Oprah Winfrey victim of racism in Switzerland

[+ FreshFluff]

Didn't mean to offend. I moved to a new location and experienced anti-Semitism for the first time, so I know bigotry still exists. . Based on what I heard from both Oprah and the shop owner, I felt like it was a misunderstanding. (This is in contrast to Condi's situation, which sounded more like racism or at least rudeness on the part of the salesperson). But it's impossible to know what really happened without having been there.

[seeker630]

Didn't mean to offend. I moved to a new location and experienced anti-Semitism for the first time, so I know bigotry still exists. . Based on what I heard from both Oprah and the shop owner, I felt like it was a misunderstanding. (This is in contrast to Condi's situation, which sounded more like racism or at least rudeness on the part of the salesperson). But it's impossible to know what really happened without having been there.

 

My own best guess is that there was a misunderstanding but...the only person who REALLY knows is the employee.

 

There are always 3 versions of conversation - what was said, what was meant, and what was heard (interpreted).

 

(And FF - sorry that you experienced bigotry! )

[bigvalboy]

Didn't mean to offend. I moved to a new location and experienced anti-Semitism for the first time, so I know bigotry still exists. . Based on what I heard from both Oprah and the shop owner, I felt like it was a misunderstanding. (This is in contrast to Condi's situation, which sounded more like racism or at least rudeness on the part of the salesperson). But it's impossible to know what really happened without having been there.

 

I don't think that you offended anyone....now I will say, that I disagree with your assessment, but I am thinking we can discuss it over a nice bottle of merlot at "Per Se"

[+ azdr0710]

[quote=seeker630;868691

There are always 3 versions of conversation - what was said, what was meant, and what was heard (interpreted).

 

 

reminds me of the "three sides to every story" line: A's side, B's side, and what really happened.....and did anybody notice in the "ET" clip Oprah doing the stereotypical imitation of the employee's accent??

[bigvalboy]

lol....well here is another dead horse we just beat. I'm ordering pizza.

[+ azdr0710]

lol....well here is another dead horse we just beat. I'm ordering pizza.

 

 

and we'll be expecting a full report on the pizza guy later, BVB!...."30 minutes or it's free!"....

[BSR]

Oprah talks about racism, citing examples of house burnings, employment terminations, and lynchings. Then she comes up with her own experiences with racism: snooty salesgirls at Hermes in Paris in Trois Pommes in Zurich. Yeah, cuz no white person in the history of the human race has ever walked into a Louis Vuitton, Prada, Gucci, or whatever and dealt with snootiness. Oh, the horrendous oppression that Oprah suffered! I hope she consulted with a mental health professional afterward. I mean, you never know, something as awful as salesgirl snootiness might lead to PTSD down the road.

[bigvalboy]

and we'll be expecting a full report on the pizza guy later, BVB!.... "30 minutes or it's free!" ....

 

 

lol...They changed that little policy a year or so ago. apparently many of the employees were speeding trying to get the delivery done in that "30 min" window, and consequently getting in accidents. A few lawsuits and they had to re-think the policy. AND sadly, for the record, I failed miserably at trying to seduce the "pizza boy"..lol...guess I'm getting old and losing my touch...

[Steven_Draker]

did anybody notice in the "ET" clip Oprah doing the stereotypical imitation of the employee's accent??

 

Can we all hold hands now and sing Kumbaya?

 

http://fredzimny.files.wordpress.com/2010/10/fairly_oddparents__group_hug_by_ultrasponge.png?w=391&h=400

[Guest]

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.

 

Oh, I agree that the employee should not have been fired. But during that interview, the owner essentially did call Oprah a liar, just without using those words. She essentially presented the employee's version as factual. Only when pressed by the reporter to say "Are you calling Oprah a liar?" did she somewhat back-pedal and say "Well, I wasn't there, so I can't use those words." While I don't think it would be appropriate to fire the employee when the facts are unknown, a responsible business owner would say to her employee "I don't know whether or not the customer's version is correct, but I want you to understand that you should not decline a customer's request to view an item based on your assessment of their means due to the customer's appearance." The owner in that video clip made it quite clear she believed her employee's version. That being said, I suspect that the premises of a high-end store like that would be under video surveillance. If Oprah was presenting the store in a less than truthful manner, why not produce the video? I tend to believe Oprah's version is closer to the truth, although I suspect it had more to do with Oprah's attire at the time, rather than her ethnicity.

