Has it gotten to the point that we can't even escape bigotry on a luxury cruise ship sailing the high seas?

The hairdresser was Norwegian. Maybe she just meant she didn't know how to cut afro hair. The Norwegians are generally very nice and polite and tolerant people. I think it's just a misunderstanding.

thisnamecantbetaken, you make an excellent point. It could very well be a misinterpretation or language issue. But the article sort of grabbed me negatively when I read it, and I was already thinking of writing an additional comment, when you beat me to the punch.

The Europeans sometimes say funny things. It reminded me of a European politician, Jytte Hilden I think it was, who once was making a speech and wanted to say "the dot above the i", but in trying to pigeon translate that, she ended up saying "the prick above the eye" (Danish: prikken over i'et). She was pretty embarrassed when it was pointed out to her what a prick was in English and it was all very funny at the time. It still is actually. *LOL*