# What would you have done in Oprah's place (racism in Switzerland)? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 9, 2013, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-have-done-in-oprahs-place-racism-in-switzerland/665821 "2013-08-09T18:14:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2013, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-have-done-in-oprahs-place-racism-in-switzerland/665821/181 "2013-08-13T17:58:08Z")
> [@Tequila\_Party](#): > > I’m also leery that this was an anonymous interview. Your life has been ruined and yet you’re afraid to put your name out there while you’re defending yourself? Does not compute. Definitely computes. Disclosing her identity would most certainly result in receiving a massive amount of hate mail and probably threats from the fans of Oprah. It’s a very sensible decision. ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2013, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-have-done-in-oprahs-place-racism-in-switzerland/665821/182 "2013-08-13T19:56:52Z")
If Oprah is looking for everyday racism among the Swiss, she’s not going to find it at a high-end store (actually, Oprah isn’t going to find it anywhere, probably). This store already let her in and let her paw several other pieces of merchandise. I do have to wonder, if ostrich was the cheaper alternative to that purse, what the hell was it made out of? Baby seal? Human skin? Extinct animal? ---
**Author:** ![Gray\_Ghost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c0e974/32.png) [@Gray\_Ghost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gray_Ghost)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2013, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-have-done-in-oprahs-place-racism-in-switzerland/665821/183 "2013-08-13T21:09:04Z")
> [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](#): > > …I do have to wonder, if ostrich was the cheaper alternative to that purse, what the hell was it made out of? Baby seal? Human skin? Extinct animal? I’ve read that the bag was made of crocodile. You’d expect alligator instead of croc for that much money though. While Tom Ford has been stated to be the designer of the bag, I can’t find examples of his work that’ve gone for anywhere near 35 to 50 thousand USD, even when he was designing for Gucci. I guess it could be a one-off for that shop. Or my google-fu is weak. Here’s [a bag](http://www.barneys.com/The-Row-Alligator-Day-Luxe-Tote/00505015017680,default,pd.html?cgid=handbag-mailer&index=2) from The Row, though, that you can find at Barney’s and retails for $39K USD. Hermes also makes handbags in that ballpark. And more. Some of the listings for those bags get even more silly than 40K. ---
**Author:** ![doorhinge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@doorhinge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doorhinge)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2013, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-have-done-in-oprahs-place-racism-in-switzerland/665821/184 "2013-08-13T21:38:25Z")
> [@Gary\_T](#): > > Just how was this a misunderstanding? Who misunderstood what? Seems to me that both Oprah’s request and the clerk’s response were plenty clear and accurarely perceived. > > All I see is a salesperson treating a customer with disdain. That’s not misunderstanding, that’s snobbery and condescension. > > Wait, so now it’s not a misunderstanding, but snobbery? Hmm. Just how was there snobbery on Oprah’s part? And yet the customer and the sales clerk couldn’t come to an understanding that would be acceptable to both parties. That certainly qualifies as a misunderstanding. Either party could have tried a little harder to make the deal happen. What are you supposed to be waiting for? A bus? Oprah could have asked to see the manager or asked the clerk to clarify why she thought Oprah couldn’t afford the $35,000 handbag. But why should someone as famous (elsewhere in the world) as Oprah bother, or stoop, to explaining herself to a store clerk? It’s much better to tell “her version” weeks later during a televised show discussing something unrelated. I say the handbag issue in the store was all a misunderstanding. However, since Oprah chose to make this a public issue, many of the posters in this thread, and elsewhere, are suggesting racism. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2013, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-have-done-in-oprahs-place-racism-in-switzerland/665821/185 "2013-08-13T21:43:45Z")
Today, [Oprah apologized](http://edition.cnn.com/2013/08/13/showbiz/oprah-winfrey-racism-switzerland/index.html), "‘I think that incident in Switzerland was just an incident in Switzerland. I’m really sorry that it got blown up,’ she said. ‘I purposely did not mention the name of the store. I’m sorry that I said it was Switzerland.’ ‘I was just referencing it as an example of being in a place where people don’t expect that you would be able to be there.’" ---
