Oprah Winfrey victim of racism in Switzerland

[Epigonos]

You know this kind of thing happens all the time and can happen to anyone. A number of years ago a friend and I were in a very expensive glass shop just off the Piazza San Marcos in Venice. Europeans and Americans dress differently (particularly shoes) and the clerks obviously determined that we were Americans and completely ignored us. We had not spoken upon entering the shop and then all of a sudden my friend asked me something in Spanish to which I replied in Spanish. At that point one clerk nearly broke her neck rushing over to us. She apologized profusely explaining that she mistook us for Americans who were lookers and not buyers. Europeans she claimed were buyers. We looked around for a few minutes and then departed. Once outside we broke up laughing.

 

On another occasion I walked into Gucci in Florence looking for something specific. Again the clerks glanced at me and proceeded to ignore me. Later that day I bought a nice jacked in another, locally well know, shop and on my way back to my hotel stopped in again at Gucci. All of a sudden clerks were all over me. At first I couldn’t understand why then I realized that my recently purchased jacket, slung over my shoulder in a carryon bag with logo from the other store had caught their attention and suddenly I was credible. I proceeded to look around and then left buying nothing.

 

I find this type of presumptuous behavior by clerks silly and amusing. It also makes me think of the scene in Pretty Woman when the clerk in a Rodeo Drive shop in Beverly Hills would not wait on the Julia Roberts character. When this type of thing happens I simply purchase nothing and move on to another shop.

[JoeyBryant]

I find this type of presumptuous behavior by clerks silly and amusing. It also makes me think of the scene in Pretty Woman when the clerk in a Rodeo Drive shop in Beverly Hills would not wait on the Julia Roberts character. When this type of thing happens I simply purchase nothing and move on to another shop.

 

Clerk are nobodies...as well as anyone else not in authoritive positions who think they know everything. There's been many times for whatever reason I've had to report 'clerks/tellers/court personnel' to higher management. That solves that.

 

It also feels good to tell someone off in their face. I know some people want to take the high road, but you'll be surprised how quickly people get their act together when you go postal on their ass. OK, maybe not that severe, but atleast let them know their behavior is uncalled for. You may never see that person again, the key is to address the minute it happens, without being worried you're going to flip out, jump over the counter, and choke the shit out of that bitch. Remain calm and professional, but direct.

[+ azdr0710]

wow....

 

and I was "taught" to think Europeans were the ultimate in progressive, enlightened society....

 

and that "ugly Americans" were unsophisticated colonials....

[BgMstr4u]

Well, these places are not WalMart. I've been on the receiving end of shoe-based discrimination in Europe so many times I just find it amusing. Generally, if you want to shop in "that kind of store", it helps to dress and act as though it's the very sort of place you're always shopping in. I have often been rebuffed by a salesperson for being American/casual/middle class/etc., though never for being black, because I'm white. But I suspect it is really about expectations. The thing that works for me is polite persistence. Usually what the clerk is doing is making a calculation based on the perception of moi, and that simply has to be overcome, as any stereotype does. But language also seems to be an issue here. Apparently the clerk was an Italian speaker with limited English. The verb O used was "look at", which does not actually mean look at, but examine physically. It is idiomatic English. To a literal translating partial English speaker, O was already looking at it. Then the stereotyping kicked in.

 

I have spent quite a lot of time in Switzerland. There is a world of difference in this regard between Geneva and Zurich. Geneva is full to the brim with heavy spending third world types because it is a U.N. headquarters, and so an American black person shopping in an upscale store would be typed according to how they are dressed and carrying themselves, not according to their race. Zurich is another kettle of fish. It is full of finance and corporate types, almost all of whom are (unfortunate but true) white and not American. Not that Africans and African-Americans don't go to Zurich, but they are usually tourists rather than heavy and dependable spenders. My guess is that the clerk made a misjudgement by stereotyping, which was racial in the sense that there aren't a lot of black people with huge amounts of money in Zurich, compounded by being linguistically unprepared for idiomatic American English. Perhaps Tina Turner can change this perception now that she has channeled her inner Heidi and accomplished her Helvetic transformation.

[+ WilliamM]

There is not a one of us that has not made some comment like Condi. I have always found her to be a very bright individual.

 

I believe you are totally wrong. I can not imagine telling a clerk that I am standing where I am because I have more money, or a similar comment.

[+ WilliamM]

Clerk are nobodies...as well as anyone else not in authoritive positions who think they know everything. There's been many times for whatever reason I've had to report 'clerks/tellers/court personnel' to higher management. That solves that.

