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So...Paula Deen...
I've been following this story and I found out a few interesting points:
1. She used the N-word decades ago in a private legal deposition (not on the air or in front of the cameras).
2. She was being deposed as a bank teller (one of her previous jobs BEFORE making it big as a food star) in which she was retelling her experience while being robbed at work and had a gun held to her head in the course of the robbery.
I do not advocate or condone this sort of language. I want to ask here, are the media and her sponsors overreacting?
Is it fair to hold someone accountable for their words from years ago when they were under stress and fear?
Aren't we all guilty of bad language choices at times (maybe not the N-word), but other things that are just as hurtful?
And, why do sponsors drop a woman for a decades-old mistake involving a private legal matter in which she was a victim of a crime, when current stars are making big errors and not being dropped (Tiger Woods, etc.)?
Is this a Martha Stewart issue? Had Paula Deen been male, would this have occurred?
Re: So...Paula Deen...
Her "dream plantation wedding" to throw for her brother, involving black men in slave-era serving roles, wasn't "decades ago." It was 2007.
So, I'm going to go with "not overreacting" for $100, Alex.
I don't have a fully formed opinion on this yet because I have been studiously avoiding articles regarding it.
I do want to discuss the gender issues you brought up though. No, I don't think it would have been any different had she been a man. What would make you think that?
I'm confused as to why you mentioned Tiger Woods as being someone who didn't lose endorsement deals. I'm not quite sure it's even comparable seeing as the situations are vastly different, but he DID lose endorsements. A lot of them. There were some sponsors that stuck by him (Nike), but many did not. That includes biggies such as General Motors and Gatorade. He lost out big time because of his personal behavior.
A scenario that I think would be more applicable here is the Don Imus situation. On air he referred to the Rutgers Woman's Basketball team as being made up of, "hadcore hos," and "nappy headed hos." He was promptly fired and eviscerated in the media. He apologized, just like Paula, but his behavior was still inexcusable.
I think one of the main issues with Paula Deen is her, "I is what I is" attitude. What does that even mean? She really thinks it was no big deal that she said what she said. She reminds me of Kwame Kilpatrick, the disgraced mayor of Detroit. She doesn't show any genuine understanding of her error - she just wants to be a victim.
Gross. My opinion is slowly becoming more fully formed. She is a grade A douche.
I honestly haven't read articles about it, but this is disturbing.
Her PR firm should be fired. Her handling of the aftermath has been atrocious.
Yes but that always gets glossed over when she is being made into the victim.
I didn't know this either. Yuck. Major yuck.
This is the heart of the issue. She and her brother were sued by former employees for the above mentioned behavior.
Oh and let's not forget about the recent video where she paraded out one of her "black friends" and commented that he was as black as the board that was behind her. She also yelled to him, "Come over here (insert name here because I forgot his name). We can't see you over there in the dark (because of his skin color)". The fact that she actually doesn't see anything wrong with the things she says is more of a problem to me than what she actually said. I can only imagine what must be going on at her place of business if she had to give a deposition. I'm sure the employee suing probably has tons more incidents to report about her and her brother. So let's not pretend this is an isolated instance of her using the word over 20 years ago. I don't believe it for one moment. BTW, sponsors have a right to fire anyone they want if they feel it's not good for their brand or the image they are trying to portray.
I believe the bank robbery was one of the examples of a time she gave that she used it. She said she might have used it again more recently such as in telling jokes because (I'm paraphrasing here) she "can't determine what is going to offend somebody". Um, really?! The difference with Tiger Woods is that he does something exceptionl that few other people can or will ever achieve. She is selling a lifestyle and it's a hard sell for the networks to sell the Selma, Alabama circa 1963 lifestyle to their consumers. I think it has zero to do with gender.
It also came down to the cavalier way she admitted using it.I lived in the south in the 1980s (and still do) and there is no way I would have used that word or tolerated my friends using that word. Zero excuses.
I'm not really sure where I stand as far as Paula Deen is concerned. Here is my beef: racial slurs of any kind are degrading to that particular race...especially when they're made by a person who is not of that race. Unfortunately the majority of us do (to some extent) have racist/prejudiced thoughts and tendencies, whether it's on purpose or not...especially if you were raised in a household/family that has racist ideals. And it's not only white people, either. When people started to come back to New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina, the mayor, Ray Nagin (who is black), made a comment at a rally about how he wanted to make the city into a chocolate city, meaning that he wanted it to be mainly populated by black people. As far as I'm concerned his comment was very insulting to anyone who is not black.