**Author:** ![Gray\_Ghost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c0e974/32.png) [@Gray\_Ghost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gray_Ghost)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2013, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-have-done-in-oprahs-place-racism-in-switzerland/665821/186 "2013-08-13T22:25:56Z")
Didn’t someone mention earlier in the thread that Oprah has a [movie coming out soon](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1327773/), where racism plays a significant role in the setting? If that was her motive behind the anecdote, it wouldn’t be the first attempt that someone used controversy to help drive ticket sales. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2013, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-have-done-in-oprahs-place-racism-in-switzerland/665821/187 "2013-08-13T22:33:34Z")
I don’t think the move, “The Butler” was the motive, but I believe it was the reason she was asked her experiences with discrimination, which is when she related the story of the Swiss store. ---
**Author:** ![Tequila\_Party](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a6a055/32.png) [@Tequila\_Party](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tequila_Party)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2013, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-have-done-in-oprahs-place-racism-in-switzerland/665821/188 "2013-08-14T03:37:29Z")
> [@doorhinge](#): > > But why should someone as famous (elsewhere in the world) as Oprah bother, or stoop, to explaining herself to a store clerk? Hell, my broke ass self wouldn’t bother to “stoop” to explain myself to someone after three fucking attempts. Good god, was that really a robot she was interacting with? Because I’m having a hard time understanding how there was a “misunderstanding” after three fucking attempts. JS ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2013, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-have-done-in-oprahs-place-racism-in-switzerland/665821/189 "2013-08-14T04:14:31Z")
> [@Tequila\_Party](#): > > Hell, my broke ass self wouldn’t bother to “stoop” to explain myself to someone after three fucking attempts. Good god, was that really a robot she was interacting with? Because I’m having a hard time understanding how there was a “misunderstanding” after three fucking attempts. JS That’d be my attitude, too. If I want to buy something, I’m not going to beg or explain myself to you. If you don’t want the sale, fuck you, I’ll move on to the next store. I would’ve booked out of that place after the second refusal to show me the item I want. Three attempts shows extraordinary patience, in my opinion. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2013, 9:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-have-done-in-oprahs-place-racism-in-switzerland/665821/190 "2013-08-14T09:18:22Z")
> [@Tequila\_Party](#): > > Hell, my broke ass self wouldn’t bother to “stoop” to explain myself to someone after three fucking attempts. Good god, was that really a robot she was interacting with? Because I’m having a hard time understanding how there was a “misunderstanding” after three fucking attempts. JS I asked my coworkers in Basel many more times than that how to find a doctor if I happened to need one; did I have to find one in advance of needing one? Did I have to contact some sort of organization? Did I just walk into a hospital? I asked the insurance agent. I asked at the hospital. All I got was blank stares, time and again. Eventually, I went to France, where my insurance also worked and asking about finding a doctor was met with a straightforward explanation (“go to the hospital or clinic, make an appointment; depending on what it’s for it may be the same day or not”). And later even, I found out that what the Basileans had expected me to do was apologize profusely for my ignorance and then venture a possible answer, with any relevant details, until I happened to hit upon the correct one. There ain’t enough rolleyes… and _vive la France_. ---
**Author:** ![Staggerlee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/staggerlee/32/3134_2.png) [@Staggerlee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Staggerlee)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2013, 11:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-have-done-in-oprahs-place-racism-in-switzerland/665821/191 "2013-08-14T11:36:45Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > I think it’s a pretty safe to assume that Oprah knows how high-end stores typically operate. Or, dare I say it, she knows a helluva lot more about how high-end stores operate than a bunch of neck-bearded, underemployed internet junkies do. Not always - I had problems in the boutique when I asked to handle the bespoke platinum neck-beard trimmer they had in the window. Must learn to breathe through my nose. