Not Every Woman
Having run out of white women in peril, the media has now turned its attention to its favorite black woman. I refer, of course, to l'affaire d'Oprah.
For those of you who missed this story, the trouble begins, as is so often the case, in France. Rushing to a dinner engagement with her close personal friend Tina Turner, la Winfrey decided to stop in at Hermès and purchase a watch for the Buddhist chanteuse. In early recounts, the store had just closed; a revised version places the event at 15 minutes past closing. In any case, Oprah was denied entry. Conflict ensued. Once again, accounts differ. The New York Post, that bastion of journalistic rectitude, reported sales personnel didn't recognize Oprah and refused to let her in because the store had been "having a problem with North Africans." Both Harpo and Hermès have refuted that story, with a Winfrey mouthpiece declaring that the staff identified Oprah, and that other shoppers were in the store at the time. Hermès says the megastar was barred because the store was setting up for a media event at the time, and the "shoppers" were actually staff.
Whatever the truth is, Oprah was humiliated. Gayle King, Oprah best sycophant, told Entertainment Tonight that Oprah considers it "one of the most humiliating moments of her life." Michelle McIntyre of Harpo Productions called the event as Oprah's "Crash moment," referencing the recent film about racism in LA. Oprah intends to devote an episode of her show to the incident when it returns from its summer hiatus.
Don't get me started.
I spent many years working in the service sector. In those years, I had many experiences with would-be customers who came by after we closed, begging to be let in. Sometimes, if we were still busy, we would let them in. Other times, we would not. On occasion, a manager would make the call and seat a diner after we closed. In all cases, we hated the latecomer.
Here's an unpleasant but simple truth: If you show up 15 minutes before we close, we hate you. If you show up 15 minutes after we close, we wish you would die. On the spot.
Unknown to shoppers and diners, service personnel have lives outside of work. They have not dedicated their life to service, like some upstairs maid of the 19th century. I have been forced to remind customers, "I'm your server, not your servant." How much do you hate it when your boss drops a new project on your desk at 4:30? That's how much we hate you when you show up 15 minutes before we close. Imagine how much we hate you when you show up 15 minutes afterwards.
Oprah is not the only one playing this incident as an example of racism. Across the Web, Oprah supporters are shocked -- shocked! -- by how badly she was treated. Bruce Haynes, a sociologist from UC, Davis, says, "The presumption in America is that if you have the wealth, you'll get equality -- but where's Oprah's equality?" The flaw in this thinking is that Oprah was not expecting equality. Equal treatment supposes that when a place of business is closed, customers are no longer allowed in. I am not allowed in, you are not allowed in, Oprah is not allowed in. Oprah does not want to be treated equally; she wants to be treated specially. As a celebrity, she feels that is her right. Dr. King, I fear, would disagree. He might agree that a black celebrity should be treated the same as a white celebrity, but in general, I think he would prefer that white and black celebrities be treated no better than the common man. And, conversely, that ordinary people be given the same courtesy and respect that are granted to celebrities.
Granted, Hermès doesn't have a lot of experience in dealing with the common man. This century old Paris boutique is known for its $300 scarves and $6000 purses. Its staff is used to dealing with the well known, if not necessarily well-bred, since they are the few who can afford its wares. Oprah is a regular shopper, and has plugged the stores products in the past, such as the $135 teacup and saucer featured on her web site. Most of the people rushing to Oprah's defense couldn't afford to use the restroom there.
Which makes the racism that much more appalling. Harriette Cole, the author of a book on black etiquette, says the incident "proves how deeply ingrained in global culture racism is. There is the assumption that a black person will do you harm, and/or the assumption that a black person has no place in a luxury establishment, cannot afford to buy the luxury item." Except that, according to Oprah herself, the staff recognized her. In other words, they knew that she could afford to shop there and still refused to let her in. Which implies that they didn't let her in, not because she was black, but because she was Oprah. They don't like her. The nouveau riche Américain.
Now that's humiliating.
Indeed, "Oprah describes it herself as one of the most humiliating moments of her life."
This is astonishing. More humiliating than her childhood rape and abuse? More humiliating than a teen pregnancy that ended in stillbirth? Worse than the endless litany of humiliations that must have been heaped upon an overweight, unattractive black girl from the south, trying to carve out a career in broadcast journalism? Someone has forgotten her roots.
Which is, indeed, at the root of this story. The character which Oprah has created for herself should be siding with the Hermès salesperson, whether she's confronting the self-righteous celebrity who feels she should be allowed in after hours, or the officious manager who steadfastly sticks to store policy. Instead, Oprah has chosen to paint herself as the wronged party. And that's just ... wrong.
