General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: I'm still trying to wrap my head around Oprah's purse. [View all]truedelphi
(32,324 posts)I am sure there are Southern women who are normally racist but who would make an exception for her. There are probably many examples of Oprah interacting with people and getting a red carpet treatment from those people due to her being a major American celebrity.
Yet those same people would sneer at any one they deemed to be lower middle class.
Inside that store, Oprah was told to think about buying a less expensive purse, so obviously the sales clerk did not recognize her. This happened in Switzerland - I don't know if a young sales clerk would be that familiar with Oprah. (Whose TV presence is much less a given these days than five or six years ago.)
What is important to realize is that the sort of person who clerks at these high end haberdasheries often are extremely snobby -- snobby beyond all belief. They don't just snub African Americans - they snub almost everyone but their clientele, and maybe some super star they are fond of. Would Beyonce have been snubbed? Perhaps not, as her celebrity status is more current in Europe these days.
What happened is that for a few short minutes, Oprah was treated the way most Americans would be treated in that store. She learned what it is like to be inside an "upper crust" establishment, and how those of us who are in the hoi polloi are viewed by these snobs day in and day out.