Oprah Swiss Racism Row

[icyfroth]

Good morning all

A Swiss luxury boutique denied any wrongdoing Friday after US chat show queen Oprah Winfrey claimed she had been the subject of racism when a shop assistant allegedly refused to show her an expensive handbag.

Oprah's widely publicised claim comes amid a row over racism in Switzerland, where a move to ban asylum seekers from some public facilities including swimming pools and gyms has sparked a storm of protest.

Oprah Swiss Racism Row

She did not directly describe the incident as racist, but recounted it after telling King of a "racist moment" in New York years ago when she and her hairdresser were refused entry to a luxury store which had been robbed previously by two black people.

Switzerland takes in more asylum seekers than any other European country as a proportion of total population -- four or five times more than France, Italy or Germany.

and we think we've got it bad

But over the past three decades, Swiss voters have regularly backed tougher asylum laws, most recently in a plebiscite in June that removed desertion from the military as grounds for receiving a safe haven.

sounds like a good move

[izabsmiling]

I've just read all of that interview . I will remember them 

[izabsmiling]

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@tulip*place wrote:

Oprah was shopping on her own and I guess was minus her usual tv makeup.  The shop assistant might not have realised it was

Oprah.

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Oprah says she didn't have her eyelashes on...doesn't mention the rest of her make-up.It sounds like she had other outward signs of having money though.

.. if they refused her the service she every right to be given based on her 'appearance'....racism it is.It doesn't matter who it is ...if and where people are demonised for 'looking different' ...that can and will happen to anyone .It's not 'more wrong' because she is who she is.

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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."

Blick newspaper reported that Trudie Goetz, the owner of the boutique Winfrey was allegedly talking about, Trois Pommes, had apologised for the incident and called it a “misunderstanding”.

Oprah’s allegations come amid a political row over plans by some Swiss towns to ban asylum-seekers from frequenting public places such as school playgrounds, swimming pools and libraries.

The draconian restrictions have been likened to Apartheid and angrily denounced by human rights groups as intolerable and racist.

Switzerland plays host to almost double the number of asylum-seekers per head of population of its European neighbours. It counts one refugee for every 332 inhabitants, compared to one per 625 inhabitants on the rest of the continent. Some 48,000 refugees are currently seeking asylum in Switzerland.

In June this year voters took part in a referendum which overwhelmingly backed moves to tighten asylum restrictions amid fears voiced by the popular right-wing Swiss People’s Party that the country was being inundated with refugees.

 http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/news/oprah-winfrey-victim-of-racism-in-switzerlan...

[izabsmiling]

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@lightningdance wrote:

Anybody been to America?? The black racism is appalling against the whites & everybody hates the Jews & Latinos. They have a problem of racism that will never go away as long as the racist card is played.

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you have just stated that Everybody in America is racist .

Would what you have posted be Racist ?

[katydidthat]

I've spent nearly a year in the US and visited 25 states.  I didn't see any racism by any black people towards white people.  

[azureline**]

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@katydidthat wrote:

I've spent nearly a year in the US and visited 25 states.  I didn't see any racism by any black people towards white people.  

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you must not have gone to the same places as lightning.......

[izabsmiling]

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@katydidthat wrote:

I've spent nearly a year in the US and visited 25 states.  I didn't see any racism by any black people towards white people.  

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That's good to know Katey....though even without you saying that, the claim that everybody in the US has a hatred for one race or another was quite obviously incorrect .

[cherry*135]

I went to the US as a tourist, visited 4 states and didn't see any type of racism.. Granted that doesn't cover much of the whole of the US.

everybody hates the Jews & Latinos.. what did you base that wild assumption on?

[dskracing]

I lived in the US for seven years and whilst I did see a little of what I perceive as racism...it is nowhere near as bad as what you make out lightning!

[izabsmiling]

Lightningdance ,Jews & Latinos would or should  be included in 'everybody'

[***super_nova***]

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Oprah was shopping on her own, and I guess was minus her usual tv makeup.  The shop assistant might not have realised it was

Oprah.

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People look totally different on TV to what they look like in real life anyway.   I was absolutely stunned when I met Derryn Hinch; on TV he always looked huge and powerful, but in real life he is tiny weedy creature.  When I was introduced to him  I was looking down at him - I am about 173cm, and I wore flat shoes.  There is absolutely no way I would have recognised him if I met him on the street.  It is said that TV camera puts a stone on you. 

And as far as Oprah goes; you know there is a world out there that does not gobble up carp US TV shows.  It does not surprise me that somebody in Europe would have no idea who she is.  Was this incident racially motivated?  Only the shop girl knows.  Shop keepers generally do not want everybody pawing their expensive merchandise.  It is difficult to be nice to all people who enter your shop and in the same time protect your stock.  If you were going to spend several thousands of dollars on a dress you would not want to get one that has been tried on by number of people, and possibly has somebody's foundation around the collar.  While a leather handbag is not as easy to mark, it still can get damaged if handled by many people, and the handbag in question might have been fabric.