Oprah is an idiot, i swear.

[Don1]

Will she ever go back?

Who cares?

[Peter R]

Why can't we all just get along?

[Gamma]

I still cannot see how out of this situation, Oprah is the one Willi calling eediat! Suggesting that the classist behavior is somehow acceptable or is less egregious that Oprah's reaction .....

[Peter R]

Only Willi can answer that but I didn't get the impression he was talking about how she handled the situation on the spot, but rather how she characterised the encounter afterwards.

[Rockman]

When I read posts from Willi that I do not readily identified with,I usually look deeper for something missing to me(he always make sense).
My gripe with his perspective on this isolated issue is he makes no allowance that even in routine outcomes,racism can be an added factor.It becomes mind boggling when discrimination(classism)isn't denied but totally ignored as an indicator of racism.She has clearly exhibited the core factor (elsewhere)needed to be racist.Does Willi know personally each and every clerk there?Residing there means nothing and for him to definitively state Oprah is an idiot means he has taken a side.An informed decision?

[Peter R]

I am not taking a side here, but to say the shopgirl was racist (publicly) could also be a transgression on Oprah's part.

It is easy to say that it is racism without looking at other (cultural) factors. if Oprah did really want to see the bag she could have asked to see the manager, but she obviously at that moment had decided it was a race thing and didn't want to make a scene.

Some white Trinis tell me that salesgirls (black) in the mall in T&T often ignore them and give them bad treatment? Is that "racism" or just poor manners and just plain bad service? It's hard to make those judgments without clear cut evidence, but I would prefer to say its plain bad service, but... you never know.

[Islandman]

She may or may not have been right about it being primarily about race , but when someone working in a store tells you to your face "You cannot afford it" that goes past bad customer service.

As I mentioned before you could easily say "It is for display, not for sale" and still prevent yourself the hassle if you think this person doesn't look like they have the money.

For that reason I would have probably used my platform to loud them up as well if I was in Oprahs situation. Maybe I would have said "I do not know what form of discrimination it was, but it was discrimination".

[Exile]

Absolutely poor analogy Peter re: your anecdote on TT mall salesgirls. We will discuss when you are off vacation..

[Gamma]

Ok it's bad service, does that make Oprah an idiot to say what she felt?

[Willi]

Did she say it there? Did she contemplate a pretty woman stunt?

No she glory hounded back home on her show and in the process overshadowed Tina's wedding.

Oprah was not interested in anything but a talking point for her show. To transplant American ills on others is wong. Them have dem on probs here but this is NOT America.

What was her motive...respect for billionires so they can buy obscenely expensive fuggly bags with impunity?

[Willi]

She was not in America, so she could go incognito. Nuff US celebrities over her can travel under the radar and dont have to dress up in case of paparazzi.

It is unlikely that its racism and I never said what the vendeuse did was right, I just said it not the typical anti-black racism we see in the US.

[Rockman]

unlikely is not definitive,it is "unlikely" enough to pick a side AND be outright critical of the other.
The old days when it made sense to be incognito where it is needed;where you are known.

[Gamma]

Respect same way boss. We have divergent views.

[Willi]

We would have to trash it out via skype for me to show you total runnings.

[Paul Marin]

No I am not, but neither am I OK for her to lay her compulsion where it dont belong either.

Different circumstances not to be conflated. Frankly, she igle if she tek people attention from real problems cause them slight her over an overpriced lizard skin. This aint no cause celebre.

Willi, how should Oprah have gone about taking a look at the bag? Said another way, what conditions would have to exist to make the sales person take the bag out to show it to a customer?