Oprah Winfrey victim of racism apparently...

XsApollo

Maybe the shop assistant thought she couldn't afford it.....simple.

This is case of ' do you know who I am'
Or
'Is it cuz I is black'

What a fool.

Red Nissan

hotmail.com wrote: »

Is it not possible that the sales assistant was racist?

And maybe we should support her.

Duckjob

People supporting these snooty up-their-own-hole shops and then being shocked when they find snooty up-their-own-hole staff working there.

It's mad Ted.

Allyall

hotmail.com wrote: »

Is it not possible that the sales assistant was racist?

It is of course possible.

But it is more likely that Oprah is used to being pampered and ran after. She didn't get that treatment when she walked into a "Classy" store, and decided it was because they were racist.

She does an impression of the sales assistant on television, and tells the World that the *sales assistant is a racist.

Then she sits back and watches her work.

*Pretends not to tell name of store.

hotmail.com

Talking about people being racist only seems to bother racists. They maybe just don't realise it.

remsburgsgirl

hotmail.com wrote: »

Is it not possible that the sales assistant was racist?

Is it not possible that Oprah is a racist?

But seriously, no, branding someone as a racist, when they haven't actually said or done anything racist is severe

Qaddafi

remsburgsgirl wrote: »

No denying it was offensive...but "She was denied service at a handbag shop, with a shop assistant telling her the bags were "too expensive" for her"

...where is the racism exactly?

Oprah wanted to look at the bag. The clerk's job, among other things, is to get that bag. Plus, of all things, tell a potential customer "you won't be able to afford it?"

Either the clerk, who works at a high-end boutique where people buy $38,000 hand bags (more than many people's annual salary) suddenly became incompetent or there was some racism in play. And you're surprised that Oprah, who had this happen to her before, might just think that there was some racism involved?

remsburgsgirl

hotmail.com wrote: »

Talking about people being racist only seems to bother racists. They maybe just don't realise it.

...seriously?

bizmark

hotmail.com wrote: »

Talking about people being racist only seems to bother racists. They maybe just don't realise it.

Well done you just lost the argument and engaged in idiotic insults

If all else fails scream they are racist it might shut them up or appeal to their possible white guilt very typical

Wanderer2010

Oprah is a bit long in the tooth for the whole "dont you know who I am" ego antics, surely. Isnt it possible that the worker is a snobby cow who didnt like the vibe from Oprah and Oprah took her attitude to be racist when it wasnt? Misunderstanding on both sides.

Allyall

remsburgsgirl wrote: »

Is it not possible that Oprah is a racist?

But seriously, no, branding someone as a racist, when they haven't actually said or done anything racist is severe

Branding them Worldwide.
On TV.

When it is very very possible that it was a misunderstanding, or Oprah didn't get treated the way she is used to.

Oprah knew exactly what she was doing going on TV and saying that.

All the racism aside, i hope an aeroplane wing falls on her tomorrow and kills her.

remsburgsgirl

Qaddafi wrote: »

Oprah wanted to look at the bag. The clerk's job, among other things, is to get that bag. Plus, of all things, tell a potential customer "you won't be able to afford it?"

Either the clerk, who works at a high-end boutique where people buy $38,000 hand bags (more than many people's annual salary) suddenly became incompetent or there was some racism in play. And you're surprised that Oprah, who had this happen to her before, might just think that there was some racism involved?

This is not Topshop on the high street...the bag is worth a lot of money...how do you know what way the staff are trained...or what their job description is?
She probably could have put it in a better way, rather than saying outright that she wouldn't be able to afford it, but that is not in itself a racist statement.

bizmark

bizmark wrote: »

Every things racism when your victim complex gets you a free ride or free publicity

Honestly these days you might as well just not bothered your damned no matter what.

bizmark wrote: »

Thats the pathetic reply pritty much anytime anyone utters the racism word i wonder how much longer that will go on for till no one with any sence gives 2 ****s about the latest whine fest on a non issue for a rich women

bizmark wrote: »

Maybe she shouldn't sound like a self important knob looking for an excuse to cause a fuss then ? cause this sounds like she has a victim complex when it suits her

bizmark wrote: »

Well done you just lost the argument and engaged in idiotic insults

I know.
Don't you hate it when people do that?

