Friday, August 09, 2013

Oprah's Racist Encounter

Oprah Winfrey,  beloved American icon and billionaire has been victimized by racism! In today's world! In today's America! How could this happen? How could this be? This will not be tolerated in America! Of all people to be subjected to such abject and vile racism! Besmirching the visage of Oprah Winfrey is a black mark (substitute bad mark) against all Americans!

Someone should call Barack Obama! Someone should contact Eric Holder and the justice department! There should be a full scale justice department civil rights investigation into this travesty! All present and former members of all white hate groups and Tea Party members should be immediately arrested and interred without bail.

Racism? Well wait a minute, that isn't what happened, at least not exactly. Maybe someone has jumped the gun screaming racism and insinuating that it happened here in the good old USA. It seems this horrible instance of reported racism against Oprah Winfrey didn't occur in America at all and in a late breaking news report, it has been verified that Paula Deen was no where in the vicinity when Oprah was racially besmirched.

This terrible transgression against one of America's most beloved icons occurred on foreign soil. In that country where everyone knows they are nothing but racist. Right? Switzerland!

I think having read Ms. Winfrey's recounting of the sordid event, it strikes me that she was more incensed by the fact that the clerk did not recognize her, than it having anything to do with the fact that she is black.  There is no reference to her being treated disparagingly for being black. On the contrary, she was upset because her program is obviously not seen in Switzerland and she is not immediately recognized as "Oprah."

So there in lies the rub ladies and gentlemen. No racism at all. simply a glaring example of "you obviously don't know who I am!" Maybe the clerk sized her up (profiled her)  seeing an over weight woman dressed in casual wear shopping in an upscale shop and asking to see extremely expensive hand bags.  The fact that she was not recognized her judgement was questioned is what pissed her off and that is why she decided to drag the entire tale of her encounter out into public for the American audience to see and hear. 





 Oprah on Racism
Winfrey told Entertainment Tonight: "I was in Zurich the other day, in a store whose name I will not mention. I didn't have my eyelashes on, but I was in full Oprah Winfrey gear. I had my little Donna Karan skirt and my little sandals. But obviously The Oprah Winfrey Show is not shown in Zurich.”
"I go into a store and I say to the woman, 'Excuse me, may I see the bag right above your head?' and she says to me, 'No. It's too expensive.'"
When Winfrey insisted she did want to see the bag the shop assistant allegedly replied: "No, no you don’t want to see that one, you want to see this one because that one will cost too much. You will not be able to afford that."
Winfrey, who is a billionaire, continued: "There's two different ways to handle it. I could've had the whole blow-up thing... but [racism] still exists, of course it does."

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