For the last few years, every time a clerk in a store is rude or dismissive or ignoring me (and it doesn’t happen much; most people are nice), I just think to myself, “This person makes probably a quarter of the salary/wage I do; I might be miserable too in a job like that and I think I’ll let it pass and be nice to him instead.”

Secretary Rice gets the sense that she is being shown the cheap jewelry because she is black and/or a woman. She, rightly, puts the sales clerk in his or her place but in doing so becomes the “uppity” black and/or woman for doing so. A male high government official could make the same comments without a whispering campaign afterward.

A second equally plausible scenario comes from Secretary Rice’s background. She grew up from humble origins in the segregated South. She went on to become a PhD, Stanford’s youngest Chancellor, and one of the most influential minorities in American history to date. She has worked hard to get where she is. Perhaps a snotty sales clerk just rubbed her the wrong way when he/she decided that Secretary Rice was nothing more than a costume jewelry kind of customer.

I think this is “news” due to the book coming out, but why was this incident chosen to publicize the book?

I prefer the story about her escorting Yeltsin out of his limo by the elbow to see an advisor to Bush 41. He argued with her about wanting to meet Bush 41, but his appointment was with one of his advisors. He said he was not getting out of his limo until he saw Bush 41.

She responded, in Russian, “Well then you might as well go back to the hotel because you are not seeing the President today.” He sat in the car and she stood outside the door in silence for 5 minutes until he reluctantly agreed to see the advisor instead.

That is what I call “diplomacy.”

However, Condi could have dropped the ghetto version of *Do you know who I am?* and focused on her job being to fetch jewelry and not be a smart-ass Comedy Central wanna-be.

jihadwatcher on August 29, 2007 at 11:41 PM

Yeah, bringing up income levels is sort of snobbish. I prefer the “My family tree has branches” approach.

Many clerks seem to forget that it is their job to do as the customer asks. Many clerks seem to forget that it is the customer that affords them a job.

I worked in retail, yes many years ago, but my bosses expected the staff to start the sale by showing highend and working down to low end…something about sales/profits/meeting payroll.

It happened a long time ago, back when she was at Stanford, and no one would recognize her as a diplomat or anything else. Racists? In San Francisco? Say it ain’t so!

(h/t RW)

Surely I’m not the only one to notice the irony of our *Number One Diplomat* reacting in this way.

hillbillyjim on August 30, 2007 at 5:45 AM
Well, when you have to deal with the bunch of spoiled children that comprise the Euroweenies and the Turd World, sometimes mama has to set them straight.

BKennedy on August 30, 2007 at 7:02 AM

But still! You have to admit that’s some hellatious diplomacy.

Surely I’m not the only one to notice the irony of our *Number One Diplomat* reacting in this way.

hillbillyjim on August 30, 2007 at 5:45 AM

Well, when you have to deal with the bunch of spoiled children that comprise the Euroweenies and the Turd World, sometimes mama has to set them straight.

Making the rounds today is a Condi Rice at Stanford story that’s being reported like it’s the equivalent of the sled at the end of Citizen Kane and its the dollar-book Freud symbolism. But it’s old news–here’s a January 2005……

canopfor on August 29, 2007 at 11:50 PM

I think some of our fellow posters are ignoring the obvious and focusing on the minutia of Condi’s Adventures in Boots.

You are right about the Dems also,
Hillary’s China Syndrome is barely getting the bat of an eyelash.
Jefferson still has frozen cold cash issues, and Happy Feet Craig is being fed upon by his own kind.

F15Mech – congrats on your new scaly green creds!!!

Justified and appropriate ripping I say.

Kini on August 29,2007 at 11:35PM.

Kini you nailed it,it is a feeding frenzy,problem
is its election season,and the media is feeding on
Republicans.

I think it depends on what the clerk whispered. If it was something to the effect that black women can’t afford the real thing, then Condi reacted appropriately.

Rightwingsparkle on August 29, 2007 at 10:40 PM

What difference does it make what the clerk whispered? Doesn’t make any difference if it’s a street person or Prince Charles. Show the customer what they want, and keep your opinions to yourself.

Hope the manager fired the prick. They don’t belong in retail if they don’t understand the customer pays the bills.

If you work in a service industry, and you are rude to the customer, you deserve what you get in response.

Again, that is not the point. The point is only an insecure dilettante goes for the jugular as soon as she detects a lack of “proper respect”. She wasn’t protesting a rude remark, that she could have done with a myriad of other more appropriate responses. No. She was protesting her social status not being given wide enough berth. She made that quite clear. That is where she showed herself as having no class.

If a clerk is rude to me, I may protest, but I don’t belittle their income.

jihadwatcher on August 29, 2007 at 11:26 PM

True. Just the other day I went to find a store manager to protest treatment by a couple of employees. It never occurred to me to play income oneupmanship–I was just mad that I had not been properly treated as the customer.