Compu Global Hyper Meganet

If Piers Morgan (comparable to Winfrey in terms of occupation and lack of likeability) was to be refused a test drive of a Ferrari in some dealership in Abu Dhabi, I wouldn't care less. And nobody else would either. Therefore, I can't understand why people are taking this seriously.

delthedriver

Miss Winfrey is a serious pain in the butt.

Her constant whining about racism is becoming extremely tiresome

hotmail.com

bizmark wrote: »

Well done you just lost the argument and engaged in idiotic insults

If all else fails scream they are racist it might shut them up or appeal to their possible white guilt very typical

Well done yourself.

A lot of people are racist. It's very likely the sales assistant was also a racist. End of story.

If Oprah was white, would she have been shown the bag? I'd say so.

Red Nissan

I think racism should be dropped. As the Sun testifies to, we are different, so effectively they have made a racists decision to stop topless models appearing on the Irish Sun.

A bad tempered black women walks into my shop and I think racist, I should be allowed to be so. Show me the money you b****

RDM_83 again

Not knowing the layout of the store for all we know the shop assistant could have been happy with Opera looking at 1,000 dollar handbags (which would still be insanely expensive), she wasn't told to leave the store or anything blatantly racist. If I was a shop assistant I would be extremely wary of letting somebody(black or white) I didn't know had the required purchasing power look at an item that cost 40k, imagine it being damaged or even just shop soiled on your watch! (it doesn't sound like she flashed any fancy credit cards). Why can't it simply be a posh shop assistant being a bit of a bitch, that stereotype presumably exists for a reason.

Also I am sure Swiss boutique shops aren't that unfamiliar with ridiculously wealthy black people, it has been a tax haven for corrupt officials and regimes from Africa.

A Primal Nut

Oprah wrote:

I didn’t have my eyelashes on

Ah so that's why the shop assistant didn't recognise her!

Henlars67

It depends, if she was told "it is too expensive for you" then it is most likely a case of racism.

If she was told that "it is too expensive" as in, too expensive for anyone to be handling, then it most likely isn't.

We don't have enough information to make that call, nor do we have the shop assistant's side of the story, so none of us can tell whether it's racist or not.

Of course, on this particular forum that is irrelevant to the many people who just can't wait for the next chance to be offended on behalf of others.

Winfrey's utter snobbery is in no doubt though.

Friend Computer

Good old After Hours, you'd swear racism just didn't exist, the way some people here go on. Can't wait for a chance to sneer at anyone that suggests it and if you disagree oh, well of course they're just 'right on' and 'tell it like it is' and you're a bleeding heart liberal hippie do-gooder or whatever the vogue term is.

Qaddafi

remsburgsgirl wrote: »

This is not Topshop on the high street...the bag is worth a lot of money...how do you know what way the staff are trained...or what their job description is?
She probably could have put it in a better way, rather than saying outright that she wouldn't be able to afford it, but that is not in itself a racist statement.

Then the clerk is not doing his/her job right. Why is it on display for others to see :rolleyes: This is a very high-end exclusive shopping area in Zurich, Switzerland where the wealthy (MOSTLY white, not all white, some Arabs) shop. Now Oprah is very wealthy, but she doesn't look like the rest, so what makes her different and easy to differentiate? Umm...not her clothes , but her skin color! I'm willing to bet that was the reason she was denied that purse. I don't have to know the store clerk or a genius to see discrimination based on race at play.

