Ridiculous!!

Contrarian

I am not a big fan of Paula Dean at any time but fire her because of this...really, this is ridiculous, everyone uses racial slurs some times and some use them daily... I grew up hearing the 'n' word as a young Canadian and did not even think it was an offensive word, it was just a word .so she got reported or caught, big fricking deal!!!
I hear whitey and white 'B; and other things that are considered offensive white slurs but it does not really bother me ... I am white as white can be and who the heck cares, in Canada white people are now becoming a minority and we are being punished for being white by our own governments even so to have people lose their mind over this is nuts!!!
Oh and the fact that she was going to hire people to act as slaves for a wedding, big deal, the movie industry does it all the time what the heck is the difference!!!
Some people...if you are offended then you are part of the problem....I would not like to see the world go backwards but heck, this is stupid!

"Everybody" does NOT use racial slurs.

Please explain how, exactly, caucasian Canadians are being "punished"?

You should tread carefully. You sound like you condone racism. I would suggest you take some time and think about how much the colour of a person's skin affects how you feel about them and how you treat them.

Stump_Likker

Prejudice will alway exist. And to everyone who says "I've never slurred anyone?" Bull.

id like to think that 1000 years in the future when we are all beige skin, atheist cyborgs there will be no more prejudice.

Then cyborgs will find another reason to hate other cyborgs.

Sherbog

I am a 62 year old woman probably about Paula's age. I am totally offended by her behavior and the way in which she treated others. I am not sure color has anything to do with it. She treated others in a disgusting way.

What truly disgusts me is those that stand by and do nothing when they see others being treated so badly.

Paula Dean and her fried foods are history. Paula Dean is toxic and the network was right to address it in a timely manner. She can apologize all she wants to keep the cash flowing.

Shirley in Oregon

Railr0aderTony

Let us all remember the lady who issued the lawsuit was the Manager. Would a racist promote her to Manager of one of the most popular resturants in America? I have watched Paula on Food network for years and she has had several African American people on her show and showed them the utmost respect. I am not defending racism but I do not think she is a racist. I think she said some stuff in her past that she regrets and was big enough to admit to.

Laces_0ut

Let us all remember the lady who issued the lawsuit was the Manager. Would a racist promote her to Manager of one of the most popular resturants in America? I have watched Paula on Food network for years and she has had several African American people on her show and showed them the utmost respect. I am not defending racism but I do not think she is a racist. I think she said some stuff in her past that she regrets and was big enough to admit to.

did you miss the part where she planned to hire black people as slaves for a theme wedding? there is little doubt she is a racist.

she had black people on her show and that makes her not racist? she did that for $$$$.

thewordwarrior

Actually, I can tell you exactly what the difference is. In movies, when people portray slaves, they are portraying characters with backstory and agency. Deen was enamored of the idea of blacks playing slaves while they served food at a restaurant. This isn't acting. This isn't a story. This is a case of Deen idealizing a system of labor in which one segment of the population had no rights of their own, even over their own bodies. By talking about how cute and great these slave servers were, she's turning the system of slavery into an "experience" that people can come and enjoy during their dinner. We should remember and indeed portray slavery so as not to forget that it existed or its devastating social effects (such as through movies, plays, and historical reenactment), but asking your black servers to perform slavery every time they come to work is wrong because it glosses over what was a very real and very exploitative and inhumane labor system. When movies portray slavery, they are delving into the human experience of what it meant to be a slave a slave owner. If a server pretends to be a slave simply to bring food, then it's actually idealizing slavery as a system of social inequality.

marciebrian

I have a hard time feeling sorry for her. I'm a regular old person of no significance who lives in the south and I have never used that word except to read it from antiquated print. If I were in a position like hers I would be extraordinarily careful with my words and actions. A fool and their money (or job) will soon be parted.

??? you profile says your 28.. hardly a regular old person. yes it was stupid but it was a long time ago before she was a "public figure". I get the business decision part and so be it but to think that it is horrid for a now 66 year old woman (I'm 58) who grew up during segregation should be so disgraced is absurd. I don't remember ever using that word either but I won't swear it never happened.

barkin43

People often dislike honesty. As someone said with a stigma attached to her she is less marketable. Lying to appease the masses is much more desirable (aka marketable).

That's often known as "Minnesota Nice" or "Southern Polite." Many people would rather hear/read something "pretty" yet patently untrue, rather than hear/see the truth presented in a cold, blatant manner.

The MFP forums are RIDDLED with this sentiment.

So long as you say things that are "nice," you're often applauded. Say something that is true, yet potentially "hurtful," a percentage of members on this site cannot find the "Report" button fast enough.

Example: Someone just read what I typed, and they're debating whether or not to report my post, right now. True story.

Reported for being too truthful and maybe even a little "sarcastic." You ain't sposed to cause "burthutz" on here.

RocketsGirl

I have no sympathy for her in any way shape or form.
She made her own bed.

White sheets and all.


That's how I feel.

This.

FearAnLoathingJ

Isn't this the lady that used glazed doughnuts as hamburger buns?

pudadough

I have a hard time feeling sorry for her. I'm a regular old person of no significance who lives in the south and I have never used that word except to read it from antiquated print. If I were in a position like hers I would be extraordinarily careful with my words and actions. A fool and their money (or job) will soon be parted.

??? you profile says your 28.. hardly a regular old person. yes it was stupid but it was a long time ago before she was a "public figure". I get the business decision part and so be it but to think that it is horrid for a now 66 year old woman (I'm 58) who grew up during segregation should be so disgraced is absurd. I don't remember ever using that word either but I won't swear it never happened.

I mean't "regular old" as in average or "run of the mill." Not as a reference to my age. But for reference, my mom is 64 and doesn't fling that word around either. And she grew up in the middle of full on segregation.

StarChanger

So ripping people off and serving a prison sentence is somehow more acceptable than admitting to using a racial slur? I was born and raised in Georgia. Paula Deen grew up in a generation that accepted and was comfortable with racism. While times have changed, it was difficult for many of that generation to realize and cope with the fact that behavior was no longer socially acceptable. I can remember my 85-yo grandmother use the word as late as the 90's. while that doesn't excuse the behavior, racism isn't something that can be just turned off either. It's a conditioned behavior.

Yep. My Grandparents were all from the South (as am I...4th generation born in the same hospital in south Florida). My maternal grandfather left south florida in the 80s to "get away from the damn Yankees."...and settled outside of Quitman, Ga where he remained a "respected" businessman, cattleman, and farm owner. He used the N-word (to our collective horror) until the day he died just a couple of years ago. His best friend was an old Black man named Wallace....who rode in the back of my Granddaddy's truck because he didn't think it was "proper" to sit up front in the cab with my Grandfather. He also spent his retirement years turning the old cattle fields into a golf course....his favorite player? Tiger Woods.

Alex

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