Oprah Winfrey 'was victim of racism' in Switzerland

[Generic Other]

87. Does this take the sting out of racism?

I don't really watch Big Brother but have seen some clips of the racist behavior playing out on the show because it has made the news lately. There are some shocking clips of a beauty contestant from Texas mocking an African American woman as "Aunt Jemima" and muttering that she should go cook pancakes. Making slant eyes at the Asian contestant and telling her to go "cook some rice..." Speaking to her in pigeon. Throwing the Af. Am. girl's mattress on the floor...

Do you think that anyone gets over this type of treatment? The girl (very light skinned) looked like she might start an altercation with the blonde one, and the darker guy physically carried her off over his shoulder to prevent it. In the room where they could speak privately, they fell apart. It was shocking to watch. The poor guy tried to explain why he couldn't defend her by attacking the racist ones while she expressed her frustration at his helplessness. You could see his efforts to control the rage bubbling up so deep within him. Defend the sister and get lynched by the others for attacking the blonde racists. Obviously the effects of racism are cumulative and sting more sharply each time.

The host of the show Julie Chen -- clearly successful as a celebrity hostess of a popular show, said the comments took her back to her childhood in Brooklyn. She didn't know people still said these kind of things or thought it was socially acceptable. Chen was on the Voice where she spoke about how painful it was to watch the clip and how angry it made her. So, in spite of the fact Oprah can sip mai tais on the beach and not care, like most other people of color I know, there is a hidden bruised place deep in the heart where these kind of memories linger and join others just like them or worse.