I was at the apple store yesterday waiting in a long line to get a case for my Ipad. The line was made up of 85 percent Asian customers, all with Ipad cases in their hands. The line was moving slowly because many of them would buy two cases then cut back in line. I complained several times to Apple employees to no avail. The line cutting continued. And as I stood there, I couldn't help but notice the operation going on. Most of the Asian customers would buy two cases, hand them to someone who would then slip them in a bag, then head back to the line for more. How many Ipad cases does one person need? It was clear to me they weren't buying for themselves.

Long story short -- when I got to the front of the line, the Ipad cases were sold out. I didn't get one. So thanks Grace Meng. It's nice to know you work to keep the black market operating.

i dont see the big deal here. i think every one of my asian friends has at least once in their relationship time with me talked about doing something illegal or black market-related, and it usually relates to doing EXACTLY what apple is trying to prevent. so they're using the race card and trying to sue apple for doing what is apple suspects them of doing.

it doesn't stop here. my friends talk about the papers that were forged in chinatown for their family members, the mortgages they secured (mortgage company, lawyers, brokers, all asian and all working together).

and let's not talk about all those buildings mysteriously catching fire in chinatown...arson my ass.

Damn it. I hate when people tell stories that I want to believe, but add the words "true story" when telling them. Because experience has taught me that the odds of a story actually being true dropped greatly when the storyteller says that.

It's like this woman I used to know who was one of the most judgmental people I ever met, but one of her most commonly phrases was "I don't judge people."

would you rather i swore on a stack of bibles?

believe me or not. but it's true. i don't care enough to lie.

I was speaking more of the concept in general, and it came to mind because two different people used that phrase on this page right after my having been around someone last night who used it a few times in connection with wild stories from his past.

Swearing on a stack of bibles wouldn't convince me of anyone's truthfulness either. But anyway, Of the two here yours is the more believable story.

Don't they know?

Apple Store employees are snobby to ALL their customers!

well not to everyone: the tall, leggy blond model wannabees and the hot waiflike girls at the Soho store are never ignored. its just the ordinary, plain customers that are neglected, which is not isolated to Apple..its the same at every store in Soho.

it's funny - i was once in the soho store during the height of the 3g frenzy and - true story - heard a salesperson advise a customer to go down to canal street to try to get an unlocked one.

he's probably doing time in some basement in cupertino right now.

Sounds like BS. My Asian friend who happens to be Chinese had no trouble buying an ipad at the Soho store.

My white friend didn't bask in the glow of entitlement while talking to minorities on the internet with a snarky smug cadence but it doesn't mean it never happens.

my white frien... D'OH!

My Arab friend didn't explode while being surrounded by a group of people at Grand Central, but that doesn't mean it never happens.

My drunken Irish friend walks in, lifts her shirt for all of 2 seconds to show her perky titties and walks out with an iPad. True story.

POIDH.

My black friend was able to walk to work without being stopped and frisked today but it doesn't mean it never happens.