# No, dumb bitch, we don't take anyone's American Express card
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-dumb-bitch-we-dont-take-anyones-american-express-card/737697
**Category:** The BBQ Pit
**Created:** [November 16, 2015, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-dumb-bitch-we-dont-take-anyones-american-express-card/737697 "2015-11-16T15:09:07Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 6
### Author:  [@tarrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tarrel)
#### Post date: [November 17, 2015, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-dumb-bitch-we-dont-take-anyones-american-express-card/737697/101 "2015-11-17T03:23:54Z")
I have a AMEX and noticed that’s it not taken at lots of places which means I may get rid of it once I pay it off next month.
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### Author:  [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)
#### Post date: [November 17, 2015, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-dumb-bitch-we-dont-take-anyones-american-express-card/737697/102 "2015-11-17T03:25:04Z")
> [@Sarahfeena](#):
>
> Oh she was loose before she ever met him.
Dammit! I can’t believe I did that!:o
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### Author:  [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)
#### Post date: [November 17, 2015, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-dumb-bitch-we-dont-take-anyones-american-express-card/737697/103 "2015-11-17T03:59:55Z")
> [@OldOlds](#):
>
> OK I admit- I don’t know if I am being wooshed, or if you didn’t notice that I quoted that specific statement regarding keeping male cashiers handy.
>
> Clarification please?
Didn’t notice, based my reaction on my preconceptions, my fuck up. Sorry.
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### Author:  [@Penfeather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Penfeather)
#### Post date: [November 17, 2015, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-dumb-bitch-we-dont-take-anyones-american-express-card/737697/104 "2015-11-17T04:10:44Z")
> [@Derleth](#):
>
> Why you gotta drag the Muslims into this?
I ain’t sayin’ she a gold duighur.
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### Author:  [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)
#### Post date: [November 17, 2015, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-dumb-bitch-we-dont-take-anyones-american-express-card/737697/105 "2015-11-17T04:19:40Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#):
>
> And Annie then quipped in her ardor and everyone laughed and went home.
@ Vinny: 😉 😃
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### Author:  [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)
#### Post date: [November 17, 2015, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-dumb-bitch-we-dont-take-anyones-american-express-card/737697/106 "2015-11-17T04:28:34Z")
> [@Grrr](#):
>
> I get your point, but at the same time there is something to be said for painting a picture.
>
> How boring would literature be if we left out all the unnecessary details?:
>
> Book title: “Boy meets girl”
>
> Boy meets girl.
> boy _gets_ girl
> Boy looses girl
> Boy gets girl back.
> The end.
Your story is sexist and/or homophobic because you made the implicit assumption, and included way too much unnecessary detail, about the participants apparently being heterosexual. Allow me to FTFY:
Book title: “Young pre-adult person meets another young pre-adult person”
Young pre-adult person meets another young pre-adult person.
Young pre-adult person _gets_ other young pre-adult person.
Young pre-adult person looses [_sic_] other young pre-adult person
Young pre-adult person gets other young pre-adult person back.
The end.
You could probably even leave out the “young pre-adult” everywhere. How relevant is it that the persons in the story are young pre-adults?
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### Author:  [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)
#### Post date: [November 17, 2015, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-dumb-bitch-we-dont-take-anyones-american-express-card/737697/107 "2015-11-17T04:40:25Z")
> [@Mr.Nylock](#):
>
> No , because she was belligerent and hostile. It has just been my experience that if people are belligerent and hostile that there is something nefarious going on.
Pretty common, yeah, but sometimes they’re just having a shit day. It’s also pretty common to have been getting shit from someone you can’t strike back at (for example your boss) and then turn around and drop like a ton of bricks on the nearest available target (family, retail worker, subway cashier).
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### Author:  [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)
#### Post date: [November 17, 2015, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-dumb-bitch-we-dont-take-anyones-american-express-card/737697/108 "2015-11-17T05:01:51Z")
> [@Senegoid](#):
>
> Book title: “Young pre-adult person meets another young pre-adult person”
>
> Young pre-adult person meets another young pre-adult person.
> Young pre-adult person _gets_ other young pre-adult person.
> Young pre-adult person looses [_sic_] other young pre-adult person
> Young pre-adult person gets other young pre-adult person back.
> The end.
> You could probably even leave out the “young pre-adult” everywhere. How relevant is it that the persons in the story are young pre-adults?
I find your ageist, anthropocentric micro-aggression offensive.