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2013, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-have-done-in-oprahs-place-racism-in-switzerland/665821/192 "2013-08-14T13:16:40Z")
> [@Tequila\_Party](#): > > Hell, my broke ass self wouldn’t bother to “stoop” to explain myself to someone after three fucking attempts. Good god, was that really a robot she was interacting with? Because I’m having a hard time understanding how there was a “misunderstanding” after three fucking attempts. JS Yeah, based on her account of events then Oprah did all the explaining I would consider reasonable. She said that she wanted to look at the purse, and when the saleswoman didn’t get it down for her she restated her desire to see that particular purse and not the others. I wouldn’t explain my financial situation to a saleswoman who was giving me a hard time, and somehow I don’t think there would be a lot of sympathy for Oprah if she’d played the “Don’t you know who I am? I’m one of the richest women in the world!” card. If the saleswoman had a good reason for not showing Oprah the purse then _she_ should have been the one offering an explanation, but the shop owner has been interviewed about this incident and hasn’t said anything about the bag not being for sale or it not being store policy to let drop-in customers handle the merchandise. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2013, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-have-done-in-oprahs-place-racism-in-switzerland/665821/193 "2013-08-14T14:59:14Z")
> [@Gray\_Ghost](#): > > Didn’t someone mention earlier in the thread that Oprah has a [movie coming out soon](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1327773/), where racism plays a significant role in the setting? She gave her more recent statement at the movie’s premiere. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2013, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-have-done-in-oprahs-place-racism-in-switzerland/665821/194 "2013-08-14T16:02:27Z")
This sounds like a story that Don Imus related, a few years ago. Imus was in some posh Manhattan boutique, eying an overcoat (it was something like $10 grand. The sales man ignored him , because (in Imus’ own words, “I was dressed like a homeless person”). When Imus insisted, he told the guy “if I wanted to, I could write out a check and buy this dump today”. Imus got to try on the coat. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2013, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-have-done-in-oprahs-place-racism-in-switzerland/665821/195 "2013-08-14T16:20:08Z")
> [@doorhinge](#): > > And yet the customer and the sales clerk couldn’t come to an understanding that would be acceptable to both parties. That certainly qualifies as a misunderstanding. No, that’s failure to come to an _agreement_, not failure to come to an understanding\*. Doesn’t qualify as a misunderstanding at all. > [@](#): > > Either party could have tried a little harder to make the deal happen…Oprah could have asked to see the manager or asked the clerk to clarify why she thought Oprah couldn’t afford the $35,000 handbag. Agreed. While if it went down as Oprah described she shouldn’t have had to try harder, I have to wonder why she didn’t. > [@](#): > > What are you supposed to be waiting for? A bus? ??? What the hell is this supposed to mean? You lost me here. \*While sometimes “come to an understanding” is used to mean “come to an agreement,” failing to achieve that is not called a misunderstanding. A misunderstanding means failure to actually understand each other. ---
**Author:** ![DiosaBellissima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a8b319/32.png) [@DiosaBellissima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiosaBellissima)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2013, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-have-done-in-oprahs-place-racism-in-switzerland/665821/196 "2013-08-14T17:16:02Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > She was wearing stuff that you could buy on the rack at Macy’s. There is a difference between the Macy’s line of Donna Karan and the runway/showroom line of Donna Karan. It’s not the same stuff, the same designs, and certainly not at all the same price. It is incredibly common for designers to have extremely high end lines, plus more accessible lines. And sometimes, they will pair up with a store like Target or H&M and do a super low priced line, just to be even more accessible. Still, other than the name, the lines have zero overlap. ---
**Author:** ![Nawth\_Chucka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c57346/32.png) [@Nawth\_Chucka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nawth_Chucka)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2013, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-have-done-in-oprahs-place-racism-in-switzerland/665821/197 "2013-08-14T19:13:35Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > I asked my coworkers in Basel many more times than that how to find a doctor if I happened to need one; did I have to find one in advance of needing one? Did I have to contact some sort of organization? Did I just walk into a hospital? I asked the insurance agent. I asked at the hospital. All I got was blank stares, time and again. > > Eventually, I went to France, where my insurance also worked and asking about finding a doctor was met with a straightforward explanation (“go to the hospital or clinic, make an appointment; depending on what it’s for it may be the same day or not”). > > And later even, I found out that what the Basileans had expected me to do was apologize profusely for my ignorance and then venture a possible answer, with any relevant details, until I happened to hit upon the correct one. There ain’t enough rolleyes… and _vive la France_. Great, just what you needed when looking for health care; the surprise Socratic method. Jerks. ---
**Author:** ![Doyle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doyle/32/439_2.png) [@Doyle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doyle)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2013, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-have-done-in-oprahs-place-racism-in-switzerland/665821/198 "2013-08-14T20:41:05Z")
New developments. > **[EXCLUSIVE: Swiss store owner at center of Oprah's 'racist' handbag storm...](https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2391880/Oprahs-racist-handbag-Swiss-store-owner-brands-star-sensitive.html)** > > The rather fearsome-looking Trudi Goetz, owner of the Trois Pommes store in Zurich, added cuttingly that international stars appreciate being left in peace in our country' as the scandal over the $38,000 rumbles on. > **[Oprah Winfrey: I'm sorry Switzerland racism incident got blown up | CNN](https://www.cnn.com/2013/08/13/showbiz/oprah-winfrey-racism-switzerland/index.html)** > > Oprah Winfrey says she’s sorry for the media storm that erupted after she recounted that she was the victim of racism in a posh Swiss boutique. ---
**Author:** ![Tequila\_Party](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a6a055/32.png) [@Tequila\_Party](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tequila_Party)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2013, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-have-done-in-oprahs-place-racism-in-switzerland/665821/199 "2013-08-15T03:14:51Z")
That store owner, who supposedly _apologized_ already, turned around and attacked the person who’d been wronged. I’m sure Oprah would want to handle things amicably between the two of them now. Right. What a right and classy snooty bitch she must be. ---
**Author:** ![doorhinge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@doorhinge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doorhinge)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2013, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-have-done-in-oprahs-place-racism-in-switzerland/665821/200 "2013-08-15T04:03:59Z")
> [@Gary\_T](#): > > … **Wait** , so now it’s not a misunderstanding, but snobbery? Hmm. Just how was there snobbery on Oprah’s part? (Shortened, bold’d, and underlined so there is less of a chance of a misunderstanding.) > [@doorhinge](#): > > And yet the customer and the sales clerk couldn’t come to an understanding that would be acceptable to both parties. That certainly qualifies as a misunderstanding. Either party could have tried a little harder to make the deal happen. > > **What are you supposed to be waiting for?** A bus? (Shortened, bold’d, and underlined so there is less of a chance of a misunderstanding.) > [@Gary\_T](#): > > No, that’s failure to come to an _agreement_, not failure to come to an understanding\*. Doesn’t qualify as a misunderstanding at all. > > Agreed. While if it went down as Oprah described she shouldn’t have had to try harder, I have to wonder why she didn’t. > > **??? What the hell is this supposed to mean? You lost me here.** > > \*While sometimes “come to an understanding” is used to mean “come to an agreement,” failing to achieve that is not called a misunderstanding. A misunderstanding means failure to actually understand each other. (Shortened, blah, blah, blah.) How would I know what you meant when you said, “Wait”? I did ask for a clarification of what you had said and you replied that “I” had lost “You”??? I guess we’re experiencing a misunderstanding. So neither of us get to see the $38,000 handbag. I used the phrase “come to an understanding” to mean that neither Oprah or the store clerk “understood” what the other was trying to say or why they were saying what they did. I did not say, “come to an agreement”. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-have-done-in-oprahs-place-racism-in-switzerland/665821.md?page=9) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-have-done-in-oprahs-place-racism-in-switzerland/665821.md?page=11)