 

It also feels good to tell someone off in their face. I know some people want to take the high road, but you'll be surprised how quickly people get their act together when you go postal on their ass. OK, maybe not that severe, but atleast let them know their behavior is uncalled for. You may never see that person again, the key is to address the minute it happens, without being worried you're going to flip out, jump over the counter, and choke the shit out of that bitch. Remain calm and professional, but direct.

 

You need to grow up. One very good way to really know someone is to watch how he/she treats people in lower positions, on that basis you get a very low mark. I was on your side on the thread you started about traveling escorts, but not anymore.

[Phil_musc]

If I was the clerk, I would have not allowed her to buy the handbag either. No one should spend $35,000 for a handbag. lol

 

+1

[Irtwo]

This is Oprah while in Switzerland, according to the Daily News, so you can see how she dressed.

 

http://assets.nydailynews.com/polopoly_fs/1.1422319.1376100421!/img/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_635/spl581787-004.jpg

[bigvalboy]

This is Oprah while in Switzerland, according to the Daily News, so you can see how she dressed.

 

http://assets.nydailynews.com/polopoly_fs/1.1422319.1376100421!/img/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_635/spl581787-004.jpg

 

(sigh)

[Samai139]

I watched the E! interview, I've read all the posts above and have come to this conclusion:

Oprah Winfrey was treated disrepectfully in a chi-chi handbag shop in Zurich---perhaps her attire and her race had something to do with it---perhaps there was a language probllem. But perhaps Ms Winfrey could have taken the "high road" she used while in the shop and NOT given any interviews after the interaction. Then again, no one would be talking about Oprah and the hanbag, would they?

[Guest boiworship08]

(sigh)

 

Indeed.

[Guest boiworship08]

I watched the E! interview, I've read all the posts above and have come to this conclusion:

Oprah Winfrey was treated disrepectfully in a chi-chi handbag shop in Zurich---perhaps her attire and her race had something to do with it---perhaps there was a language probllem. But perhaps Ms Winfrey could have taken the "high road" she used while in the shop and NOT given any interviews after the interaction. Then again, no one would be talking about Oprah and the hanbag, would they?

Too many American tourists fall into the "perpetually offended" category.

 

Now for real parvenus, no one can beat the Russian nouveaux-riches.

[+ azdr0710]

she said she'd gone into the handbag store in "full Oprah Winfrey gear" (but without eyelashes on), so maybe she was just out on a walk when the picture was taken....

 

I do have to wonder if she's using this episode, in part, to promote her new movie, since she made the accusation on some show like "ET" (?) where she no doubt was promoting the movie...

[BaronArtz]

Clerk are nobodies....

 

That comment says more about you than it says about sales clerks. Sales clerks are people too, you know.

[bigvalboy]

I watched the E! interview, I've read all the posts above and have come to this conclusion:

Oprah Winfrey was treated disrepectfully in a chi-chi handbag shop in Zurich---perhaps her attire and her race had something to do with it---perhaps there was a language probllem. But perhaps Ms Winfrey could have taken the "high road" she used while in the shop and NOT given any interviews after the interaction. Then again, no one would be talking about Oprah and the hanbag, would they?

 

I agree with your assessment Samai, however Ms. Winfrey has been very clear as to why she thought that it was necessary to discuss the incident, at least in the interviews that I watched.

[bigvalboy]

There is not a one of us that has not made some comment like Condi. I have always found her to be a very bright individual. I to feel that even though she got into college the way she did, she could have made it without that help. I do not agree with all of her political views, but she is one outstanding lady.

Oprah has show all of us regardless of color that you can make it in this world. She is to be admired for all the crap she has gone thru to get to where she is.

 

I actually agree with your post gardenguy, except that there just isn't a fiber in my being that would have talked to the sales clerk in such a condescending manner the way that Condi did.

[bigvalboy]

Clerk are nobodies...as well as anyone else not in authoritive positions who think they know everything. There's been many times for whatever reason I've had to report 'clerks/tellers/court personnel' to higher management. That solves that.

 

It also feels good to tell someone off in their face. I know some people want to take the high road, but you'll be surprised how quickly people get their act together when you go postal on their ass. OK, maybe not that severe, but atleast let them know their behavior is uncalled for. You may never see that person again, the key is to address the minute it happens, without being worried you're going to flip out, jump over the counter, and choke the shit out of that bitch. Remain calm and professional, but direct.

 

Wow...May I suggest a nice merlot and a quiet walk.

