Al Sharpton alive and kicking at the US Embassy!

[Robert]

I cannot believe that this Establishment would come out straiht out and tell this person that he is not allow to enter this club because of his skin color

Because if this is true it is a disgrace. all of us that are Dominican should be embarrass of this incident. there is nothing funny about this incident

What makes you think that happened? We have no idea what happened or what led to the US Embassy issuing the press release.

 

[Ricardo900]

Like Bob said, selective entry (velvet rope) into a club is normal in US cities. NYC is notorious for its posh clubs and selective process, especially clubs like Bungalow8, so if you don't have "The Look" or at least two hot chicks on your arm, you can fughetaboutit.

I know someone who was denied entry to a couple of nice clubs in Santo Domingo and he said they wouldn't let him in because he was Black. I seriously doubt that was true because I was personally with him one time when he was denied entry into Francifol because of his sneakers, baseball cap and earrings (both ears). How did I know, because the door guy spoke english and told him he can't come in with those earrings on and he caused a big scene in front of everybody saying "F#@k You, my daughter gave me these earrings, they cost more than your blah, blah, blah. So when he said that none of the clubs would let him in, including Tribeca, I knew there was more to it.

Personally, since I know numerous Dominican owners of bars, clubs, stores and other establishments here in NYC and in the DR, I will give them the benefit of the doubt until I know both sides of the story. Even though I am a Black American I will not jump on the Loft-Bigot and DR-Racists Bandwagon, that would be a slap in the face to my friends overthere and overhere. Also, the actions of a Bouncer is not necessarily the beliefs or practice of the owner. Like a crooked cop does not represent the entire force.

 

[laurapasinifan]

hey richard...I went to Tribeca once and they wouldnt let me in . I was in a white blazer with black dress pants and my BEST shoes.......

because i had an earring!

I had to take it out to get in.....

and you know in the DR they basically do what they want if they have money.....who you going to call the police??? ha ha..the owner has more clout than you with the police!!!!!!!

bob

 

[AZB]

Ricardo was once denied entrance to francifol because he was badly dressed then he went back to his hotel, changed his clothes to a more fitting taste and was let in with a welcoming smile. Ricardo is a african american who frequents santiago often.
So I am sure there was more to Loft's incident then what we are told. The guy could have been poorly dressed or was accompanied by a chopa. Who knows. Now with this poor economy, clubs are dying to let in anyone who is willing to spend money, providing they fit the image of the establishment (meaning dressed well and with a decent company).

By the way, "night club" means a whore house in DR. So lets call it a dance club.
AZB

 

[NALs]

So, with this in mind, What discriminatory pratices are going on at the Loft? -What really happened there on July 22nd?

:ermm:

There is one discriminatory practice that is widespread in nightclubs not only in Santo Domingo, but nationwide and that is the exclusion of lower class people from those places. But, the vast majority of "clubs and nightclubs" in the DR are oriented to the lower classes anyway, so this minority of exclusive clubs excluding their entrance should not be much of a big deal.

Also, looks are important in terms of beauty and you will not be allowed inside many of these clubs if you look ugly, unless you know someone important in the club and they decide to allow you in.

As for the other allegation of skin color based racism (let's face it, in those clubs there are plenty of non-white people who get in), maybe it happen or maybe it did not.

But, in case no one noticed, AZB (who is not white, lives in Santiago, AND apparently manages to get into relatively exclusive clubs) made the best statement on this thread so far.

Here is his first response:

Here is my take on the issue:
Generally if the person is decently dressed and is accompanied by other presentable people, they will not have any trouble getting into any respectable establishment, regardless of their skin color. The owners of the establishment want to maintian their image in the social circle. Generally with the gringos (white or black) is that they are baldly dressed (messed up hair, cheap clothing, tatooes etc), the african american men usually have ear rings and gangster atire. But both the blacks and white gringos have one thing in common, they are almost always in a company of the cheap barrio slut. I won't be surprised if the embassy staff was declined entrance because his girlfriend didn't fit into the crowd. These embassy staff are not your regular beverly hill crowd. They can get down and dirty just like any other visiting gringo or expat.
AZB

Here is his latest response (btw, Ricardo is Black):

Ricardo was once denied entrance to francifol because he was badly dressed then he went back to his hotel, changed his clothes to a more fitting taste and was let in with a welcoming smile. Ricardo is a african american who frequents santiago often.
So I am sure there was more to Loft's incident then what we are told. The guy could have been poorly dressed or was accompanied by a chopa. Who knows. Now with this poor economy, clubs are dying to let in anyone who is willing to spend money, providing they fit the image of the establishment (meaning dressed well and with a decent company).

By the way, "night club" means a whore house in DR. So lets call it a dance club.
AZB

-NALs

 

[NALs]

Sholly, have you and Nal's been hanging out?

What?!

Is it not clear where I stand in this argument? If not, read my last post above.

-NALs :ermm:

 

[Chris]

I don't believe it .. this stuff is on the Forbes wire .. must be a very slow news day. U.S. Alleges Racism at Dominican Club - Forbes.com

 

[Funnyyale26]

LMAO!!! blowing out of proportion,...I don't know why but I am finding it funny for some reason.