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### Author:  [@usedtobe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/usedtobe)
#### Post date: [November 17, 2015, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-dumb-bitch-we-dont-take-anyones-american-express-card/737697/109 "2015-11-17T05:14:00Z")
The large black woman as a customer is enough of a _correct_ stereotype that I will count on one to make a huge deal about how important she is.
Make a stop by Wal-Mart and observe the registers.
And, my intended contribution to the thread:
Amex (the original green card):
1. Was not a credit card - it was a charge card. Payment in full was due upon receipt of the statement.
2. Charged 5%. Historical note: a bunch of (expensive) restaurants in Boston got together and announced (publicly and loudly) that they would no longer accept Amex. Since Amex marketed itself as ‘THE’ card for life’s finer things\*, losing those restaurants hurt. The publicity the revolt generaed really hurt. Hence the 3.5% (Visa, M/C charged 2%. I assume Discover matches Visa and M/C).
- Macy’s, back when it was snooty, accepted only the Macy’s card and Amex - they would not take the (everybody has one) Visa or M/C
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### Author:  [@erysichthon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/erysichthon)
#### Post date: [November 17, 2015, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-dumb-bitch-we-dont-take-anyones-american-express-card/737697/110 "2015-11-17T06:49:33Z")
> [@usedtobe](#):
>
> And, my intended contribution to the thread:
> Amex (the original green card):
>
> 1. Was not a credit card - it was a charge card. Payment in full was due upon receipt of the statement.
> 2. Charged 5%. Historical note: a bunch of (expensive) restaurants in Boston got together and announced (publicly and loudly) that they would no longer accept Amex. Since Amex marketed itself as ‘THE’ card for life’s finer things\*, losing those restaurants hurt. The publicity the revolt generaed really hurt. Hence the 3.5% (Visa, M/C charged 2%. I assume Discover matches Visa and M/C).
My first card was an American Express (this was back in the early 80s when I was fresh out of grad school and in a low-paying academic job). I tried to get a Visa and was rejected, probably because of my limited credit and employment history, but Amex was happy to accommodate me (provided I coughed up the $75 annual fee). I know that Amex cultivated an image of exclusivity, but the notion that you had to be rich to get one was (and is) pure hype.
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### Author:  [@octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/octopus)
#### Post date: [November 17, 2015, 7:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-dumb-bitch-we-dont-take-anyones-american-express-card/737697/111 "2015-11-17T07:06:23Z")
> [@Grrr](#):
>
> I get your point, but at the same time there is something to be said for painting a picture.
>
> How boring would literature be if we left out all the unnecessary details?:
>
> Book title: “Boy meets girl”
>
> Boy meets girl.
> boy _gets_ girl
> Boy looses girl
> Boy gets girl back.
> The end.
Why is it relevant to specify gender?
---
### Author:  [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)
#### Post date: [November 17, 2015, 9:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-dumb-bitch-we-dont-take-anyones-american-express-card/737697/112 "2015-11-17T09:37:33Z")
> [@Sarahfeena](#):
>
> Annie may or may not be racist, but either way I would take the whole story with a grain of salt. Annie either wildly over-exaggerates the interactions she has with people out in public, or she has the misfortune of constantly running into the rudest, most wildly inappropriately behaved people that most of us might encounter only once or twice in a lifetime.
If you work retail you run into such over-the-top asshats on at least a weekly basis. It’s not you running into them, it’s them coming to your place of business.
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### Author:  [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)
#### Post date: [November 17, 2015, 10:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-dumb-bitch-we-dont-take-anyones-american-express-card/737697/113 "2015-11-17T10:55:30Z")
> [@desertmonk](#):
>
> Why would somebody trying to use a stolen credit card draw a lot of attention to themselves?
Why would you assume such a person would act rationally?
Seriously. You’re essentially saying “I’ve never done such a thing, so why would someone who did that thing act this way?”
Years ago my workplace was kitting out a conference room with A/V equipment. Part of it was a plasma TV monitor. This was back when a 40" flat screen was still $10-15,000. A week after it was delivered and moved into the room, it disappeared. The company and police interviewed everyone who had access to the (secure) room. Everyone gave their (reasonable) accounts except for one guy who got defensive and belligerent, yelling how they were slandering him and how he was going to sue. Everyone else was like “there’s your guy!” But there wasn’t enough evidence to do anything.
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### Author:  [@Emiliana](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Emiliana)
#### Post date: [November 17, 2015, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-dumb-bitch-we-dont-take-anyones-american-express-card/737697/114 "2015-11-17T12:06:28Z")
> [@octopus](#):
>
> Why is it relevant to specify gender?
And why assume that gender is binary?
