By the time you read this post, I may be already on my way to Harlem to have lunch with over 30 bloggers of colors in this gorgeous Sunday morning. After the whole Clinton thing (about which I will be posting my final thoughts tonight), Donald Agarrat of Preboot decided it was time to revive the Brown Bloggers meetup Nichelle and I used to put together almost 2 years ago.

And so with a good excuse in hand, la negra had her hair and nails done. La negra, after all, has to look her best because, deep down inside la negra enjoys being a very shallow and superficial person.

Well, so there I am at the nail salon, having survived an eyebrow wax that saved me from looking like Ugly Betty

... and, OMFG, have you seen the show? It totally rocks and I am so writing a review next ... Anyhow ... where was I? Oh ... right ...

So I am sitting there at the pedi chair, enjoying a lovely massage when I hear this woman SCREAMING to the owner (one of two actually, but she was alone yesterday night). This woman was like a vortex of bitchitude because she was charged $11 dollars for an mani and HOW DARE you charge me here more than in other places.

What. The. Fuck.

My jaw dropped.

I mean it when I say that I LOVE being a princess and a diva because I love being a girl. Not a woman but a girlie girl. Seriously. I ran away from it for many, many years. Because, you know, feminists can't be girlie girls if they are going to be taken seriously. Feministas have it rougher because if you are a Puerto Rican black woman. You know, because girlieness on a negra is not read as being a girl but as being a whore. So now that I am entering la segunda edad, I've re-embraced my feminine and girlie side with gusto.

Because I'm worth it (tm).

Not even at the height of my divaness would I have pulled shit like this woman was pulling. Especially at this nail salon. Maybe at Bliss. Maybe at Haven Spa but never, ever in that tone of voice. Ever!

I mean, shit, it's a privilege to be able to get pampered at any level. If you are paying anything less than $100/service, I have four words for you : SHUT THE FUCK UP.

Unless you are physically harmed, you have no right to complain. None whatsoever. This is a privilege you are paying for and to bitch for an $11 manicure is outrageous.

Let's consider the $11 manicure for a moment. It takes more than one hour to serve you and, in NYC, the questionable average for minum wage is $7. Do you know what that means? It means the woman who's working on you is doing it for next to nothing, with no medical insurance and no health benefits.

And when I say that my nail salon was a vortex of bitchitude, I mean it in the most EEOC term of the word. There was a rainbow coalition of bitches there last night. One was a white "ethnic looking" woman (read, she looked Jewish). The other one was a dark skinned latina --and the only reason why I am assuming she was a latina was because I heard her speak in what sounded like the Televisa accent that is so mimicked by the DRaps and PRaps that litter the "upper classes" of the Caribbean.

So the white woman didn't like the pricing. The DRap or PRap almost had a nervous breakdown because one of her nails got filed too short.

Excuse me?

Is that the reason why you're throwing a tantrum?

I was there simmering in my seat and I really, REALLY wanted to say something. But y'all know that when I open my mouth, maelstorms happen.

So I put on my Winnie The Pooh hat :

Think.

Think.

Think.

All I could think of is, even though I enjoy as much as the diva-next-door the privilege of going Bliss and Haven, Chameleon Nail Salon has been a godsend. Their service is awesome.

The owners are into Feng Sui and their decoration and color schemes show it. They try to use as many natural products as they can. They're actually quite mellow people who talk about the potential health risks of fake nails. Which is why this is one of the most chemical-free nail salons you can go to in NYC.

Best deal? It's right around the corner from where I live.

I really love it that it's there. I also love the fact that for their prices, their service is actually comparable to what I have gotten over at Haven --because, let's face it, service at Bliss Spa sucks.

And so, that's exactly what I said. I turn to my manicurist, who doesn't speak English, and I say,

"You know, I've gotten $250 mani/pedis at places like Bliss and I have to say that I'd rather come here and get it with you. You're service is sOoOoOo much better. Granted, I still have to go to Haven to get my chocolate scrub, but that's different. Your service here, for your prices totally rock".

The owner, along with the other manicurists who understood English, stopped on their tracks, turned around and gave a collective "Thank you" with a wink and a smile.

The "white" woman was done and left in a huff. The DRap / PRap was so irritated and mortified by what I had said, she hunkered down, focused on her nails, and said nothing for the rest of the evening.

You know what bothers me the most? How much do you bet these two twentysomething "ethnic" bitches would be the first ones to call themselves 'feminists'?

Which is why all throughout the night I kept thinking of BrownFemiPower and the discussion started by this post of hers In Defense of White Womanhood.

With the "white" woman, it wasn't money she was waging as a privilege. It was the color of her skin. She used it to demean the salon owner and her workers. In the case of the DRap / PRap, it was the complete opposite. It wasn't the color of her skin what she could use to offend these women. It was her accent (the "offending" manicurist was latina, btw), her poise and her money.

Exploitation, prejudice and racism are not so black and white after all. Especially to the younger generations of ethnic whites and colored Americans who have parents who themselves have no clue what it was to live under Jim Crow laws.

Which is why this conversation, along the discussion around Clinton fiasco, are key to understanding the difference between a liberal and a progressive bloggers --or like Lorraine says, the importance of being A radical not just a democrat.

Discuss.