DarkJager

Friend Computer wrote: »

Good old After Hours, you'd swear racism just didn't exist, the way some people here go on. Can't wait for a chance to sneer at anyone that suggests it and if you disagree oh, well of course they're just 'right on' and 'tell it like it is' and you're a bleeding heart liberal hippie do-gooder or whatever the vogue term is.

Racism exists but there is simply no racism at all in this story, simply a wealthy drama queen who didn't get her own way and decided to play the race card.

Red Nissan

hotmail.com wrote: »

A lot of people are racist. It's very likely the sales assistant was also a racist. End of story.

I welcome me to a weeks ban, it is NOT the end of the story, TBH we need to keep racism alive, PC correctness has just allowed crimes to foster and our jurisdiction to be subjected to billion of tax payers money, now, I also preface that with the fact that I have not paid tax in 20 years.

TBH, I thought I'd be in jail already.

hotmail.com

delthedriver wrote: »

Miss Winfrey is a serious pain in the butt.

Her constant whining about racism is becoming extremely tiresome

Why do you have to call her Miss Winfrey?

Aw does going on about something that affects millions of people tire you out? Bummer for you.

hotmail.com

DarkJager wrote: »

Racism exists but there is simply no racism at all in this story, simply a wealthy drama queen who didn't get her own way and decided to play the race card.

Did you even watch the interview. She was not being a drama queen. In fact she didn't make a fuss about it at the time. She just mentioned it in an interview.

epluribusunum

You know, you can be for the advancement of black people and other minorities and still have an objective perspective on such issues. I hate the people who are so ridiculous that they side with the minority on every issue, no matter what. There are minorities that are able to own up to their own ignorance or misjudgments, but yet we see these idiotic people who are so engaged that they do more harm than good and blow things out of proportion.

None of us were there, but to deem someone a racist for not saying anything regarding race is ridiculous. I know there is silent racism, but there is also nothing that tells us this was the case. The clerk probably would have said that to me as well. The fact that this was even publicized is a joke, there are many bigger issues regarding race in the world but apparently Oprah's handbag collection tops them all. Terrible publicity and shame on Oprah for playing the victim card when she is trying to buy an outlandishly priced accessory, as if her race has brought her down in life.

Compu Global Hyper Meganet

hotmail.com wrote: »

Why do you have to call her Miss Winfrey?

Aw does going on about something that affects millions of people tire you out? Bummer for you.

It does affect millions of people. And racism is a very serious issue. However, I think that when the most powerful individual in entertainment has based her career on peddling saccharine rubbish to middle class white women, then maybe she isn't the best person to complain about race relations. Also, anyone who would actually contemplate spending that much money on a handbag (while also referring to herself in the third person during the course of the interview) does not deserve to be taken seriously, regardless of gender, race or creed.

Red Nissan

hotmail.com wrote: »

Did you even watch the interview. She was not being a drama queen. In fact she didn't make a fuss about it at the time. She just mentioned it in an interview.

What's her audience? What's her demographic?

remsburgsgirl

Qaddafi wrote: »

Then the clerk is not doing his/her job right. Why is it on display for others to see :rolleyes: This is a very high-end exclusive shopping area in Zurich, Switzerland where the wealthy (MOSTLY white, not all white, some Arabs) shop. Now Oprah is very wealthy, but she doesn't look like the rest, so what makes her different and easy to differentiate? Umm...not her clothes , but her skin color! I'm willing to bet that was the reason she was denied that purse. I don't have to know the store clerk or a genius to see discrimination based on race at play.

...so get rid of her for being sh*t at her job, but branding her a racist worldwide on an assumption?

,,,You are willing to bet?...you are making a judgement on assuming it was because she is black

...we haven't heard the full story, how do we know this is actually what was said in the shop between Oprah & the sales assistant?

bizmark

Candie wrote: »

I know.
Don't you hate it when people do that?

