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Hate to tell you this, but "the black card" in question was likely to be an actual, black credit card - most likely AmEx's Centurion card, which is a sign of high wealth.
How do you know the storeowner lacked coherent english skills? Is this something regurgitated from stormfront?
If your working sales on that kind of level then clear communication channels are the standard. Plus, even if you do have poor english skills then it's hard to misuse the terms; "you don't want to see that one, you want to see this one, because that one will cost too much and you will not be able to afford that."
I think what those of us who have a basic knowledge of geography and are aware Zurich is in Switzerland are trying to express is that while she may have spoken English (obviously) there is a different in the nuance you can convey if you are a native speaker versus if it is a second or third language. In the latter scenarios, you may be limited. The bolded example actually looks to me like limited English could've been an issue. Very awkward wording.
Did you even read what BruSan wrote? Because that was exactly their point...
A $40K purse is too expensive for most people. People who can buy a $40K purse do not want one that has been handled by 3,000 looky-lous before they purchase it. They want one in mint condition. Wouldn't you, for that price? Therefore they need to limit who touches the purse. If Oprah came with no security and no entourage, what reason would they have to think she had that kind of money to blow?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jerseyt719
I think that if the clerk had just shown the bag to someone else then refused to show it to Oprah, it could be considered racism. That wasn't in the story though.
I don't see where the racism was.
I agree that 40k is too expensive for most people to afford.
BUT when you're in a high-end store like that then obviously you're generally dealing with a wealthy sample size and *most* people who enter ARE willing to spend exorbitant amounts of money on products.
AS I SAID BEFORE, the clerk letting her touch the bag is not the problem. The issue is that they definitively told her that she is too poor to afford the bag. THAT IS THE ISSUE.
Quote:
Handled it well? The examples you gave would be how to handle it like an obnoxious twit. No, she didn't do any of those, but there's a lot of room between being an obnoxious twit and handling something well. Still, I think she's not only pretty quick to pull the race card, but is also crowing quite loudly about how much she has and how little the rest of the world does. So some working-class saleslady doesn't recognize her, and so she, a billionaire, makes a big snit over it? If I had billions of dollars, I would be SO EMBARRASSED to have my name in the news for considering buying a $40K purse and then throwing a fit over it, knowing how many children are starving all over the globe. And yet this is what Oprah uses her fame to get in the news about? Imagine if she decided to donate that money to Habitat for Humanity and go get a $40 purse from Target...
Sorry, I'm just not impressed. And I've always liked Oprah before this.
This is the last time I will address how she handled the situation b/c it really is irrelevant to the topic.
She is a famous public figure and I don't see any parties that were harmed by her documenting an incident where she feels she was wronged. She didn't give out any names, addresses or even hint to the location; so nobody had to prematurely deal with the consequences at this early stage in the game.
A while ago, she launched a war against the beef industry [or something else, i can't remember] and I TOTALLY AGREE that the way she handled that was wreckless. But this was handled by Oprah in a way that nobody has to publicly face the consequences.
Last edited by PrestigiousReputability; 08-11-2013 at 03:22 PM..
Of course you find nothing untoward about the hard road she faced toward becoming one of the wealthiest people in the world .... so stacked against here were the cards .... amazing. Almost as amazing as the Black President of the United States making similar insinuations, when the truth is, if solely left to only the black vote, without 4 times as many whites voting for that fraud .... black people alone wouldn't have been able to elect him as city dog catcher.
Are you on drugs? You'd have to be to make sense of this post.
I think what those of us who have a basic knowledge of geography and are aware Zurich is in Switzerland are trying to express is that while she may have spoken English (obviously) there is a different in the nuance you can convey if you are a native speaker versus if it is a second or third language. In the latter scenarios, you may be limited. The bolded example actually looks to me like limited English could've been an issue. Very awkward wording.
Wording aside, if Oprah pointed at the $38k bag then the sales clerk (unless she was blind) knew which bag the customer was asking to see. That exchange would not have required a deep understanding of English.
I have shopped in countries where I did not speak the language and the shopkeeper did not know English. I pointed, they gave it to me, I paid. Easy peasy.
But even for the wealthy, there's wealthy and then there's a level of wealth where you have $40K to blow on a single purse.
I agree with you about the racial climate right now... and it's a disappointment that with all the honest conversation that needs to happen, we're instead hearing about a woman who was going to buy a $40K purse and is upset someone thought she couldn't. Is she aware how many working-poor families live on less than that per year? And this is the issue she wants to raise?
I have liked Oprah for 25 years. I have never felt less that she shares my values than after this stunt.
That's true. But this issue is at hand is on what basis did the woman assume Oprah wasn't wealthy enough?
I doesn't really matter if Oprah has an entitlement fueled 'tude and being confused with the common folk. LOL. I doesn't matter that others can't afford the purse. It doesn't matter how she handled the situation, classy or not. All of that is after the fact. The only pertinent question is, in THAT moment, in THAT store, why did the sales clerk assume Oprah did not have the money for the purse?
We will likely never have the definitive answer, because like I said it is impossible to read minds. But people will see whatever they want to see, on both sides.
I personally know a millionaire that bought a $45K airplane using his Credit Card upon purchase.
His Office/home mgr made out the check for payment in full a month later.
I know this for a fact as I was dating her at the time and had dinner at the home one night.
Exactly. You can put ANYTHING on the AmEx Centurion card, because there's no credit limit--you just have to pay it off in a month. You could buy an island with it if you wanted to.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kitkatbar
But even for the wealthy, there's wealthy and then there's a level of wealth where you have $40K to blow on a single purse.
I agree with you about the racial climate right now... and it's a disappointment that with all the honest conversation that needs to happen, we're instead hearing about a woman who was going to buy a $40K purse and is upset someone thought she couldn't. Is she aware how many working-poor families live on less than that per year? And this is the issue she wants to raise?
I have liked Oprah for 25 years. I have never felt less that she shares my values than after this stunt.
The bold has nothing to do with this conversation, it seems you are trying to change the subject and shame Oprah simply because you dont agree with her showing that even a rich black person can be subject to racism.
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You'd have to be to make sense of this post.