To think Oprah may be being a little inflammatory?

[fackinell]

I very much admire Oprah Winfrey but I'm a little concerned by the news that she think the incident with the handbag in Switzerland may have been racially motivated.

IMO everyone is equal based solely on their actions so prepared to be told I am U. I can be a bit of a scruff and on a few occasions have been informed that something is out of my price range. I am white, British, 40 something and put it down to snobbery of the assistant involved, making a snap judgement on me.

I feel Oprah's comments could invoke a bit of animosity the (hopefully) calming race division. With each generation the former issues seem to be diluting (I haven't heard a racist comment in anyone under 40 for years.) isn't this just stirring trouble where there may not necessary be any?

Apologies all - I thought that was the shop assistant on the BBC 6 o clock news?

Why were they showing the windows of the Tom Ford shop?

Actually I just watched the news. According to Oprah the sales woman seemed quite happy to show her several other bags. It wasn't like she didn't want to have anything to do with her.

Perhaps she just didn't want to show her a very very expensive one because it's too much money to be handled by everyone. If she knew Oprah and her millions maybe she would have?

I'm guessing you are a woman?

If so have you ever been leered at, harassed, touched or propositioned? Have you ever then shared that story with a male friend to be told you are "over sensitive", making assumptions, projecting, that women do it too and it's not that bad.

That is what you are doing now.

It's not for YOU to decide whether the incident was racist, it is for the person experiencing it.

FWIW I have witnessed, experienced (third party) and heard third hand stories of racist remarks, racist attacks on a frequent basis in my nearly four decades living in this country.

• the white boss who took over the bar I was working in and put all the (far more experienced) non white staff in the kitchen and made front of house white only - ex copper btw

• the Australian taxi driver who shouted at an Asian driver that she was a monkey

• the whole restaurant in a village turning around and staring at my black boyfriend when we ate there

• witnessing a North African student being nearly fatally stabbed by a gang of white youths - racially motivated

You are either being deliberately disingenuous or you are minimising the experience of and impact of racism.

Are you including Swiss people in your group of people under 40 from whom you have never heard a racist comment, OP? Because in my experience, many countries in continental Europe that I have either lived in or visited are more racist than the UK.

An African-American friend of mine who worked with me in Germany chose to live in a heavily ethnic neighborhood even though she had a high income because she said she and her white German husband got stared out everywhere they went in other areas.

In the 'ethnic' neighborhood, there were African immigrants as well as Turkish, Arab etc people so it was the only place she blended in. In swanky parts of our city, even younger Germans would openly stare at her. Her particular favorite was being asked 'where are you from?' and saying 'America' and then being asked 'no, but originally where are you from?'. Er, I don't know, somewhere in West Africa possibly? GIven that the old ancestors were trafficked into slavery it's kinda hard to say exactly!!

I just was amazed at some of the racist attitudes I encountered in Germany and other central European countries generally. Haven't lived in Switzerland but have visited and it is quite a conservative place.

She told Oprah she couldn't handle it because she couldn't afford it. HOw the hell did she know? So Oprah replied, 'Yes, maybe you're right,' and left.

stared at, I mean

Sorry, my punctuation and syntax are not at their finest in that post.

TondelayoSchwarzkopf It's not for YOU to decide whether the incident was racist, it is for the person experiencing it.

Well that's fine but I'm not sure most of us would be allowed to touch that bag either though. Black or white.

Aaah! This again. OP you're burying your head in the sand. Yesterday DH (very smartly dressed, suit) was completely ignored in a car shop. He went up to a desk and asked the guy there if he could serve him, man nods and tells him to sit down. In comes white guy casually dressed, Sales chap jumps to his feet, greets him politely and asks 'what can i help you with today', DH all the while observing, later on walks to same guy and asks directly about a van, sales guy 'do you really want to buy something?', Dh smiles and sais 'yes of course', chap briefly shows him the van etc, DH tells him he's going home to pickup his wife as van is for her.

We arrive in DH Ferrari. Sales guy jumps to his feet all sweetness, would you like a drink? Biscuits? Let me get you a seat!. We buy van on the spot.

Was this rascism? I'm guessing it was DH nasty clothes!

