Shame on Reina Sofía National Museum

I went to Centro de Arte Reina Sofía National Museum (Madrid, Spain) in the
afternoon of October 25, and I had the worst experience there.



My family and I were watching Picasso's Guernica. The piece is substantially
big, and there is a bar, about a foot-high or so, functioning as a border.
There were a lot of people watching the piece. I was about five inches
behind the bar, and suddenly, a female security officer touched me and
instructed me to move back even more. I was a bit surprised because I was
not that close to the bar. I did move back, and observed the security
officer if she does the same for other visitors who move close to the bar.
There was one group of people who moved close, but she did not do anything.
I gestured her, who was still watching me, to tell them to move back, and
she did. However, there were still many more people who moved very close to
the bar, or even there was a man whose toe was sticking out from the border.
The whole time, she was watching us instead. Again, I gestured (without any
voice) her to tell them to move back as well, but she gestured me to be
quiet instead. The museum was far from silent, with many visitors talking to
each other. I thought her gesture was completely uncalled for. While she was
too busy treating us, the only Asian visitors in front of Guernica at that
time, as if we were some kind of troublemakers, some visitors took photos
using cell phone, and they went unnoticed. I was angered by her rudeness,
and later, I did file a formal complaint. I wonder if I get any response,
though. The museum attracts visitors form all over the world, and the fact
that they let a security officer, who does not know how to treat people
equally, work in front of one the most famous art works is a shame. I guess
there is no such thing as sensitivity training for those security people. My
family and I have visited many museums in Europe, such as Prado, Louvre and
so on. We have never been treated in this manner before.



Yoshiko Landry

On Tue, 4 Nov 2003 13:28:21 -0600, "Yoshiko" wrote:

I went to Centro de Arte Reina Sofía National Museum (Madrid, Spain) in the
afternoon of October 25, and I had the worst experience there.



My family and I were watching Picasso's Guernica. The piece is substantially
big, and there is a bar, about a foot-high or so, functioning as a border.
There were a lot of people watching the piece. I was about five inches
behind the bar, and suddenly, a female security officer touched me and
instructed me to move back even more. I was a bit surprised because I was
not that close to the bar. I did move back, and observed the security
officer if she does the same for other visitors who move close to the bar.
There was one group of people who moved close, but she did not do anything.
I gestured her, who was still watching me, to tell them to move back, and
she did. However, there were still many more people who moved very close to
the bar, or even there was a man whose toe was sticking out from the border.
The whole time, she was watching us instead. Again, I gestured (without any
voice) her to tell them to move back as well, but she gestured me to be
quiet instead. The museum was far from silent, with many visitors talking to
each other. I thought her gesture was completely uncalled for. While she was
too busy treating us, the only Asian visitors in front of Guernica at that
time, as if we were some kind of troublemakers, some visitors took photos
using cell phone, and they went unnoticed. I was angered by her rudeness,
and later, I did file a formal complaint. I wonder if I get any response,
though. The museum attracts visitors form all over the world, and the fact
that they let a security officer, who does not know how to treat people
equally, work in front of one the most famous art works is a shame. I guess
there is no such thing as sensitivity training for those security people. My
family and I have visited many museums in Europe, such as Prado, Louvre and
so on. We have never been treated in this manner before.



Yoshiko Landry


FIRST:
Sorry, but you seem to me to be an arsehole.
YOU were asked to move back. No problem.
After that YOU insulted the security officer by very very rudely
pointing out that she wasn't doing HER JOB the way YOU think she
should be doing it. WRONG, WRONG, WRONG.
WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE.
You were in a foriegn country so you abide by their rules, and if
someone is doing something that you don't understand ... shut up and
mind your own business.
If you don't agree with what they are doing ... WHO CARES .. who says
everybody has to be treated the same? Is that written on the back of
the museum ticket? No, of course not. YOU think everybody should be
treated equally ... get real buster, Life ain't like that.
DON'T try to impose your view of fairness on other cultures.

SECOND:
You actually spent time on your holiday to complain about an incident
which you created yourself?
Arogant medling Arsehole. Get a life, enjot your holiday, relax.

THIRD:
You have made a posting unfairly insulting a museum in Spain.
HOW DARE YOU.
This proves to me that you are an arsehole.

Apologise NOW.


plonk.

On Tue, 04 Nov 2003 23:27:20 GMT, (Me....) wrote:

FIRST:
Sorry, but you seem to me to be an arsehole.
YOU were asked to move back. No problem.
After that YOU insulted the security officer by very very rudely
pointing out that she wasn't doing HER JOB the way YOU think she
should be doing it. WRONG, WRONG, WRONG.
WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE.
You were in a foriegn country so you abide by their rules, and if
someone is doing something that you don't understand ... shut up and
mind your own business.
If you don't agree with what they are doing ... WHO CARES .. who says
everybody has to be treated the same? Is that written on the back of
the museum ticket? No, of course not. YOU think everybody should be
treated equally ... get real buster, Life ain't like that.
DON'T try to impose your view of fairness on other cultures.