The only thing there even slightly personal was maybe saying she sounds like a bit of a knob which is much different that out right calling everyone that doesnt agree a racist......But you showed me but good candie now your argument is basically unassailable by this white boy yes sir

Nodin

remsburgsgirl wrote: »

No denying it was offensive...but "She was denied service at a handbag shop, with a shop assistant telling her the bags were "too expensive" for her"

...where is the racism exactly?

Right in front of you.

Duckjob

Henlars67 wrote: »

It depends, if she was told "it is too expensive for you" then it is most likely a case of racism.

If she was told that "it is too expensive" as in, too expensive for anyone to be handling, then it most likely isn't.

If she said something that directly mentioned or alluded to Winfrey's race, then it's racist. If she didn't, it's not.

It's pretty arseholey of Winfrey to presume racism and use her considerable media power to bleat on about it, when she can't be 100% sure herself that it wasnt just "snootiness" as opposed to racism.

Great publicity though. So when is Oprah's new show / project / book launching anyway ?

DarkJager

Nodin wrote: »

Right in front of you.

Where exactly?

Nodin

Red Nissan wrote: »

I welcome me to a weeks ban, it is NOT the end of the story, TBH we need to keep racism alive, ........

Bit late now. You can sit there with a hate filled head but in much of Western Europe discrimination is illegal.

remsburgsgirl

hotmail.com wrote: »

Did you even watch the interview. She was not being a drama queen. In fact she didn't make a fuss about it at the time. She just mentioned it in an interview.

:rolleyes:

Duggy747

This all reminds me of the Facebook campaigns like the guy in the wheelchair, drumming up support and anger from the masses very quickly.

The consensus at the time was "Why didn't you complain to management first? / bring it to their attention?" before going straight for the jugular and bringing it to the public to rile them up?

I'd seen the interview where Oprah mentions this, nowhere in her story did it imply racism. Snootiness and bad customer service, definitely, but nothing that pointed out because of the colour of her skin.

Did the employee have a problem when she was looking at other lubriciously priced bags?

epluribusunum

hotmail.com wrote: »

Why do you have to call her Miss Winfrey?

Aw does going on about something that affects millions of people tire you out? Bummer for you.

Are you one of those self-hating white people? Progressive-liberal type? Hipster?

Because I guarantee if I put my background up to yours I have done more for the advancement of minorities. Without question. Just because you are siding with Oprah against a store clerk does not mean you are somehow smarter or a better person than anybody. It actually makes you seem like an idiot given the fact that you have no basis to deem this person a racist. You are trying to forecast what this person was thinking on no basis of their background or any other information. But because you say "it is possible" she was a racist, all of the sudden she is a racist. You cannot declare someone a racist on the possibility.

There are racists in every race, not just yours my friend.

General General

Candie wrote: »

She says she was dressed in Donna Karan. I'm no expert, but if a middle aged white woman dressed in expensive designer clothes asked to see the handbag, I'm guessing she wouldn't have been told it was too expensive for her.

Oh, once again, the unspoken prejudice against trannies... they don't even merit the briefest of mentions.

Makes me puke, the hypocrisy of it all.

hotmail.com

Compu Global Hyper Meganet wrote: »

It does affect millions of people. And racism is a very serious issue. However, I think that when the most powerful individual in entertainment has based her career on peddling saccharine rubbish to middle class white women, then maybe she isn't the best person to complain about race relations. Also, anyone who would actually contemplate spending that much money on a handbag (while also referring to herself in the third person during the course of the interview) does not deserve to be taken seriously, regardless of gender, race or creed.

Oprah came from nothing. She was born into a country that allowed racial segregation. Look how well she's done.

All I can sense from your posts is hate, hate, hate.

Nodin

DarkJager wrote: »

Where exactly?

They refused to let her handle the item because she was black. This is a country with form in the racism stakes. As for "but...." see below.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=85918400&postcount=70

Duckjob

Compu Global Hyper Meganet wrote: »

If Piers Morgan (comparable to Winfrey in terms of occupation and lack of likeability) was to be refused a test drive of a Ferrari in some dealership in Abu Dhabi, I wouldn't care less. And nobody else would either. Therefore, I can't understand why people are taking this seriously.

