Calm down dear!

WHEN A BLACK AMERICAN billionaire celebrity plays the race card, it is to make her own experience of prejudice identical to her sisters in Harlem, as well as that of Rosa Parks, the heroine of the civil rights  movement in the dark days of American segregation.

            

            I do not know what was going through Oprah Winfrey's mind when she entered the Trois Pommes boutique in Zurich. But she says she suffered her own Rosa Park moment, when she complained that the assistant in the boutique refused to sell her a handbag because she thought that the beloved Oprah could not afford it .

           

            It seemed strange to me at the time that a sales assistant would refuse any kind of purchase, unless (in Ms Winfrey's case) the sales assistant wore the black uniform of the German SS. For why else would such an assistant be regarded as racist? Winfrey is sainted in America. Her word goes on any issue of the day; which is why she is courted by the political establishment in Washington.

           

            She, in a small way, governs the country with her views and opinions. So what chance would a mere shop assistant working in a Zurich boutique have, when the world's media take up Oprah's cause? This is the age of celebrity when a culture (this time Western) is in decline, and celebrities are treated by the media, like ancient Greek and Roman Gods.

 NOW THE SALES  assistant has replied via the same media Winfrey almost controls. Fearing repercussions the sales lady who worked at the Zurich boutique, is using anonymity. But she has chosen to speak out; and she accuses the  blessed Oprah of lying. As we have been blessed with many quotes from Winfrey, let us balance them with a quote from the lady she accuses of racism.

            When the sales lady heard Winfrey describe how she refused to show her a £25,000 luxury hand bag because she was black and could not afford it , she decided to hit back; and according to the Daily Mail, themselves quoting from an interview Winfrey's accused gave to the Sunday Newspaper  SonntagsBlick; the sales lady said she felt powerless.

           

             'I wasn't sure what I should present to her when she came in on the afternoon of Saturday July 20 so I showed her some bags from the Jennifer Aniston collection.

           

            'I explained to her the bags came in different sizes and materials, like I always do. 

            'She looked at a frame behind me. Far above there was the 35,000 Swiss franc crocodile leather bag.  

           

            'I simply told her that it was like the one I held in my hand, only much more expensive, and that I could show her similar bags.

           

            'It is absolutely not true that I declined to show her the bag on racist grounds. I even asked her if she wanted to look at the bag'.   

            I know that it will, in some liberal minds, make me a racist, but nevertheless this young shop assistant's riposte rings true to me, as I am sure it will to many other sale's personnel. I believe this young sale's lady is owed an apology from Oprah Winfrey, but it will not be forthcoming, simply because she has the American public wrapped around her little finger, and they will move heaven and earth to protect her; which is why the lady she accuses of racism feels the need to remain anonymous.

IT IS FRIGHTENING that a mere celebrity within a democracy orchestrates more control over society than a senator, congressman, or a member of parliament. If I had access to Ms Winfrey's wealth, I would pay the full legal costs of  the sale assistant accused of racism, if she wished to pursue her claim against Winfrey in an American court.

           

            Winfrey, as a black American, emanates from a race sensitive society, and when they travel abroad, they will be seeking out prejudice (especially after Winfrey's 'experience'). And when a black billionaire travels to a wedding in Switzerland and  she seeks to purchase a product from a boutique, she is ever sensitive to the way she is treated.

           

            If I owned a business that attracted the likes of Oprah Winfrey; then not only would I not employ people prejudiced against wealth, but I would not ever consider a racist. Selling the product would be first and last  - and if I were on commission I would tie Ms Winfrey to a chair until she agreed to hand over the plastic.