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### Author:  [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)
#### Post date: [November 17, 2015, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-dumb-bitch-we-dont-take-anyones-american-express-card/737697/115 "2015-11-17T14:24:05Z")
> [@Broomstick](#):
>
> If you work retail you run into such over-the-top asshats on at least a weekly basis. It’s not you running into them, it’s them coming to your place of business.
Seconded. And despite generally being only 0.1% of the people one serves, they leave a lasting impression.
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### Author:  [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)
#### Post date: [November 17, 2015, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-dumb-bitch-we-dont-take-anyones-american-express-card/737697/116 "2015-11-17T14:31:21Z")
> [@Mr.Nylock](#):
>
> I can agree with a lot of this.
>
> Honestly though, I wasn’t trolling. As I said, the race part wasn’t really what I was focused on; to me it is just a story about a person behaving unusually obnoxious and belligerent and giving the a lot of shit needlessly to the cashier.
>
> This might sound crazy to you, but the stereotype about black people not having credit cards unless they are stolen is a new one to me.
Okay then. I believe Pit etiquette prohibits my apologizing to you directly like a civilized human being, so I’ll just give you a long meaningful look. :o
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### Author:  [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)
#### Post date: [November 17, 2015, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-dumb-bitch-we-dont-take-anyones-american-express-card/737697/117 "2015-11-17T14:38:01Z")
> [@octopus](#):
>
> Why is it relevant to specify gender?
Well, obviously, she was a ho then.
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### Author:  [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)
#### Post date: [November 17, 2015, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-dumb-bitch-we-dont-take-anyones-american-express-card/737697/118 "2015-11-17T14:57:47Z")
> [@Emiliana](#):
>
> And why assume that gender is binary?
Why say “get?” That implies ownership. Does the writer of the story believe in _slavery_? And the one who gets is the _male_!
Down with the oppressive patriarchy!
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### Author:  [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)
#### Post date: [November 17, 2015, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-dumb-bitch-we-dont-take-anyones-american-express-card/737697/119 "2015-11-17T15:45:28Z")
> [@Nava](#):
>
> Pretty common, yeah, but sometimes they’re just having a shit day. It’s also pretty common to have been getting shit from someone you can’t strike back at (for example your boss) and then turn around and drop like a ton of bricks on the nearest available target (family, retail worker, subway cashier).
I might as well drop this here; I’ll assume the above was the case for a rather odd little drama last night.
(Knock on my front door, well after dark)
I open the door partway. A young man in a tie, carrying a clipboard, is standing there.
We stare at each other.
Me: can I help you?
Him: Well, I’m just waiting for you to open your door and stop looking like you’re scared of the black man.
Me: (thinks, “WTF?”)
Him: launches into a speech about how he’s gotten the stink eye from “85%” of the people in my neighborhood and strongly hints at what a bunch of racists we all are (I guess he hadn’t yet stopped at the houses of any of my several African American neighbors). This goes on for a couple minutes; at no point does he explain what he’s offering, or selling, or whatever.
Me: “Excuse me, are you selling something? What do you want?”
Him: “I can see you rolling your eyes, so I guess you’re not going to listen anyway.”
_Storms off_
I’ll admit I did roll my eyes. Couldn’t help it, really.
---
### Author:  [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)
#### Post date: [November 17, 2015, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-dumb-bitch-we-dont-take-anyones-american-express-card/737697/120 "2015-11-17T15:51:23Z")
> [@El\_Kabong](#):
>
> (Knock on my front door, well after dark)
>
> I open the door partway. A young man in a tie, carrying a clipboard, is standing there.
>
> We stare at each other.
>
> Me: can I help you?
>
> Him: Well, I’m just waiting for you to open your door and stop looking like you’re scared of the black man.
>
> Me: (thinks, “WTF?”)
>
> Him: launches into a speech about how he’s gotten the stink eye from “85%” of the people in my neighborhood and strongly hints at what a bunch of racists we all are (I guess he hadn’t yet stopped at the houses of any of my several African American neighbors). This goes on for a couple minutes; at no point does he explain what he’s offering, or selling, or whatever.
>
> Me: “Excuse me, are you selling something? What do you want?”
>
> Him: “I can see you rolling your eyes, so I guess you’re not going to listen anyway.”
>
> _Storms off_
>
> I’ll admit I did roll my eyes. Couldn’t help it, really.
I’ve never heard of someone getting into full door-to-door kit with tie and clipboard just for an opportunity to take out their frustrations by incoherently scolding random strangers, but I have no other explanation for what happened to you there.
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