Now Welcome Racist Clerk!

OPRAH GETS SWISS APOLOGY FOR RACIST ENCOUNTER

Associated Press

GENEVA (AP) — Talk show host Oprah Winfrey says she encountered racism while shopping in Switzerland — and the national tourism office agrees.

The media mogul, who is one of the world's richest women, told the U.S. program "Entertainment Tonight" that a shop assistant in Zurich refused to show her a handbag because it was "too expensive" for her.
Forbes magazine estimates that Winfrey earned $77 million in the year ending in June.

A spokeswoman for the Swiss tourism office, Daniela Baer, told The Associated Press on Friday "we are very sorry for what happened to her."

The tourism office also posted an apology on Twitter, saying "this person acted terribly wrong."

Winfrey was in town to attend last month's wedding of longtime pal Tina Turner, who lives in Switzerland.

Let’s get something straight. The type of experience Oprah Winfrey had at this Zurich shop is not atypical of the experience that many black people have when shopping in expensive stores. It’s downright awful that this type of behavior and the thought that provokes it still exists.

But what I found disturbing is that Switzerland has to apologize for one racist clerk. It seems odd that a country with more than 8 million citizens has to apologize for the racist action of one.

I’m sure Jackie Chan has had someone make slanty eyes at him or laugh at his pronunciations a few times since he got to L.A. I don’t remember the U.S. Tourism Board issuing any mea culpas to him.

Let’s just chalk this one up to one dumbass clerk. If it happens again we’ll have Tina Turner whip some Swiss ass. You better be good to her. Or Oprah can have this jag on her show and make him look like an ass like she did the Million Little Pieces guy.