Discrimination against annoying sh*tehawks isn't something many people would bother rallying against.

Artful_Badger

Nodin wrote: »

They refused to let her handle the item because she was black. This is a country with form in the racism stakes. As for "but...." see below.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=85918400&postcount=70

Oh it was the country itself that wouldnt let her handle the bag was it ? I thought it was a shop assistant in Zurich.

Red Nissan

Compu Global Hyper Meganet wrote: »

And racism is a very serious issue. ) does not deserve to be taken seriously, regardless of gender, race or creed.

Lovely post, however, we need to seriously accept that racism and gender and creed cannot be legislated for, AfroAmericans in the last 50 years at least have their own reputation, African Asylum Seekers in Europe is an altogether different animal.

Opera, Queen, Oprah was probably stunned to come two hundred years back in the past.

remsburgsgirl

Nodin wrote: »

They refused to let her handle the item because she was black. This is a country with form in the racism stakes. As for "but...." see below.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=85918400&postcount=70

....am I after missing a huge part of the story or something? you have proof of this?

Duckjob

Nodin wrote: »

They refused to let her handle the item because she was black.

If she had said "No that's too expensive because you're black", then I'd be right there with ya.

Seeing as she didn't say that though, I'm genuinely interested in what your basis of proof is for the second part of that sentence, given that you're presenting it as a factual statement.

Henlars67

Nodin wrote: »

...the assistant told her that she, specifically, could not afford it and thus she could not handle it. She offered her others. Thus its clear that a judgement was made, and there is not a non-handling policy in the shop. Secondly, shops that sell delicate items tend to stock a "display" item, for that purpose specifically.

Maybe that is what happened, but there is no way that you could possibly know that.

Like I said earlier, nobody here has enough information to say if it was racist or not.

You are all only guessing.

Compu Global Hyper Meganet

hotmail.com wrote: »

Oprah came from nothing. She was born into a country that allowed racial segregation. Look how well she's done.

All I can sense from your posts is hate, hate, hate.

I do hate her and everything she stands for. Completely talentless nobody who got lucky enough to appeal to the ignorant masses. You, on the other hand, seem to view her as some kind of role model for lower class black people. Why? Because she made a lot of money? Well guess what, money doesn't buy class. Anyone who spends 10K on an outfit and wishes to spend 40-50K on a handbag has clearly forgotten her humble roots. Compare her to someone like Didier Drogba, who spent all his time and a lot of his hard earned money trying to help the underprivileged people he left behind, and she doesn't exactly come across as the darling that you make her out to be.

RDM_83 again

Nodin wrote: »

They refused to let her handle the item because she was black. This is a country with form in the racism stakes. As for "but...." see below.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=85918400&postcount=70

Nodin wrote: »

...the assistant told her that she, specifically, could not afford it and thus she could not handle it. She offered her others. Thus its clear that a judgement was made, and there is not a non-handling policy in the shop. Secondly, shops that sell delicate items tend to stock a "display" item, for that purpose specifically.

Ok a few reasons why it may not be racism.

1. I doubt they stock many "display" 40k items
2. She may not have appeared amazingly wealthy, see the post earlier in thread about the probable cost of her outfit being in the 100's, it sounds like Opera didn't demonstrate that she had the capacity to buy the item.
3. Because she didn't appear amazingly wealthy the shop assistant let her see other items, if the shop assistant thought that black people couldn't be wealthy she wouldn't have been letting her handle items that would still be well out of reach of the average person.
4. The shop assistant could just be a bit of bitch.

Nodin

Artful_Badger wrote: »

Oh it was the country itself that wouldnt let her handle the bag was it ? I thought it was a shop assistant in Zurich.

....context. Racism is more likely to occur in a country where racism is more prevalent.

Do you have a point to make, or do you want to try for another silly dig?