Snubbed

“I was the only person in the store. I had dressed myself up extra special.because I know things can get very snobby in these kinds of stores.”

“The employees first check out what clothes you are wearing. Therefore I chose a Donna Karan outfit and even washed my hair”

“The woman did not want to get down the bag which I wanted to look at. The effort was too much for her. She said to me that the bag was simply too expansive…..Instead she tossed me cheaper bags.”

“To be honest if I have known upfront what this damned bag cost, do you know what? This woman was right: I would not have bought the thing, far too expensive. Too expensive! $38,000. I would have fainted when I saw this price tag!"

The above was an extract from Oprah Winfrey's interview with a reporter after having related in her talk show about her encounter with racism in a Zurich boutique.

I am really really amazed that even America's richest woman faces the same experiences as we do, snubbed at ie. I find the above revelation extremely comical and funny especially the part about her washing her hair and donning some branded clothes before entering the store. To think that even the richest woman can be snubbed at gives comfort and do justice to the many many more times that we too are being snubbed at. It also makes us feel less embarrassed when we intentionally put on a seemingly wealthier look or pretending to be of higher class before going to certain places. I have all along suspected my lack of self esteem for not being brave enough to step into stores selling luxury brands, but am now assured that it is quite a common feeling.

But here again Oprah was referring to racism and went on to say that is what black and brown skinned people experience daily. The owner of the store has come out to defend his employee explaining it as a misunderstanding and definitely not racism. The incident has stirred up a barrage of comments in the web. Many have accused Oprah of being over sensitive and some suspect she was angry at not being recognised. One comment asked her to drop the "Don't you know who I am?" attitude whilst another said that Swiss unlike Americans do not gush over US celebrities that enter their shop.

So what is the moral of the story?
I think If you define yourself by how others define you, you will not feel rich even if you really are the richest..


(Incidentally I am amazed Oprah said she would have fainted if she knew the bag costs 38K. Tons of women spend more than 5K on a bag and their net worth is an infinite miniscule fraction of hers)