America 1982-Chapter 187 - 70: I Should Be Shot_5

With this question asked, Tommy nodded, somewhat melancholy, "That’s why I came to Chicago for her, instead of with her. She died from manslaughter, but the court ultimately convicted the killer of hit and run. The murderers were two Irish white men who killed an Italian, and they had to pay only three thousand dollars. In fact, we didn’t get a cent. So, can everyone now imagine the miserable life of black people in Rhode Island? Isn’t it quite similar to everyone in Chicago?"

Some audience members covered their mouths, while others let out soft gasps.

"It seems your mother’s passing had a significant impact on you?" Oprah looked at Tommy, reminded of her own experiences, how her mother had dumped her at her father’s house countless times, almost absent for most of her childhood.

"It did. It made me grow up from a playful child, with no mother, I could only try hard to recall what she used to tell me. Perhaps the influence Bernice Fisher had on my mother, with her passing, actually started to truly affect me. That’s when I decided to do some right things."

Oprah continued, "The right things you speak of are considered illegal by some software companies, and a major software corporation is currently suing your company."

"Bernice Fisher, Martin Luther King, Whitney Young, James Farmer, when they founded the United States America Racial Equality Congress, President Kennedy also thought they were troublemakers, accused them of breaking the law, tried to put them in jail. But we in the end know who was right, who should be forever remembered," Tommy said, smiling at Oprah.

His answer was met with thunderous applause. Oprah couldn’t help but clap for Tommy’s response. He successfully planted an idea in the audience’s minds: President Kennedy was not a good person, so his family could only be bad, just like him.

As the applause died down, Oprah asked, "So, you don’t think your company will be found guilty by the court?"

Tommy looked at the camera:

"I would feel honored because they’re giving me the same treatment as those black civil rights activists."

After saying this, he raised both hands, stopping the black audience members who were about to erupt in another round of enthusiastic applause:

"No need, no need for applause. I know right now you all might feel this white boy Tommy seems different from other white people you’ve seen before; he’s not hypocritical, not stereotypical."

"But what’s there to applaud about that? Even if this white person shows a little bit of equality and respect towards black people, it causes you to clap for him fervently; isn’t that sad?"

"Doesn’t it just mean that there are countless white people who don’t understand black people, who don’t know the exclusive suffering of black people? Doesn’t it show deep down you are still conditioned by social environment to have a reserve due to the gap in income, social status that exists between you and white people? So, a little acknowledgement from white people sends you into raptures."

Having said that, the black audience members fell into silence, Oprah’s expression also turned serious.

Tommy, with a melancholic gaze, looked toward the audience, "This is a terrible world, where humans should have been born equal, not like now. Look at Ms. Winfrey in her elegant clothes, with exquisite makeup, speaking eloquently before the camera, seemingly an elite representative among black women. But in reality? On her first day hosting this show in Chicago, six talk shows in America made fun of this news. They ridiculed Ms. Winfrey, saying that no matter how robust she looks, resembling a man, it doesn’t mean she can do what a man does. How could a black woman possibly host an improv and in-depth talk show? Keep reading news scripts in Baltimore; that job suits her better." 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

Oprah was stunned, staring at Tommy, who returned a sincere gaze:

"A black woman, who in everyone’s eyes is definitely elite, is just barely qualified to be ridiciled by her white peers. Even to have her name mentioned among those arrogant mockers, Ms. Winfrey had to spend twenty-nine long years. She was born into a struggling single-parent home and, like me, attended a trashy high school. She worked hard to get into state college with a full scholarship and then spent ten years reading news scripts at a small-town TV station before making it to Chicago."

"To get here, she had to run away from home when she was young, leaving behind a terrible household."

"To reach her position, she had to strive for good grades at Lincoln High School in Milwaukee to get the sole UP spot, which came with a tuition subsidy, giving her the chance to transfer to a high school with better education."

"To arrive here, she endured unfriendly questions asked by classmates on the school bus, like why she had been classmates with their housekeeper or why she came to study and not to serve."

"To make it here, she practiced interviews with the crows in the yard and the dolls in her room."

"Then, she’s just barely qualified to be mocked. This is the bad world I’m speaking of; this world shouldn’t be like this, nor should the people."

Tommy’s voice remained even throughout, but Oprah was already struggling to maintain her composure, taking deep breaths.

Tommy glanced at her and went on:

"What about those who aren’t being laughed at? It’s not that they respect us, but that the arrogant ones don’t even see us as worthy of mockery. To be born into such a world is God’s decision, but at least we should do some right things, like listening to our mothers."

"Martin Luther King had a great dream; I don’t. My dream is small; I just want to listen to my mother and do some accessible and right things. I studied computer science in college not to fill my pockets with money but to think, maybe give those who aren’t even qualified to be mocked, those unable to go to college to study computers, an extra chance to change their fate. Back to the question Ms. Winfrey asked me why I don’t think my Actor Corporation is violating United State America law?"

"I’d like to say, Ms. Winfrey, if providing access to knowledge and technology affordably, giving more low-income earners a chance to change their lives, finding a decent job, if that’s a crime ..."

"I Should Be Shot."