On sympathy

From: Laurence Shandy
To: Oprah Winfrey
Re: Abuse

Dear Oprah,

How are you? That's not just an empty greeting. I really want to know how you're doing. Personally, I could never imagine being in your situation. You set up an academy in South Africa to train young girls to be your henchwomen, and here they go getting abused. I wonder how anyone could live with themselves after sexually, violently, and verbally assaulting teenage girls under their charge, but then I realize it wouldn't be all that hard. You know, comparatively speaking. Far less difficult, anyway, then continuing to breathe after realizing you, Oprah, have been let down.

Despite how often your tear-wiped face has appeared on my television to tell me how hurt you are that these girls were hurt, I can't imagine that their hurt matches your hurt. After all, they're teenage girls in South Africa, a country where a little sexual abuse is tantamount to an aggressive "how do you do?". You're Oprah Winfrey. Like E.T. with Elliott, a whole nation is empathically linked with your psyche. Your hurt is our hurt.

As this trial gets underway, I hope the media doesn't become distracted by a few young, abused faces on the witness stand and overlook the real story here. Maybe by setting aside a few minutes of your show each day to draw attention to just how much you're suffering, we can prevent you from ever suffering this way again.

Here's hoping.

Best wishes,
Laurence Shandy, gentleman