Tabitha said if shop lady had known who Oprah was she's sure the lady would have gone out their way for her. Do you not see the irony in this?

Obviously if the shop manager said it was a language barrier, that must have been the case. If the shop assistant was racist, she obviously would have come out and announced that to the media.

I'm sure if I went into the shop they wouldn't let me touch the bag either.

I think the current parlance is that you should 'check your privilege' So yes YABU. It would be lovely to be able to assume she was wrong wouldn't it? But racism is alive and well and among us more than I, as a white person, will ever know.

MrsDeVere, are you Scottish? If not then it's no wonder you haven't been called a sweaty sock (it rhymes with Jock and used to describe us over the border people.)

I have heard a lot of racist comments by the over 40s but I have also seen a lot of defending of other races by the under 40s. The 'new wave' of racism around here is aimed at Eastern European settlers, but even that's quite rare. An over 40 ex colleague is openly racist but starts every sentence with, 'I'm not being racist but...' I see it at times but generally not in the younger age groups.

So on what basis do they decide who gets to touch it?

Whatever the truth of the story, I don't believe that Oprah was being inflammatory. She didn't mention the name of the shop, it was the Swiss press who dug that little titbit out.

I recently spoke with the wife of my cousin. Cousin is mixed race and brought up in Scotland for the first ten years of his life, where he could hardly go out of the house without being racially abused and bullied. It shamed me to hear this, even though it was almost 30 years ago.

I don't think that white people (and I include myself in this) can really appreciate what it feels like to be black. Look at the newspapers. Have you ever noticed that there are very few black faces in the papers, aside from US musicians and some sports personalities?

This blog and campaign is very interesting - and I found this comment extremely enlightening and saddening -

?Delivering a media literacy class to a group of black students at a south London secondary school, several years ago, one boy asked a brutally frank question.

He said: ?Sir, if all the images of black males shown to me are negative, therefore my perceptions of black males are negative, how am I supposed to succeed?? I shrugged my shoulders, shook my head and replied: ?That?s entirely up to you, son.? I had lied. The odds are heavily stacked against him.?

Gunz I'm your DH went back to spend any money with them at all. What bastards.

It is an interesting more general question about perceived wealth (or perhaps perceived spending power) and customer service. Good assistants assume a customer is genuine until they prove themselves otherwise.

It's a £38,000 bag. I expect it only shown to people who are known to have the readies.

Oprah was shown a number of other bags. Can't imagine they were cheap ones either from a shop that sells at that level. She wasn't shown the door.

There is no point to this thread really. I'm not too young or too naive to have come across a lot of people who make excuses for racist behaviour because they have never experienced it or have had to deal with the physical, emotional and mental consequences of racism. That's fine, I think I'll let Oprah deal with this and hope that it will have some effect on the worldwide image of Switzerland and their proposed treatment of asylum seekers.

Good night all.

She wouldn't get all precious over nothing, as said above by MrsDeVere. But she won't take that kind of treatment lightly, either. That shop has just invited a whole lot of the wrong kind of publicity on itself. It's like the Pretty Woman scene x 1,000,000,000.

What would Oprah have to gain by being "a little inflammatory," OP? I agree we've made headway (electing a black president, for one!) but there's still a loooooooong way to go.

I reckon Oprah isn't used to people who don't know she owns an absolute fortune. Therefore she might well feel it is racism because why else wouldn't someone with her wealth be served?
How does a shop assistant ask someone to prove they are able to buy the bag? She did say it was "very expensive" which would have Oprah's cue to say "well yes I can afford £38,000 and all my mates have one too hand it over". If the sales assistant then refused Oprah has a point.

I am shocked to discover that a bag sold for £38k cannot withstand a little touching!

Haha, OP, your explanation to MrsD about why she hasn't heard the sock comment wholly destroys your opinion that racist opinions are not held about black people.

However I am loving the theory that Oprah dressed in her Scruggs to go to an upmarket shopping area in order to provoke an incident and start a race riot in order to destroy the perfect harmony we all enjoy.

Go, Oprah!

According to what I read, it was 35,000 francs so that would be about 38,000 dollars and about 24,500 pounds. I assume they had it there to sell. They would need to show it to sell it, so how do they decide? On what basis did they make a determination that she was not a candidate?