It was the tone of the owner's response that I found suspicious. If she had started by saying "You know, I wasn't there, so I'm not going to take sides as to whose version is correct. I have reminded my employees not to make assumptions on customers based on their appearance," I would be less suspicious of the store's customer service policies.

[+ purplekow]

Lets face it, racism exists. Classism exists. Relgious bigotry exists. We all face discrimination based on the perceptions others have and based on human beings willingness to judge by things other than merit. Oprah ought to grow a pair and simply ask to speak to the manager when an employee of a store treats her with disrespect. That is what most adults do. This event most likely plays to another agenda that only Oprah knows.

So the final line for me is:

Was Oprah slighted at the store, likely as a result of discrimination? Yes

Did Oprah handle this properly? No

Are salespeople in high end boutiques which sell $35000 purses likely to be arrogant and inappropriate? Yes

[BallerBoy]

Well I'm a Black male in my 30s and I don't need to travel to Europe to experience racism.

I get the honor and convenience of experiencing it right here in the good ole United States of America.

 

As for Oprah's experience, I can only imagine the MANY times she has experienced racist attitudes from people in her own country and elsewhere , yet

remained silent about the pain of that experience. All of which says to me that Ms. O is a classy lady..

[+ purplekow]

Well I'm a Black male in my 30s and I don't need to travel to Europe to experience racism.

I get the honor and convenience of experiencing it right here in the good ole United States of America.

 

As for Oprah's experience, I can only imagine the MANY times she has experienced racist attitudes from people in her own country and elsewhere , yet

remained silent about the pain of that experience. All of which says to me that Ms. O is a classy lady..

 

I would bet you are right about her having experienced racism many times and kept quiet about it. So the question is, why not speak up then? Why now? Which leads me back to asking, what is the agenda now? What was so different this time? It is hard to believe that this is the final straw that led to Oprah finally being unable to take it any more. When does that movie come out?

[BallerBoy]

@ purplekow - no one can truly answer the question of "why now?"

 

But to be fair, Oprah was being interviewed about her new movie which involves RACE and servitude in the White House.

I'm sure the conversation sorta came about on it's own given the undertones of the movie's plot. Oprah does not need a publicity stunt to promote her projects.

It's not her style.

[+ purplekow]

I am a fan of Oprah's. I used to watch her show late at night here on a rebroadacast. i occasionally tune in to OWN (yes i am the one). With that said, Oprah does not need publicity stunts as her mere presence in a project insures lots of publicity, but she sure knows good ones. I am not sure this event is one, but look back and who can forget, "You get a car You get a car You get a car." Sure those teachers were deserving but the publicity from that was overwhelming. So BallerBoy, (love the name by the way and welcome to the forum) i think Oprah is better intentioned than almost all celebrities, but I disagree with your last sentence.

[BSR]

A billionaire complains about the oppression she suffered at a boutique in Zurich that sells $35,000 purses. Oh, how I long for the days before the Cult of Victimhood took over this country.

[LouieD]

My sentiments exactly, BSR.

[whipped guy]

This thead has probably gone on way too long... and I knew that it would. It's just that I just overheard something about one of those British tabloids mentioning that the fact that Opra is "full figured" might have also figured into the equation. I guess 35,000 thousand dollar handbags are not compatible with "plus size" individuals. So I guess that further complicates matters... I also guess that's where pizza enters into the equation...

[+ azdr0710]

I also guess that's where pizza enters into the equation...

 

 

http://i.qkme.me/3qk82i.jpg

[bigvalboy]

This thead has probably gone on way too long... and I knew that it would.