[+ BOZO T CLOWN]

Just to be clear, Oprah not treated in the manner which she expects, so she plays the race card..... Now there's a first.

Calling Al Sharpton, calling Al Sharpton. We need to plan a "No Justice, No Peace" rally in front of Trois Pommes in Zurich for next Sunday.

Oh, sorry. Reverend Al already has another Tawana Brawley fundraiser scheduled for that day.

[Guest]

Here's what the shop's owner has to say about the incident ... 0:56 mark

 

[video=youtube;yvrn-l6AiQw]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=yvrn-l6AiQw

 

 

Wow. I'm amazed at the way the owner backed her employee 100%. There didn't seem to be any doubt in her mind. I could understand if she had said "It may have just been a language barrier, but I counseled the employee just to be sure." The owner's attitude of "The employee is always right" certainly seems to support Oprah's version. No, the customer isn't always right, but one certainly has to at least entertain the possibility. It would be interesting to know how Oprah was dressed in the store. I would love to see the video from any surveillance cameras. I have to wonder if perhaps Oprah might have intentionally created the situation by walking in wearing shorts and a T-shirt, then using the clerk's reaction to promote her new movie. When I worked one summer as a bank teller at Bank of America (the summer before college, while I was still 17!), I was advised that the bank employed "mystery customers" to check on customer service, and that some were dressed as homeless people. They wanted to be sure all customers were treated with respect regardless of how they were dressed. Obviously, this is not the modus operandi in Europe.

[Frequentflier]

Just to be clear, Oprah not treated in the manner which she expects, so she plays the race card..... Now there's a first.

Calling Al Sharpton, calling Al Sharpton. We need to plan a "No Justice, No Peace" rally in front of Trois Pommes in Zurich for next Sunday.

Oh, sorry. Reverend Al already has another Tawana Brawley fundraiser scheduled for that day.

 

The photo and name - bozo t clown - is completely appropriate and with those I doubt you're really expecting to be taken seriously. I'm a white guy and any white person who claims they've never witnessed racial discrimination or race focused derogatory comments in the United States in their lifetime is lying. Until we see a lot less of that, those of a race other than white are entitled to the benefit of the doubt when they say its racial discrimination. When I was born there was still separate facilities for blacks and whites. I believe in reincarnation and hope "Bozo t clown" comes back as whatever minority is discriminated against at the time and somehow is allowed to remember his closed minded views in this life. White people like me try hard to imagine what life is like experiencing discrimination and lack of complete respect as a black person or other minority, but its not fully possible to do that.

[Guest]

There is not a one of us that has not made some comment like Condi.

 

No, I haven't. That is not to say that I have never countered rudeness with more rudeness. Although Miss Manners says one should never counter rudeness with more rudeness, sometimes it just seems appropriate (such as giving the finger to the person who cuts you off on the highway). That being said, I wouldn't consider using a person's social status, job, or race in any counter-insult.

[seeker630]

Wow. I'm amazed at the way the owner backed her employee 100%. There didn't seem to be any doubt in her mind. I could understand if she had said "It may have just been a language barrier, but I counseled the employee just to be sure." The owner's attitude of "The employee is always right" certainly seems to support Oprah's version. No, the customer isn't always right, but one certainly has to at least entertain the possibility. It would be interesting to know how Oprah was dressed in the store. I would love to see the video from any surveillance cameras. I have to wonder if perhaps Oprah might have intentionally created the situation by walking in wearing shorts and a T-shirt, then using the clerk's reaction to promote her new movie. When I worked one summer as a bank teller at Bank of America (the summer before college, while I was still 17!), I was advised that the bank employed "mystery customers" to check on customer service, and that some were dressed as homeless people. They wanted to be sure all customers were treated with respect regardless of how they were dressed. Obviously, this is not the modus operandi in Europe.

 

The owner has only second-knowledge of what happened - Oprah's version and her employee's version. She has some personal knowledge of her employee's character and no first-hand knowledge of Oprah. She was in a difficult position, but I was impressed that she tried to defend her employee without calling Oprah a liar. At least she didn't throw her employee under the bus to satisfy the court of public opinion.

 

(And just to be clear - I'm not saying that Oprah lied, I'm saying the store owner doesn't know exactly what happened, and neither do I.)

[Frequentflier]

Great hosts go out of their way to make their guests feel welcome. Great employees do the same for customers. Only good came from both.

[+ deej]

Take the hate outside, gentlemen. (And I do use that term loosely.)

[bigvalboy]

Take the hate outside, gentlemen. (And I do use that term loosely.)

 

Thank you.....