Here's a rough translation of the statement of the salesperson who, according to Oprah Winfrey, didn't want to sell her an expensive handbag because said salesperson was being racist.
The Gods know this country is xenophobic and racist at times, but both sides should be heard, and Oprah isn't right just because she has a huge audience. So here's a
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Sinead O'Connor
Howwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwl... you poor woman. We had her at a festival, and while she was tolerably professional, her entourage wasn't, plus we had to deal with loyalist bomb threats (it was her bible ripping and Mary insulting phase). Fun all around... *groan*
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I suspect Oprah wanted the poor girl to grovel at her feet, or take down the entire display for her, whether she intended purchasing or not, and got miffed that the girl just gave her the straight information about the bag without the hard sell. For all we know, the girl might have been under strict instructions to take the croc bag down only if someone expressed direct interest in purchasing it. I can imagine PETA people trying to destroy the thing (not that I blame them given that it seems a waste of an animal - but I was hassled going to buy a leather jacket, and I wear leather because I eat the damn cow! :P)
The unfairness of it all staggers me, and the fact that the press has got hold of it and is making a mountain out of nothing, as it seems to me, probably endangering this poor girl's livelihood in the process.
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Oh, there's lots of discrimination, but it's a different brand than you'd meet in the USA. It's more a general xenophobia than open racism, which comes with a different history. I dare a bet that an African-American expat freshly parachuted in from the USA will face far less discrimination than somebody whose parents head from the Balkan and who was born and raised here. The foreigners getting the most flak here at the moment are German expats, so that's definitely not a race issue.
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Apparently it's not the first time when there is this kind of misunderstanding with her: some years ago a clerk and a store manager denied her entry at the Hermes Store in Paris.
The thing is: the shop was closed. Staff was still there because they were preparing the store for some event. They were busy and I'm not sure that it's even legal to let customers in after closing hours (matter of insurance). A version of the incident reported that the clerk said something racist to her but afterward OW and the employees said that it was untrue. The company apologized all the same for not having been able to accommodate her.
Racism and xenophobia are unfortunately alive but it's necessary to be careful before throwing charges, especially when there is language or cultural barrier.
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