Once I was in the room with one of my elder black male patients who had a terminal illness (and would be passing away within a few weeks...and who was obviously still in denial). He thought having oxygen at home would help him get better, but his insurance company wouldn't pay for it. He made the comment in front of me to his wife that "maybe God will send some rich white man into my life and pay for the oxygen." I remember thinking, "WTF? Do you seriously think all white people are rich or something? Why does it have to be a white man?"
The example that you provided of your patient is not necessarily a racist comment- stereotypical maybe but not racist. I would need to see/hear Nagin's remarks in context to comment.
Paula Deen's comments regarding black men in slave era serving roles for a plantation style wedding are dehumanizing and disenfranchising. I'm sure that you are fully aware of the inhumane treatment of slaves that lived on plantations. Wishing to solicit money from a wealthy white man verses a nostalgic moment about the brutal treatment of a group of people..I'm sorry but the two examples that you provided do not compare at all.
Um, she made her black employees use a different entrance than her white employees. In this decade.
No, that's not something that "we all do."
Wow, I am speechless.
RedheadBaker,
Who cares! How Paula Dean wishes to throw a wedding for her brother is none of OUR business. So please go ahead and overreact. I just hope that someone is there to meddle in your business when you slip up with a racial slur, off color joke or the likes.Then we can all overreact to your goofs!
Do not form your opinions on third party knowledge. Base your opinion on facts! I am not saying that the fact about the wedding party are incorrect. What I am saying is that we do not know her motivations.
Really!
I applaud Paula for sticking to her guns. She at least told the truth regarding the slur. It is interesting that all of this comes about after such a long time and after she has become successful. I believe that people with a money agenda want to make more of this than it really is.
Um, yeah I don't "slip up with racial slurs" and I seriously doubt RHB does either. Normal not-racist people don't do that.
Huh? How did she go about "sticking to her guns"? And what do you mean this all comes after such a long time? The one slur she mentioned was a long time ago...her current lawsuit and her brother's wedding were not. I think you are misinformed.
How is it not applicable to the Don Imus scandal? They actually have a lot in common.
Also, I love how you addressed other businesses that dropped her as if someone from one of them might be reading this post. LOL.
Claims from disgruntled ex employees are filed all the time. So when I heard of the inital complaint, I didn't make any assumptions. Employers receive complaints without merit on a regular basis.
So I read the complaint, and it was an interesting read, but still a long shot from evidence that Paula Deen and her brother were actually racist. So then I read Paula's deposition.
In my opinion, Paula does not know that she is racist. She doesn't give any indication that she has any realization that her words and behavior are not ok.
We've all heard "I'm not racist because I have a black friend" excuse. And that fails because you don't have to hate a person to feel superior to them. Paula may have been nice to black acquaintances or employees in the past. She has a clue that her racist behavior as a child was wrong (she wrote in her book). But her own words make it clear to me not only she is racist, but she doesn't realize or understand racism.
And I keep seeing her defenders claim that all of us are racist or can make raqcits remarks sometimes. Um, no. Racist slurs are just not slips. And if that has to be explained to you, then you might be a racist!
DMoney will be a kickass big sister
Bolded. Interesting take on this situation. It makes sense.
I agree with the "slurs" point too, also bolded. If it comes out of your mouth, it's part of your brain, and if it's part of your brain it is part of the worldview you adhere to.
Nastiness isn't just an accident - it comes from some place within us.
I do have a question about the wedding, though.
If a person were trying to recreate a historically accurate portrayal of an event, or type of event, like a wedding celebration in the Deep South during a certain era, is it ethically wrong to rely on all aspects of that era to complete the details and picture of the times if it means paying people to "dress in character" by being a plantation's household staff?
At what point does a person's artistic license and desire to adhere to history, go from an honest desire to recreate something as it truly was to being immoral?
While none of us can pretend to know what Paula Deen was thinking, I think it depends on what they are trying to recreate and why they want to recreate it. The why is huge in my book. Paula cared not for teaching about the evils of slavery - it was for her and her guest's entertainment. Why would someone who is not racist want to have black people serving them and pretending to be slaves? A normal person would be disgusted by such a display.
I would feel the same if someone wanted to have a Japanese Internment camp party, or an Auschwitz party. When I went to the Holocaust Museum I had to hold myself in check so I wouldn't sob through the whole thing.
I really question someone's morality, hell, their humanity, when they would like to have a party and have fun all the while pretending slavery is alive and well.
Slavery is one of the most embarrassing and horrifying aspects of this nation's history. To want to recreate that to add to the awesomeness of your party - not to teach people lessons on what a horror slavery was - is disgusting.
I have no sympathy for Paula. She dug her own hole.
My exclusion of additional names is due to my lack of knowledge of every company that has dropped her. The ones that I know of; Wal-Mart, Target, etc. I will start looking for other alternatives.