 

"Sing fat lady, sing"

[+ BOZO T CLOWN]

A billionaire complains about the oppression she suffered at a boutique in Zurich that sells $35,000 purses. Oh, how I long for the days before the Cult of Victimhood took over this country.

 

Ever since her show went off the air, Oprah has desperately tried to be relevant. The latest were the incidents in the boutiques in Paris and Zurich, and comparing Trayvon Martin with Emmitt Till. Oprah, it's time to write another book.

[Epigonos]

Enough already!!!!!!!!!!

[+ Axiom2001]

Well I'm a Black male in my 30s and I don't need to travel to Europe to experience racism.

I get the honor and convenience of experiencing it right here in the good ole United States of America.

 

As for Oprah's experience, I can only imagine the MANY times she has experienced racist attitudes from people in her own country and elsewhere , yet

remained silent about the pain of that experience. All of which says to me that Ms. O is a classy lady..

 

I liked your very timely response as well as your very hot and sexy avatar or name used here! - -

[BSR]

Uh oh, it seems that Oprah kinda sorta made up the whole "racist" oppression thing. The vilified-as-racist shopgirl claims that she offered to show Oprah the purse. Oprah's response? Instead of refuting the shopgirl's account and sticking with her original story, Oprah issued a non-apology apology, that she was sorry that the whole thing "got blown out of proportion." But hey, why bother with the truth, the possible destruction of the reputations of that shopgirl and store owner, when you have a movie to promote??

 

I'm baffled that in light of claims that racism is pervasive and that blacks in America experience racism constantly, there are so many race hoaxes. From Tawana Brawley to the Duke rape case to the Columbia noose incident, so many incidents of alleged racism wither under scrutiny. Here's one of a black man in Virginia who claimed that his house was defaced with racist slurs then torched, until the official investigation revealed he did it himself as a race hoax. As long as this thread remains active, I will post more race hoaxes. A simple Google search turned up more race hoaxes than I could count, so the "supply" is pretty much a bottomless well.

[Frequentflier]

Uh oh, it seems that Oprah kinda sorta made up the whole "racist" oppression thing. The vilified-as-racist shopgirl claims that she offered to show Oprah the purse. Oprah's response? Instead of refuting the shopgirl's account and sticking with her original story, Oprah issued a non-apology apology, that she was sorry that the whole thing "got blown out of proportion." But hey, why bother with the truth, the possible destruction of the reputations of that shopgirl and store owner, when you have a movie to promote??

 

I'm baffled that in light of claims that racism is pervasive and that blacks in America experience racism constantly, there are so many race hoaxes. From Tawana Brawley to the Duke rape case to the Columbia noose incident, so many incidents of alleged racism wither under scrutiny. Here's one of a black man in Virginia who claimed that his house was defaced with racist slurs then torched, until the official investigation revealed he did it himself as a race hoax. As long as this thread remains active, I will post more race hoaxes. A simple Google search turned up more race hoaxes than I could count, so the "supply" is pretty much a bottomless well.

 

Don't see anything in your linked article about Oprah's response. And if your reporting on the matter is right and complete, how does Oprah saying she is sorry the whole thing got blown out of proportion (assuming she said that) mean the incident didn't happen? I don't have personal knowledge of whether Oprah's described shopping incident is true or not. I do have personal knowledge that racism is alive and well in the United States, and particularly in the "former" Civil War states (but not limited to there).

 

There are all kinds of untruths (a few minutes watching Fox or listening to Rush should make any intelligent person nearly puke) out there on many topics and nothing wrong about exposing them. I don't know where you're going with saying there are instances of falsely reported racism and you'll keep sharing examples of THOSE untruths. If you had said you're baffled that there are hoaxes because there are so many real instances to report and discuss I'd better understand. I hope you're not going to try and convince anyone that racism isn't still a problem in the United States because, well, that view would be bull output. What's next, LGBT people aren't discriminated against? Post as you wish and as the site might allow but this is one white man who isn't going to change his view that racism is heinous, I've no patience for it and we're not done stomping it out of our society. I've no patience for discrimination or cruelty towards LGBT people either. Progress yes, significant problem still yes, more work to do absolutely.