Paula Deen and Racism

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Associated Press

So, should Paula Deen be ostracized or forgiven?

It was a long time ago, under stress and she has apologized. Does her use of this term damage her reputation so thoroughly as to make her a public liability to the Food Network? I guess they feel it does.

Whether or not Deen should be forgiven, she won't be. The Deformed Church of Political Correctness demands regular sacrifices of sinners the same way the Puritans of old demanded regular sacrifices of witches.

Food Network has no obligation to renew the business contract with Paula Deen. Public opinion has always been fickle, and the fall out is a price of celebrity.

I'm not at all convinced that public opinion is the reason Deen was let go. Have her ratings declined substantially?

She probably was let go in anticipation of some backlash, but there also could have been some type of morals clause written into her contract. Just because her ratings might be high doesn't mean she is obligated to receive a renewal.

Assuming her ratings have declined significantly, she was let go because of Political Correctness, though you are right that a private company should be able to do what it wants in this respect. As for the backlash, I don't see it. It's not as if she's going around spouting off epithets on a regular basis.

An older white lady from the South admits to having used racial slurs in the past? I for one am shocked, absolutely shocked!

Am I really supposed to believe that people where you come from have never used that kind of language in their lives?

A question for you if you dare: Is using racial epithets against nonwhite groups a worse offense against propriety than using osbscene words? If so, avoiding both is a matter of manners. If not, then using racial epithets sounds more like a moral offense. Which is it? Are racial epithets simply breaches of good manners, or are they grave moral offenses? And if so, why?

I think his point was that an older lady from Georgia, who was born before the whole Civil Rights '68 thing, is virtually guaranteed to have used racial epithets before. The real bull^%&* is that people are acting offended about it.

Full disclosure: I have used racial epithets before, and I'm not even from the "deep" south. I don't feel the need to defend myself, because I hold no antipathy towards my brethren of the African American persuasion, and I do not do so commonly or with any sort of malice. Oh, a distant ancestor may have owned slaves.

Jeez, we all need to grow the ^&*% up.

From what I understand of this story, the uproar isn't from the fact that she used a racial epithet in the past. It was that there was an oppressive culture in her business establishments for the African Americans/women working under her. That's where the lawsuit and subsequent press releases originated from.
I do see racial epithets as being more demeaning than everyday obscenities. It probably does depend on culture/upbringing, but either one isn't really acceptable in most workplaces.

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The Hollywood Reporter Article does paint a picture of problematic behaviour - especially the sexual harassment charges. This could explain the Food Network's decision.

I don't think using the racial epithet under discussion is morally wrong. I do think it is vulgar and understand the sensitivity with regard to it and would not say it myself.

So I have to wonder if Paula Deen is still using this term. If so, then I can't support her. If not, I think people can learn and modify their behaviour accordingly and should be forgiven.

If she used those words years ago,I would forgive because we have all said stuff we should not have.If she is treating her employees badly because of race,then she should lose her contract.It seems like I remember the Frugal Gourmet losing his PBS show because he sexually harassed the young male employees.It's just a matter of time before Gordon Ramsey hits someone with a rolling pin.
Most of the people watching Paula Dean's show have probably all had coronaries,her audience is dying off due to butter clogs.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owEjVxGEEDE&feature=youtube_gdata_player[/youtube]

She should just do a Paula Dean Bake-Off Against Racism. That would be cool enough on its own without needing to be an act of apology.

Its network TV they have a agenda that has nothing to do with reality only towards how they want people to act in their backasswards world and iam not talking about how they think deen should act but how the want and expect us to react and act.

Its network TV they have a agenda that has nothing to do with reality only towards how they want people to act in their backasswards world and iam not talking about how they think deen should act but how the want and expect us to react and act.