Racism?

[normiss 801]

Is this racism?

[Gravitymaster 0]

Did she have on a hoodie? Was she carrying Skittles? If so, then it was racism.

[quade 4]

Maybe. Maybe not. Hard to know just hearing one side of it.

Lemme ask the Oprah fans out there if they've seen her recent appearance on the David Letterman show?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Taq27NOBCLo

Skip forward to 22:20 or thereabouts.

While racism doesn't enter into the conversation, she was incredibly sexist in her comments. I'm pretty sure that if any male guest had flipped that comment around and said why people should invest in boy's education as opposed to girl's that male guest would never be heard from again.

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[Gravitymaster 0]

It may have had more to do with the way she was dressed. If I walked into a Ferrari dealership dressed in old jeans and a T-shirt, I might have gotten the same snobby treatment.

OTOH, the clerk should be fired just for her snooty attitude.

[normiss 801]

Good to see you didn't bother to read the article.



Personally, I would appreciate a sales clerk that thinks $38,000 is too fucking much money for a purse.

[airdvr 210]

Yes.

Please don't dent the planet.

Destinations by Roxanne

[weekender 0]

normiss

Is this racism?

something made the women think she could not afford the bag. if it was because she was black than sounds pretty racist to me.

i think the clerk was a dolt though. i have never seen a poor black American shopping in Europe. i would have guessed the opposite, that she most likely was well to do.

does that make me racist? as a middle aged white guy i always fear im sounding racist. because of that i normally just stay of out these conversations about people of color. also, i normally dont have conversations with people of color. just to be safe.

ah crap, that was racist wasnt it?

"The point is, I'm weird, but I never felt weird."
John Frusciante

[normiss 801]

[rehmwa 2]

ya know? sometimes people are just assholes and they treat others crappy. others are just tools that get picked on a lot.

to those that have a particular flavored chip on their shoulder (that they need to grind with an ax...continue quaintisms here) everything looks like their pet issue

for all I know, the clerk was instructed to keep ANY customer from handling this expensive piece of inventory. for all I know, Oprah might have been acting like a jerk.

but that doesn't stop people from jumping to a conclusion they've been indoctrinated in.


those damn swiss - they are just out of hand - not recognizing and fawning over the big O

if this was in the US, I'd assume that Oprah assumed racism or sexism, and the clerk was an animal rights activist that hated the leather purse and was keeping it from selling to anyone - instant misunderstanding

...
Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

[Darius11 12]

I wasn't there so I don’t know.

This happens to her once a year I think she might be racist.

Would she think the same if the clerk was black?

I'd rather be hated for who I am, than loved for who I am not." - Kurt Cobain

[FreeFallFiend 0]

In my experience with the Swiss...it was most likely NOT racism...but probably because she was American

I do have to say I have never had anything less than amazing service and experiences in Switzerland, however, you can tell there is some animosity towards Americans that show up and expect everyone else to speak English, want everything now and right away, and cant put down their cellphones to talk to someone. It's also painfully apparent they dont like it when we get loud or are in groups. I find it hard to believe Oprah would be anywhere without an entourage so that could have been it.

Fiend

I am about to take my last voyage, a great leap in the dark. - Thomas Hobbes.

[Gravitymaster 0]

normiss

Good to see you didn't bother to read the article.



Personally, I would appreciate a sales clerk that thinks $38,000 is too fucking much money for a purse.

Because you need others to help you decide how to spend your money?
I appreciate a sales clerk who is there to shut up and show me the merchandise I asked to see.

[DiverMike 5]

Interesting Editing on the article. I'm pretty sure that when she mentions throwing down the black card, she wasn't endorsing American Express. What editor added that in parenthesis and thought it was a good idea?

Quote

Winfrey insists the denial came from racism. "There's two different ways to handle it. I could've had the whole blow-up thing and thrown down the (American Express) black card, and all that stuff but why do that? But (racism) still exists, of course it does."

For the same reason I jump off a perfectly good diving board.

[FreeFallFiend 0]

While she might not have been endorsing it per say, she most certainly meant the AMEX Black card and the status is carries, hence the reason she said it in the first place. The editor might have put that in there for people who arent familiar with the reference.

Fiend

I am about to take my last voyage, a great leap in the dark. - Thomas Hobbes.

[wolfriverjoe 1,523]

FreeFallFiend

While she might not have been endorsing it per say, she most certainly meant the AMEX Black card and the status is carries, hence the reason she said it in the first place. The editor might have put that in there for people who arent familiar with the reference.

I think she meant the AmEx "Centurion Card", known as the "Black Card".

Holy Crap! $2500 annual fee!?!
$5k "Initiation Fee"!?!
Minimum $250k spending to qualify?!?

I wasn't aware of it, no reason I would be.

I think if you whip that thing out, a $38k purse wouldn't seem extravagant.

And FWIW, the article mentions that she was well dressed (Donna Karen skirt plus other stuff).

"There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy

"~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

[DiverMike 5]

Silly me - I guess I am not a gazillionaire.

For the same reason I jump off a perfectly good diving board.

[masterrig 1]

why does the top photo of Oprah in the article look like a 'booking photo'? Is that 'source being' racist?


Chuck

[maxmadmax 8]

She could have purchased about 1,000 of these for 1 of those.

Purses

Don't go away mad....just go away!

[DivingWombat 0]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2d2SzRZvsQ&feature=youtube_gdata_player

[Darius11 12]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2d2SzRZvsQ&feature=youtube_gdata_player

I'd rather be hated for who I am, than loved for who I am not." - Kurt Cobain

[Rick 67]

Maybe the clerk knew how much $$ her OWN is losing

You can't be drunk all day if you don't start early!

[Nataly 38]

quade

Maybe. Maybe not. Hard to know just hearing one side of it.

Lemme ask the Oprah fans out there if they've seen her recent appearance on the David Letterman show?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Taq27NOBCLo

Skip forward to 22:20 or thereabouts.

While racism doesn't enter into the conversation, she was incredibly sexist in her comments. I'm pretty sure that if any male guest had flipped that comment around and said why people should invest in boy's education as opposed to girl's that male guest would never be heard from again.

Well, there are proponents for both sides... Young girls do WAY better in school than do boys right up to university, and even at university. Some people work hard to find ways to get boys interested in school... Many people don't see the value in this, given boys out-perform girls in "real life" (and so the argument is that the gender gap in school is irrelevant and we should focus on the gender gap in the job market).

But what Oprah says about girls and education is true. Perhaps boys simply take for granted what has always been available to them, or girls have been socialised to give back or maybe it shows girls' gratitude after years of never having access to education or maybe it's a "natural feminine instinct"... Who knows. Maybe it sounds sexist but the research and the results of educating girls speaks volumes, especially in poorer countries when women have traditionally not been given an education. If you're interested in the topic, I can link a couple of Ted talks (for both sides - boys' education and girls' education).

"There is no problem so bad you can't make it worse."
- Chris Hadfield
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- my boss