 

[NALs]

I don't believe it .. this stuff is on the Forbes wire .. must be a very slow news day. U.S. Alleges Racism at Dominican Club - Forbes.com

And the real reason for why the Black individual was not allowed into the club:

Moser said the doorman told the woman she could not come in because she was wearing her hair in braided corn rows.

See, this is a hair-do problem, not a racial problem!

In the DR, hair-do's are not indicative of any race or ethnicity. There are simply a vast array of hair-do's practiced in the DR and some are seen as acceptable while others are not.

Nothing racial about that.

In the U.S., yes that would probably be a race based reaction because braided corn hair style is considered a "black hair style", but in the DR it's simply one of a large array of potential hair styles and it falls in the unacceptable types. The main reason such hair style is considered unacceptable is because its an imported hair style, not a locally developed one. It was imported by some Dominican expatriates as they return to the DR from the US, where some of them acquired some African-American cultural traits which are form the most part American and foreign to the DR.

Again, hair styles don't identifies a particular race or ethnicity in the DR.

This is just a cultural misunderstanding which is giving the DR a bad reputation. It seems to be in style lately to denigrate the DR in the eyes of the international community into something that it definitely is not.

-NALs

 

[M.A.R.]

jejejej corn rows?? is discrimination against Regeton styles. Regetoneros are tigueres, looked down upon. :ermm:

 

[Chris]

LOL ... this is getting funnier by the minute. Cannot go in the club because you have cornrows is funny enough, but this business about 'imported' hairstyles is even funnier. I've never heard of such a thing!

It is a hairstyle that is popular among black women and white women who visit the Caribbean and want to look a little uhm.... Caribbean. I love it! Well done, it is a work of art! (And dare I say it .. popular amongst Haitian women ... Oh my, that poor doorman thought he was dealing with a Haitian woman I'm sure).

The club also says that they fired the employee that made this decision.

 

[laurapasinifan]

I wonder if a lot of prostitutes wear their hair in braids?...if so then the door man might have thought that other clients might think she was a hooker!

I know in the club i go to here in america......and it is pretty relaxed, that they will not allow men towear their hats back wards or off to the side.

And since i know many of the bouncers, the reason is that it keeps the gang banger types out of the club..... they just dont go, because they cant look the way they want...and the club has less fights with that segment of the nightlife missing

bob

 

[Lambada]

Well as a honkette with dark curly hair I'd better be supra careful where I go in future..............:laugh:

 

[NALs]

LOL ... this is getting funnier by the minute. Cannot go in the club because you have cornrows is funny enough, but this business about 'imported' hairstyles is even funnier. I've never heard of such a thing!

Laugh all you want, that's what it is. Similarly, the afro was also an imported hair style, though its not so much in style anymore.

I guess that's also funny. :ermm:

It is a hairstyle that is popular among black women and white women who visit the Caribbean and want to look a little uhm.... Caribbean.

Many tourists do go to the Caribbean and buy souvenirs that are made in... China too. Shhh, it's a secret. Many of them actually think the straw hats they buy at the market by the beach was actually made in the DR, never mind the fact that many of merchandise on sale was actually imported. :cheeky:

-NALs

 

[Lambada]

El Nacional is saying it was because of hair AND clothing.
El Nacional, la voz de todos

 

[Robert]

Man o man, how funny is this! All this BS over corn rows.

Maybe AZB should get a job as a US Embassy liaison officer

 

[SKY]

How do you know this? - Sky, you are a well respected member of the DR1 community and for you to make a statement like this baffles me. Can you please explain?

.

If you have ever had the misfortune to have to get something from the US Embassy, or know someone that did you would well understand my post.

If you did not, maybe someone that did can tell me I am wrong.

 

[laurapasinifan]

ok only TWO things will come of all this fuss

1) the ACTING head of the US Embassy got to see his name in the news

2) all the people at the US Embassy that DONT LOOK LIKE HO'S cant get into the hip club "The Loft" anymore


bob

 

[AZB]

Lets face it, who wears corn rows in DR? The white tourists and beach hookers. This is typical cuero (hooker) fashion in DR. The white women think its caribbean style, yet its not a dominican style. Only the tigres on pasolas from the worst barrios wear cornrow and hookers in the north coast. So please, stop saying its dominican fashion.
AZB

 

[DAKRA]

Alright Already!

I was posting earlier today and had to go out on business so I missed a lot of discussion, but now I am back. All I can say is Wow! - Robert, do you see what you started?

Mr. Lu I am in no way mad at you, you are entitled to your opinions. I think it best for us to agree to disagree. I work full-time in the area of (USA) Equal Opportunity, in fact my title is "Ass't Director of Equal Opportunity" and yes, for a Large U.S. Gov't Agency (Local Office)..... So please understand where I come from and my thoughts on this issue.

Not too sure if many of you remember a post that was going on about a month ago on an unrelated topic..... you may remember me adding the verbage of "Can't we all just get along......."

By the way Robert, thanks for letting this thread run it course. It is so nice to see all of the truly impressive comments that DR1 members have added and contributed. Each member's stock just went up in my book. Again, very impressive all. - --