SECOND:
You actually spent time on your holiday to complain about an incident
which you created yourself?
Arogant medling Arsehole. Get a life, enjot your holiday, relax.

THIRD:
You have made a posting unfairly insulting a museum in Spain.
HOW DARE YOU.
This proves to me that you are an arsehole.

Apologise NOW.


plonk.


I agree 100%,,btw,you sound like some "whimpering" american.

"Me...." wrote in message
...
FIRST:
Sorry, but you seem to me to be an arsehole.

What is arsehole, you asshole?

YOU were asked to move back. No problem.

No, I did not have any problem with that.

After that YOU insulted the security officer by very very rudely
pointing out that she wasn't doing HER JOB the way YOU think she
should be doing it. WRONG, WRONG, WRONG.
WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE.

Who the hell did she think she was?

You were in a foriegn country so you abide by their rules, and if
someone is doing something that you don't understand ... shut up and
mind your own business.

I did not know that racism is commonly accepted behavior in Madrid.

If you don't agree with what they are doing ... WHO CARES .. who says
everybody has to be treated the same? Is that written on the back of
the museum ticket? No, of course not. YOU think everybody should be
treated equally ... get real buster, Life ain't like that.
DON'T try to impose your view of fairness on other cultures.

Wow, you are actually saying that racism is OK.
No, no museum ticket says that people are treated the same way, but a thing
like this has never happened to me in other museums, even in Prado.


SECOND:
You actually spent time on your holiday to complain about an incident
which you created yourself?
Arogant medling Arsehole. Get a life, enjot your holiday, relax.

I did not create the incident. The security guard did. She practically
ruined my visit to the museum.


THIRD:
You have made a posting unfairly insulting a museum in Spain.
HOW DARE YOU.
This proves to me that you are an arsehole.

Apologise NOW.

Why should I? It is that security guard who owes me an apology.
She also owes apology to the museum for doing her job poorly.

plonk.

"Yoshiko" wrote in message
...

"Me...." wrote in message
...
FIRST:
Sorry, but you seem to me to be an arsehole.

What is arsehole, you asshole?

YOU were asked to move back. No problem.

No, I did not have any problem with that.

After that YOU insulted the security officer by very very rudely
pointing out that she wasn't doing HER JOB the way YOU think she
should be doing it. WRONG, WRONG, WRONG.
WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE.

Who the hell did she think she was?

You were in a foriegn country so you abide by their rules, and if
someone is doing something that you don't understand ... shut up and
mind your own business.

I did not know that racism is commonly accepted behavior in Madrid.

If you don't agree with what they are doing ... WHO CARES .. who says
everybody has to be treated the same? Is that written on the back of
the museum ticket? No, of course not. YOU think everybody should be
treated equally ... get real buster, Life ain't like that.
DON'T try to impose your view of fairness on other cultures.

Wow, you are actually saying that racism is OK.
No, no museum ticket says that people are treated the same way, but a
thing
like this has never happened to me in other museums, even in Prado.


SECOND:
You actually spent time on your holiday to complain about an incident
which you created yourself?
Arogant medling Arsehole. Get a life, enjot your holiday, relax.

I did not create the incident. The security guard did. She practically
ruined my visit to the museum.


THIRD:
You have made a posting unfairly insulting a museum in Spain.
HOW DARE YOU.
This proves to me that you are an arsehole.

Apologise NOW.

Why should I? It is that security guard who owes me an apology.
She also owes apology to the museum for doing her job poorly.

plonk.

I'm sorry to hear about your experiences, but it may be just possible that
the guard has had rather nasty experiences from other Oriental visitors, and
unfortunately in your case you were at the receiving end of her OTT
behaviour.
I have heard from people of ethnic minorities in UK, esp young men, who seem
to get unusually close attention from store detectives, even to the point of
being followed all around the store. It must be most disconcerting when you
are simply doing your shopping, but often the best course of action is to
take your customs elsewhere.

Alec

"Yoshiko" wrote in message
...
I went to Centro de Arte Reina Sofía National Museum (Madrid, Spain) in
the
afternoon of October 25, and I had the worst experience there.



My family and I were watching Picasso's Guernica. The piece is
substantially
big, and there is a bar, about a foot-high or so, functioning as a border.
There were a lot of people watching the piece. I was about five inches
behind the bar, and suddenly, a female security officer touched me and
instructed me to move back even more.

Out of curiosity, you mentioned that you were there with your family. By
"family," I presume you mean children. How old were they? Were they with
or near you when the guard asked you to step back? I could certainly
understand a guard being nervous about young children near being near the
piece if, in fact, that's what happened.

My wife (who is Asian) and I were at the Reina Sofia a few years, viewed the
Guernica, closely, and were not bothered by anyone.