For those of you who missed this story, the trouble begins, as is so often the case, in France. Rushing to a dinner engagement with her close personal friend Tina Turner, la Winfrey decided to stop in at Hermès and purchase a watch for the Buddhist chanteuse. In early recounts, the store had just closed; a revised version places the event at 15 minutes past closing. In any case, Oprah was denied entry. Conflict ensued. Once again, accounts differ. The New York Post, that bastion of journalistic rectitude, reported sales personnel didn't recognize Oprah and refused to let her in because the store had been "having a problem with North Africans." Both Harpo and Hermès have refuted that story, with a Winfrey mouthpiece declaring that the staff identified Oprah, and that other shoppers were in the store at the time. Hermès says the megastar was barred because the store was setting up for a media event at the time, and the "shoppers" were actually staff.
Whatever the truth is, Oprah was humiliated. Gayle King, Oprah best sycophant, told Entertainment Tonight that Oprah considers it "one of the most humiliating moments of her life." Michelle McIntyre of Harpo Productions called the event as Oprah's "Crash moment," referencing the recent film about racism in LA. Oprah intends to devote an episode of her show to the incident when it returns from its summer hiatus.
Don't get me started.
I spent many years working in the service sector. In those years, I had many experiences with would-be customers who came by after we closed, begging to be let in. Sometimes, if we were still busy, we would let them in. Other times, we would not. On occasion, a manager would make the call and seat a diner after we closed. In all cases, we hated the latecomer.
Here's an unpleasant but simple truth: If you show up 15 minutes before we close, we hate you. If you show up 15 minutes after we close, we wish you would die. On the spot.
Unknown to shoppers and diners, service personnel have lives outside of work. They have not dedicated their life to service, like some upstairs maid of the 19th century. I have been forced to remind customers, "I'm your server, not your servant." How much do you hate it when your boss drops a new project on your desk at 4:30? That's how much we hate you when you show up 15 minutes before we close. Imagine how much we hate you when you show up 15 minutes afterwards.
Oprah is not the only one playing this incident as an example of racism. Across the Web, Oprah supporters are shocked -- shocked! -- by how badly she was treated. Bruce Haynes, a sociologist from UC, Davis, says, "The presumption in America is that if you have the wealth, you'll get equality -- but where's Oprah's equality?" The flaw in this thinking is that Oprah was not expecting equality. Equal treatment supposes that when a place of business is closed, customers are no longer allowed in. I am not allowed in, you are not allowed in, Oprah is not allowed in. Oprah does not want to be treated equally; she wants to be treated specially. As a celebrity, she feels that is her right. Dr. King, I fear, would disagree. He might agree that a black celebrity should be treated the same as a white celebrity, but in general, I think he would prefer that white and black celebrities be treated no better than the common man. And, conversely, that ordinary people be given the same courtesy and respect that are granted to celebrities.
Granted, Hermès doesn't have a lot of experience in dealing with the common man. This century old Paris boutique is known for its $300 scarves and $6000 purses. Its staff is used to dealing with the well known, if not necessarily well-bred, since they are the few who can afford its wares. Oprah is a regular shopper, and has plugged the stores products in the past, such as the $135 teacup and saucer featured on her web site. Most of the people rushing to Oprah's defense couldn't afford to use the restroom there.
Which makes the racism that much more appalling. Harriette Cole, the author of a book on black etiquette, says the incident "proves how deeply ingrained in global culture racism is. There is the assumption that a black person will do you harm, and/or the assumption that a black person has no place in a luxury establishment, cannot afford to buy the luxury item." Except that, according to Oprah herself, the staff recognized her. In other words, they knew that she could afford to shop there and still refused to let her in. Which implies that they didn't let her in, not because she was black, but because she was Oprah. They don't like her. The nouveau riche Américain.
Now that's humiliating.
Indeed, "Oprah describes it herself as one of the most humiliating moments of her life."
This is astonishing. More humiliating than her childhood rape and abuse? More humiliating than a teen pregnancy that ended in stillbirth? Worse than the endless litany of humiliations that must have been heaped upon an overweight, unattractive black girl from the south, trying to carve out a career in broadcast journalism? Someone has forgotten her roots.
Which is, indeed, at the root of this story. The character which Oprah has created for herself should be siding with the Hermès salesperson, whether she's confronting the self-righteous celebrity who feels she should be allowed in after hours, or the officious manager who steadfastly sticks to store policy. Instead, Oprah has chosen to paint herself as the wronged party. And that's just ... wrong.
posted by John Bliss at
12:18 AM
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