“She is so powerful and I am just a shop girl. I didn’t hurt anyone. I don’t know why someone as great as her must cannibalize me on TV.”
From experience, I have learned who to trust in these confrontations over accusations of racism, and sadly nowadays it almost always is not the minority.
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Every February I run a fund-raising drive during my birthday month. This year I celebrate my 72nd birthday, and hope and plan to continue writing and posting on Behind the Black for as long as I am able.
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Please consider supporting my work here at Behind the Black. My analysis of space, politics, and culture, taken from the perspective of an historian, is almost always on the money and ahead of the game. For example, in 2020 I correctly predicted that the COVID panic was unnecessary, that the virus was apparently simply a variation of the flu, that masks were not simply pointless but if worn incorrectly were a health threat, that the lockdowns were a disaster and did nothing to stop the spread of COVID. Every one of those 2020 conclusions has turned out right.
Your help allows me to do this kind of intelligent analysis. I take no advertising or sponsors, so my reporting isn't influenced by donations by established space or drug companies. Instead, I rely entirely on donations and subscriptions from my readers, which gives me the freedom to write what I think, unencumbered by outside influences.
You can support me either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. There are four ways of doing so:
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From experience, I have learned who to trust in these confrontations over accusations of racism, and sadly nowadays it almost always is not the minority.
Readers!
Every February I run a fund-raising drive during my birthday month. This year I celebrate my 72nd birthday, and hope and plan to continue writing and posting on Behind the Black for as long as I am able.
I hope my readers will support this effort. As I did in my November fund-raising drive, I am offering autographed copies of my books for large donations. Donate $250 and you can have a choice of the hardback of either Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8 or Conscious Choice: The origins of slavery in America and why it matters today and for our future in outer space. Donate $200 and you can get an autographed paperback copy of either. IMPORTANT! If you donate enough to get a book, please email me separately to tell me which book you want and the address to mail it to.
Please consider supporting my work here at Behind the Black. My analysis of space, politics, and culture, taken from the perspective of an historian, is almost always on the money and ahead of the game. For example, in 2020 I correctly predicted that the COVID panic was unnecessary, that the virus was apparently simply a variation of the flu, that masks were not simply pointless but if worn incorrectly were a health threat, that the lockdowns were a disaster and did nothing to stop the spread of COVID. Every one of those 2020 conclusions has turned out right.
Your help allows me to do this kind of intelligent analysis. I take no advertising or sponsors, so my reporting isn't influenced by donations by established space or drug companies. Instead, I rely entirely on donations and subscriptions from my readers, which gives me the freedom to write what I think, unencumbered by outside influences.
You can support me either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. There are four ways of doing so:
1. Zelle: This is the only internet method that charges no fees. All you have to do is use the Zelle link at your internet bank and give my name and email address (zimmerman at nasw dot org). What you donate is what I get.
2. Patreon: Go to my website there and pick one of five monthly subscription amounts, or by making a one-time donation.
3. A Paypal Donation or subscription:
4. Donate by check, payable to Robert Zimmerman and mailed to
Behind The Black
c/o Robert Zimmerman
P.O.Box 1262
Cortaro, AZ 85652
You can also support me by buying one of my books, as noted in the boxes interspersed throughout the webpage or shown in the menu above.
On of the first lessons when I went into sales is not to judge a prospect by their clothes. Did judge a little by race, but black was not bad. They tended to be big spenders. I suspect that in Switzerland, Oprah would have been more likely discriminated against for being American than being black. That said, What is the deal with that bag?!! That thing looks like it should be hanging off the rear of a horse and they want $50,000?!!! Are rich people stupid? And that shopgirl. I’m sure as a clerk in an up-scale shop, she is quite experienced, but did she dress in the dark? That jacket reminds me of a green Naugahyde Laz-E-Boy I had in the 70’s. And she must have mugged a clown for the pants. ANd they make fun of the people at Walmart.
I am still amazed that Oprah, who spends most of her time in the United States, couldn’t think of one time that she felt discriminated against here in this country (because everyone recognizes her here?). She had to go to Europe to get that feeling. Apparently, her other experience with discrimination occurred in Paris, not the US.
I keep hearing that the US is such a racist country, but the examples of modern US racism just don’t seem to make sense. Then with reports like these, and the response linked in this posting, it seems that claims of racism may only be a misinterpretation of events.
Perhaps I should start claiming that I have been stopped for “driving while white.” After all, the US Supreme Court ruled, circa 1974, that reverse discrimination is allowable in order to make up for generations of discrimination that had come before. A government sanctioned policy of discrimination – apartheid – does exist in the US.
I am not quite certain why I should suffer from government sanctioned discrimination just because other people’s ancestors discriminated against some other groups of people.
Or is it racist to complain about “social justice?”
A lot of people made up their mind before hearing the cashier’s side of things, even Oprah. I don’t think Oprah understands how the label of racist ruins a person’s life and how it is used not to point out actual racist acts but to destroy a person’s reputation.
I deal with black women every day and some do come with a preconceived expectation of being rejected by a white person that they are dealing with. Especially if that white person has some kind of authority to say no in the transaction. Actually, most initially have the expectation. I find that a smile and a little bit of conversation solves the problem most times. And then there are times, not very often, when the mountain can not be moved.
Having spent many summers in France it would be easy for an American of any race to feel discrimated against, simply on the basis of a language barrier. Most Americans can’t speak a bit of French or understand how to be polite. Maybe the issue is Oprah was upset the store clerk didn’t recognize her and immediately bow down to her worshipfulness. How stupid. I trust the store clerks account of things because too often people misunderstand communication, even when both communicators speak the same language fluently. I long ago dropped Oprah as a wise celebrity when she backed the senator from illinois’s campaign for the presidency. Lets be frank, she supported his campaign based simply on race. Like most African Americans did. As a white American, I’d vote for a black conservative any day, over a white liberal. That’s my logic.
Looks like Oprah is looking for publicity