I was a bit surprised because I was
not that close to the bar. I did move back, and observed the security
officer if she does the same for other visitors who move close to the bar.
There was one group of people who moved close, but she did not do
anything.
I gestured her, who was still watching me, to tell them to move back, and
she did. However, there were still many more people who moved very close
to
the bar, or even there was a man whose toe was sticking out from the
border.
The whole time, she was watching us instead. Again, I gestured (without
any
voice) her to tell them to move back as well, but she gestured me to be
quiet instead. The museum was far from silent, with many visitors talking
to
each other. I thought her gesture was completely uncalled for. While she
was
too busy treating us, the only Asian visitors in front of Guernica at that
time, as if we were some kind of troublemakers, some visitors took photos
using cell phone, and they went unnoticed. I was angered by her rudeness,
and later, I did file a formal complaint. I wonder if I get any response,
though. The museum attracts visitors form all over the world, and the fact
that they let a security officer, who does not know how to treat people
equally, work in front of one the most famous art works is a shame. I
guess
there is no such thing as sensitivity training for those security people.
My
family and I have visited many museums in Europe, such as Prado, Louvre
and
so on. We have never been treated in this manner before.



Yoshiko Landry

"PTRAVEL" wrote in message
...

"Yoshiko" wrote in message
...
I went to Centro de Arte Reina Sofía National Museum (Madrid, Spain) in
the
afternoon of October 25, and I had the worst experience there.



My family and I were watching Picasso's Guernica. The piece is
substantially
big, and there is a bar, about a foot-high or so, functioning as a
border.
There were a lot of people watching the piece. I was about five inches
behind the bar, and suddenly, a female security officer touched me and
instructed me to move back even more.

Out of curiosity, you mentioned that you were there with your family. By
"family," I presume you mean children. How old were they? Were they with
or near you when the guard asked you to step back? I could certainly
understand a guard being nervous about young children near being near the
piece if, in fact, that's what happened.

"My family" means my older sister and my parents, both senior citizens.

My wife (who is Asian) and I were at the Reina Sofia a few years, viewed
the
Guernica, closely, and were not bothered by anyone.

Actually, there were two guards standing next to Guernica. The female one
who bothered me, and a male security guard. The male security guard was not
telling anybody to step back at all. He was just standing there, doing
nothing. I believe it was that woman who personally had problem with Asian.
I do not believe that the whole museum is against Asian.

"Yoshiko" wrote in message
...

"PTRAVEL" wrote in message
...

"Yoshiko" wrote in message
...
I went to Centro de Arte Reina Sofía National Museum (Madrid, Spain)
in
the
afternoon of October 25, and I had the worst experience there.



My family and I were watching Picasso's Guernica. The piece is
substantially
big, and there is a bar, about a foot-high or so, functioning as a
border.
There were a lot of people watching the piece. I was about five inches
behind the bar, and suddenly, a female security officer touched me and
instructed me to move back even more.

Out of curiosity, you mentioned that you were there with your family.
By
"family," I presume you mean children. How old were they? Were they
with
or near you when the guard asked you to step back? I could certainly
understand a guard being nervous about young children near being near
the
piece if, in fact, that's what happened.

"My family" means my older sister and my parents, both senior citizens.

Ah, I see. In that case, I cannot account for what happened to you. I'm
sorry you had that experience.


My wife (who is Asian) and I were at the Reina Sofia a few years, viewed
the
Guernica, closely, and were not bothered by anyone.

Actually, there were two guards standing next to Guernica. The female one
who bothered me, and a male security guard. The male security guard was
not
telling anybody to step back at all. He was just standing there, doing
nothing. I believe it was that woman who personally had problem with
Asian.
I do not believe that the whole museum is against Asian.

You very well may have come up against a bigot. Fortunately, my wife has
not found anti-Asian prejudice common in Europe.

You very well may have come up against a bigot.

Maybe, but maybe not.

Sometimes things just happen. I work (normally retired) in a very crowded
garden conservatory over theChristmas holidays. People just love to touch the
orchids. We'd like them not to - and I'll ask them not to - when I can. But
sometimes I'm answering questions and don't notice someone else touching. Or
I'm distracted - or I'm on the other side of the room - I'm not always
consistent I'm trying to say. I hope the person that i ask not to touch doesn't
take it personally. Maybe someone will turn to me and say, "That other person
just touched...why didn't you stop her? Don;t you like my looks"? It just
happens sometimes.

Maybe the guard would rather not have said something but her boss just walked
in the room. It's always hard to say. It may not have been personal at all.

On Tue, 4 Nov 2003 13:28:21 -0600, "Yoshiko" wrote:

I went to Centro de Arte Reina Sofía National Museum (Madrid, Spain) in the
afternoon of October 25, and I had the worst experience there.

It is a terrible museum, I agree -- a disgrace. I think it must
still be run by Franco's best fascist friends. What a contrast to
the wonderful Prado right up the street -- warm, friendly, with
excellent viewing positions and lighting.


Mason Barge

"If this is coffee, please bring me some tea. If this is tea, please bring me some coffee."
-- Abraham Lincoln