove” that guns in the hands of citizens don’t reduce crime.  However, the evidence proved contrary to that opinion.

Professor John R. Lott, Jr. (University of Chicago Law School), analyzed FBI crime statistics for all 3,054 American counties from 1977 to 1992.  He found that states that had “shall-issue” concealed weapons permit laws experienced, by his most conservative estimates, reductions of 8.5% in murders, 5% in rapes, 7% in aggravated assaults, and 3% in robbery.  Using these figures, if states that deny citizens concealed carry had instead allowed the practice, in 1992 the people in these states would have been spared at least 1,570 murders, 4,177 rapes, 60,000 aggravated assaults, and 12,000 robberies.  His findings are detailed in his book More Guns, Less Crime: Understanding Crime and Gun Control Laws.  

I think inviting these two gentlemen to be interviewed on your show could prove to be interesting.  It would be a departure from the usual mutual admiration society that we see on so many TV shows.

The basic message is that there are indeed bad people out there, and the law-abiding citizen, trained and armed, is an effective deterrent.  The efficacy of self-defense proves itself millions of times annually.  Today’s media has contributed to an irrational fear of firearms.  A firearm is an amoral mechanical device.  Morality is assigned by the person holding it, and thus, the law-abiding citizen equipped for defense is not the person to be feared.  Rather, it is the criminal operating outside the bounds of the law we should be concerned with.

Michael Moore used your program to voice his one-sided agenda.  In fact, the following website documents the deception Moore perpetrated upon his unsuspecting audience with this film:

http://www.hardylaw.net/Truth_About_Bowling.html

Although I am not a regular viewer, I do see you as being a reasonable, intelligent person.  This is demonstrated in the direction you took your show, as opposed to those who rely on sensationalism to draw a voyeuristic audience.  I do not have the same name recognition, nor am I skilled at film making.  I’m just an ordinary guy trying to get the other side a fair hearing.

Respectfully,

Great letter...  well thought out and articulate.

What do you think your chances are that it will actually get read by her?

So...

You watch Oprah huh?

Sgtar15

I was flipping channels and saw Moore sitting there.  I had heard of "Bowling" but didn't know anything about it so I watched it.  Honest!  Have I ever lied to you before- I mean when it was something really important???????

I tried to avoid being "in her face" with this so that there [i]might[/i] be a slight chance of her being persuaded to let the other side respond.  As for whether or not it would happen, that would depend on her I guess.

I thought this was a serious letter till I saw that line!  [lol] [lol]


But really. I do HOPE that she will read this......But sadly, I don't think she ever will.

Dr Phil says your a closet Oprah watcher.[;)]

Sgtar15

PS.  Remember, You can't get thru the game of life with sweaty palms

OK, how about intelligent?  She is a pretty successful business woman.  The Reasonable part can be pretty subjective.

Ok, that one I'll give you.[8D]

Oprah is one of those "Banned" shows in my house hold.   I refer to her as a "Sexual Intellectual"  (A Fvcking Know-It-All).    

Nice letter let us know the outcome or of any response.

Cosmos

You sissy!
You wrote a letter to Oprah.
[:)]

I could sit back and bitch about her, which wouldn't really contribute toward our goals and interests.  Not wanting to be a member of a mutual comiseration society, I took a shot.  Will it have any effect?  Chances are probably slim.  Worth a try?  I think so.

However, recognizing the futility of trying to defend this to you guys (the hole would just get deeper!), I'll just close by saying it was a random occurence and I promise never to do it again.  Really!

Forgive me?

Good Letter!

i wrote her several emails right before and after moore came on....not a single response

Great letter! I wish I could articulate my thoughts like that.

Successful or not, your intent was to be helpful. Meanwhile otehr people are just complaining about shit.

Your only fault is letting the assclowns beat you.

I watch Oprah and Dr. Phil every day. Some of you people are so screwed up that it makes me wonder if you haven't already been on Dr. Phil's show.

Great letter!  The approach and presentation of your opinion and fact were wisely done.

WE should have a show like that!

"Dr. ETH, my wife doesn't understand me.  She says five guns are plenty and I don't need another one.  I've tried to explain SHTF and TEOTWAWKI to her, but she doesn't want to face reality.  What should I do?"

"Dr. Steyr, we've all heard what Freud says about men who are afraid of guns.  What does that say about me?  I LOVE guns!"

"Tune in tomorrow when we'll be discussing women who drag their sissy boyfriends to the shooting range- on the next ARFCOM Live."

"Be sure to tune in next week when we'll be eviscerating anti-gun liberals live on stage.  I think I hear Bob sharpening his Bowie backstage already..."