URL -http://theghousediary.blogspot.com/2013/08/oprah-winfreys-biggest-mistake.html
Oprah made the biggest public mistake of her life by not telling the racist Zurich Store woman that she will buy that damned hand bag and should have insisted on seeing it… indeed, her in-action is a permission for the store clerk to continue with her racism. Shame on you Oprah!
He really wanted that home, I took him and his wife to that subdivision - after the "welcome to Perry Homes spiel" - she said, these homes are expensive - and started giving the price range… I stopped her right there with my sharp - So? I was outraged at her racism. I was trained and I knew that is not what is taught in new homes. I was a veteran in the industry. I made the points to her, she was apologetic. Of course, my client decided on another builder.
I thought, those days are gone, but surprised to see it exists in Zurich.
I am however guilty - once in 1987 another lady was denied access to a property because she was black. I was out of handle, but my friends in the business calmed me down, I continue to feel guilty about it.
It is much better than it was 30 years ago when I had experienced quite a lot of racism. Thanks God it is declining.
Oprah made the biggest public mistake of her life by not telling who it is - and without that the store can continue to be racist. Oprah you are wrong and shame on you. If you don't do the right thing, who will? Shame on you that you are a celebrity and did not do a things about the wrong.
We have come a long way in America, and thank God for America for the paving the way of civility and respect for every human. We have a lot more to go, but we are leading the world despite our deficiencies.
Good News update:
Finally, I am glad Oprah got the apology and made the point, and made the big news. I do hope the the racist attitudes be questioned even from a business point of view. From a Moral point of view, those attitudes need to be punished from a mere reprimand to training courses in respecting others, no matter what race, religion or ethnicity they belong to. In public square - that attitude should not be acceptable.
I am glad it turned out to be a bigger event to make the point. Thank you Oprah for making that point. If your intent was to make a bigger point. I salute you, and I will withdraw my comment that you were wrong.
Mike Ghouse is committed to building cohesive societies where on one has to live I apprehension for fear of the other. He continues to offer pluralistic solutions on issues of the day. More about him at www.MikeGhouse.net
Oprah's blunder about India - http://theghousediary.blogspot.com/2012/07/oprahs-blunder-indians-eat-with-hands.html
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Oprah was victim of 'racism' on Swiss shopping trip
Winfrey, one of the world's richest women, told a US TV programme that she was refused service in a handbag shop in Zurich and told that the products in the shop were "too expensive" for her.
"I was in Zurich the other day, in a store whose name I will not mention. I didn't have my eyelashes on, but I was in full Oprah Winfreygear.
I had my little Donna Karan skirt and my little sandals. But obviously 'TheOprah Winfrey Show' is not shown in Zurich," she told Entertainment Tonight.
"I go into a store and I say to the woman, 'Excuse me, could I see the bag right above your head?' and she says to me, 'No. It's too expensive.'"
The saleswoman went on to suggest she look at cheaper bags.
Winfrey said she left the shop calmly after the incident, but said that it proves that racism is still an issue.
http://www.independent.ie/entertainment/tv-radio/oprah-was-victim-of-racism-on-swiss-shopping-trip-29485861.html
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Oprah gets Swiss apology for 'racist' encounter while shopping
Read more: http://www.ctvnews.ca/entertainment/oprah-gets-swiss-apology-for-racist-encounter-while-shopping-1.1404042#ixzz2bUsTtS31
GENEVA -- It's a glamorous playground of the rich and famous, filled with glitterati from princes to movie stars. It's also a land with a sometimes uneasy relationship with foreigners -- especially when they aren't white.
Billionaire media mogul Oprah Winfrey says she ran into Swiss racism when a clerk at Trois Pommes, a pricey Zurich boutique, refused to show her a black handbag, telling one of the world's richest women that she "will not be able to afford" the $38,000 price tag. Winfrey earned $77 million in the year ending in June, according to Forbes magazine.
"She said: 'No, no, no, you don't want to see that one. You want to see this one. Because that one will cost too much; you will not be able to afford that,"' Winfrey, appearing on the U.S. television program "Entertainment Tonight," quoted the clerk as saying. "And I said, 'Well, I did really want to see that one.' And she refused to get it."
Swiss tourism officials and the boutique owner were quick to offer apologies on Friday.
"We are very sorry for what happened to her, of course, because we think all of our guests and clients should be treated respectfully, in a professional way," Daniela Baer, a spokeswoman for the Swiss tourism office, told The Associated Press.
The tourism office also posted an apology on Twitter, saying "this person acted terribly wrong."
Boutique owner Trudie Goetz told the BBC that an assistant had shown Winfrey several other items before the "misunderstanding."
The newspaper Blick described the bag as a crocodile-leather Tom Ford design named for actress Jennifer Aniston, a fan of the American designer. It quoted Goetz as saying the bag was priced at 35,000 Swiss francs.
"I have to admit that the employee is Italian. Of course, she speaks English, but not as well as her mother tongue," Goetz said in a video interview on Blick's website. "It was a real misunderstanding."
Winfrey was in Switzerland to attend the wedding of her longtime friend Tina Turner, who has lived in Zurich for many years and has been quoted saying how much she enjoys living among the Swiss. Turner was granted a passport earlier this year, a process that typically takes years.
About 23 per cent of Switzerland's 8 million residents are non-Swiss, and the country earned more than $39 billion from tourism in 2011.
But Swiss authorities acknowledge that foreigners can encounter discrimination. Last year, a government-appointed commission reported that immigrants and "people who visit Switzerland as tourists or who seek asylum here, and people of a different skin colour" can encounter "xenophobia and racism in certain areas of life."
The nationalistic Swiss People's Party, which has the largest number of seats in the federal parliament, has won support through claims that immigrants can bring crime and social problems to a country that has been an oasis of stability even in Europe's darkest days.
In recent years, the People's Party has successfully campaigned to ban the construction of minarets in a country that has about 400,000 Muslims, and to tighten the country's asylum law. Swiss lawmakers also narrowly rejected a proposal to ban face-covering veils worn by some Muslim women in public spaces.
And this week, a row broke out over plans to bar asylum seekers living in the small town of Bremgarten from visiting public swimming pools and attending schools.
Human Rights Watch said the agreement by the Swiss migration office to let the town impose "house rules" to limit access to schools and sports facilities violates international law.
It wasn't the first time Winfrey has taken issue with treatment at a ritzy European boutique. In 2005, she was turned away from a Hermes shop in Paris 15 minutes after closing time. The store said it was closed for a private event.
A Hermes executive appeared on Winfrey's talk show to apologize for the "rigid and rude" behaviour of the employee. Winfrey complimented Hermes on its response -- including sensitivity training for employees -- and urged viewers to buy the company's products.
Read more: http://www.ctvnews.ca/entertainment/oprah-gets-swiss-apology-for-racist-encounter-while-shopping-1.1404042#ixzz2bUshgGad
Mike Ghouse is a speaker, thinker and a writer on pluralism, politics, peace, Islam,Israel, India, interfaith, and cohesion at work place. He is committed to building aCohesive America and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day atwww.TheGhousediary.com. He believes in Standing up for others and has done that throughout his life as an activist. Mike has a presence on national and local TV, Radio and Print Media. He is a frequent guest on Sean Hannity show on Fox TV, and a commentator on national radio networks, he contributes weekly to the Texas Faith Column at Dallas Morning News; fortnightly at Huffington post; and several other periodicals across the world. His personal site www.MikeGhouse.net indexes his work through many links.
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