Wait a Minute
What's wrong with this story? Oprah Winfrey is turned away from a boutique, even though there were shoppers inside and she thinks the staff knew who she was. She suspects there's an element of racism in it. Seems plausible. The article then goes on for another 800 words about "many American minorities who say they are routinely treated poorly — and sometimes with outright suspicion — by sales staffs in this country."
"The presumption in America is that if you have the wealth, you'll get equality — but where's Oprah's equality?" complains a sociologist at the University of California, Davis.
Damn that Amerikka! Except the article doesn't make it clear that this incident happened in ... Paris, France.
I have no doubt the problem described in the story is real. But the story carries no dateline. It mentions "Paris" in the text, but not "France." Hell, I first read it and I thought they meant Paris, Texas, or some such place.
Winfrey "believes the store's staff had identified her," according to her publicist, but wouldn't let her in in spite of, or perhaps because of, that.
So, isn't it just as possible that Oprah could have gotten the cold shoulder because she was an Américaine? Wouldn't it be possible to take this same news tidbit and use it as a peg to hang a story about European prejudice against Americans? Or about French prejudice against blacks?
"The presumption in America is that if you have the wealth, you'll get equality — but where's Oprah's equality?" complains a sociologist at the University of California, Davis.
Damn that Amerikka! Except the article doesn't make it clear that this incident happened in ... Paris, France.
I have no doubt the problem described in the story is real. But the story carries no dateline. It mentions "Paris" in the text, but not "France." Hell, I first read it and I thought they meant Paris, Texas, or some such place.
The incident occurred when Winfrey stopped by Hermes on June 14 to buy a watch minutes after the boutique closed. Though she and three friends said they saw shoppers inside, neither a sales clerk nor manager would let them in.
Winfrey "believes the store's staff had identified her," according to her publicist, but wouldn't let her in in spite of, or perhaps because of, that.
So, isn't it just as possible that Oprah could have gotten the cold shoulder because she was an Américaine? Wouldn't it be possible to take this same news tidbit and use it as a peg to hang a story about European prejudice against Americans? Or about French prejudice against blacks?
