Is this Really News?

[BigguyZ]

http://www.nydailynews.com/entertain...icle-1.1422325

And if it is, to me the bigger news is that someone would waste $38,000 on a hand bag! I'm no socialist, and I'm all for people making money, but while a $200,000 car can outperform a $20,000 car- there's nothing a $38,000 bag can do that a $200 or $2,000 bag can't do.

I don't know why this irks me so much, but it does.

Also- another thing I'm curious about- how was she dressed? Maybe it's not a Black/ White thing, but a matter of how she looked? If she was looked like she did in that second picture, I could see why some assumptions would be made.

I just think people are looking to play the big R card too much right now.

Sorry if this is too political, but this story really just rubged the me wrong way.

[dbhost]

Photo #2 shows Oprah in a Walmart V neck t shirt (My wife has probably a dozen of those...) sweats and tennis shoes. If I walked into the local Mercedes Benz dealer dressed in similar fashion (albeit the male iterations of that outfit) I would surely be turned away as well...

Just because you are famous in one country, does NOT necessarily mean anyone knows who you are in other countries...

Who knows, but better question is...

What about a plain leather purse can possibly make it worth that much money? Heck if she wants a $38K purse, I will go buy a cow, shoot it, cure the hide, then cut, and hand stitch the whole stinking thing myself!

I'll even throw in a home cooked steak dinner with that!

[woodturner]

there's nothing a $38,000 bag can do that a $200 or $2,000 bag can't do.
...
I don't know why this irks me so much, but it does.

Apparently there is at least ONE thing

[chopnhack]

Reading between the lines as to why this is news and yes it has to do with color alright:





GREEN

Oprah has a movie coming out, some extra publicity outside her network can't hurt! For as much as she makes and donates, can't understand why she would need more, but each to their own.

[atgcpaul]

Maybe she, too, was just wondering why the bag was $38K and not $2000 or $200 and wanted to see what the fuss was about.

I have been on the receiving end of racism from the time I was a child less than 2 years in this country to as recently as 2 years ago as an adult 30 years later. Don't remember all the situations surrounding the incidents, but in most cases I was just minding my own business.

Yes, I'm sure this is only getting press because it is Oprah and because she's a celebrity, but this type of discrimination happens everywhere and all the time that it does take someone of her celebrity to continue to bring it to light. When you've been the target of racism in the past, it's hard not to think "racism" rather than "Oh, maybe it's my ratty shirt" when in the end, neither of those things should matter at all.

[TB Roye]

I think it was the way she and her entourage was dressed entering what looks like a very exclusive shop and they did recognize her as Oprah. She look like a regular dirty American tourist. Oprah probably isn't that big a deal over in Europe although she could probably buy the hole shop and all the purses in it and not make a very big dent in her wealth. She was probably dress like she was so as not to be recognized. Also here goes the Media going off on the racial thing again. Why aren't they covering the beating of the 13 year old white kid by three 15 year old black kids because he ratted on their drug dealing?

I sure Oprah will get the expensive purse and the Government of Switzerland has issued an apology. Besides Racism in not just an American issue it is world wide. I guess I had better quit LOML wants her soap box back.

Tom

[alpha]

If I walked into the local Mercedes Benz dealer dressed in similar fashion (albeit the male iterations of that outfit) I would surely be turned away as well...

That exact thing happend to me at the local Cadillac dealer. I was driving my old pickup beater and was dressed rather "ratty" and could not get anyone to wait on me. I left and went to the Ford-Lincoln dealer and bought a new Lincoln.

I've never complained about the Cadillac dealer. I just bought my next Cadillac from a different dealer. That's capitalism.

[Black wallnut]

Grrr. I hate to even comment because this really sticks in my craw. I was not there and I confess i did not read the whole news story however it is likely the "news" account is skewed as well. For this incident to be deemed racist and thus newsworthy IMNSHO the establishment would have needed to have a sign or utter to Oprah we do not serve blacks! Anything else and it is conjecture as to the motivation for the clerk to act they way she did. I believe racism is alive however it is not as common as it once was and honestly most folks are color blind. Most follow Dr. Kings advice and judge a man by his character rather than his color.

To me this is not news at all. It is more a story for the Enquirer or Entertainment Tonight. If anything it is piss poor customer service and that my friends happens to many folks often. That said it also could be as innocent as the clerk assuming facts not in evidence and thinking that Oprah did not have the means to buy the expense purse. Yeah that happens a bunch as well, sometimes right sometimes wrong, but if you start looking at real estate your agent will likely qualify you before he starts showing you the expensive parcels.

[TB Roye]

Mark

I have to agree with you. I think it was her dress that was the issue. If you look at the picture the way she and her companions were dressed was not the way the clerk expects her customer to dress in a high end shop. They looked and this nothing against Oprah like they were going to Kohls or WalMart on a Saturday. Probably if the clerk would have recognized her as Oprah she would have been treated differently. But like so many stories the Media takes off and creates a bigger story than it is. Oprah and her friend were dressed like many in my Neighborhood dress every day. I probably wouldn't have recognized either.



Tom

[durango dude]

I used to live and work in the United Arab Emirates (well known for Dubai ---- but my former city of Abu Dhabi is even richer).

Profiling happens....... It's a simple fat of life.

I knew a really wealthy Pakastani (a little unusual over there) who wanted to buy a watch worth around $20,000 (US) ---- the clerk was less than enthusiastic about showing it to him.

Of course - in Abu Dhabi - you just go own to another store down the way, and buy a $25,000 watch (haggle it down some) - and then go show it to the shop that refused to show you a $20,000 watch.

(my watch is a measly $150 one --- I'm not endorsing my friend's world view --- he was simply a person of means........ and he was happy to ensure that people around him knew it).

Here in Colorado, we have shops for uber-rich folks all over the place ----- they keep our economy going.

[phrog]

there's nothing a $38,000 bag can do that a $200 or $2,000 bag can't do.

Put more money in the economy?

[BigguyZ]

As an update, I just saw this story- where Opera herself admits that she was not dressed to impress and by outward appearances she probably didn't look like she was of suffiecient means to purchase the $38K handbag.

http://news.yahoo.com/oprah-sorry-sw...e3293392f7ca17

What's frustrating is, while she apologizes that there was such a big deal made regarding switzerland and that particular store, she doesn't come out and say "Hey, I just looked plain and this wasn't really about racism".


As a white male I was uneasy about posting on my frustration that the assumption was made that the purse incident was racially motivated. While I think common sense and logic should be at the forefront of how we view our experiences, I've not experienced racism on the level that unfortunately many minorities have (even though I still believe that racism is far rarer than some people make it to be), and as such it's easy to overlook how someone who is a part of a minority would allow those experiences to color the interactions they have.

That being said, I think it's incredibly clear that in our current news environment, corporations and other entities see that the topic of racism can be incredibly profitable. As such, anything under that header is immeadiately picked up and blown out of proportion. It's important for us as a society to express some empathy- and try to see the issue from both person's shoes. That should go both ways.

One last thought- I do find it funny that the elitist billionaire is frustrated that when shopping at a ultra high-end store she encouters the same elitist attitude/ assumption that an utlra-high-end store feeds off of and fosters. Ironic, huh?