Paula Deen racist?

[disney junky]

She's a cook/chef/celebrity. She's not a leader of any consequence. The media has made this news.

 

[Acklander]

We should celebrate without regard to race.

Black history month and other months are more than imperfect solutions, I believe they keep racism alive. I don't think a persons race should even be mentioned unless its somehow pertinent to the lesson being taught, this is the same as hyphenated Americans, your american or your not. The sooner people stop recognizing separated months and groups the sooner it'll be a lesson in history.

I don't think of black history month as a way of keeping racism alive but more of a cultural celebration. One of the great things about America is its a melting pot, and that should be celebrated. I've been to many st Patrick day parades while drinking green beer and eating Corn beef, listening to the music. Yes, I'm American first, but nothing wrong with celebrating where my ancestors came from. And while my kids are raised as Americans it's fun to occasionally go to these festivals and introduce them to the culture our family originated with. I've been to many festivals with friends celebrating different cultures.

 

[Tiggeroo]

Insensitive, stupid and low class. Possibly racist. I couldn't say for sure without speaking to her. However, when you have a multi-million dollar company with fans of all races you would think you would be very mindful of what you say. I assume she just wrecked her brand. I have older relatives who were raised differently then I was. They say stupid things without thinking but I wouldn't define all of them as racist. More like ignorant and lacking exposure to the world around them.

 

[roomthreeseventeen]

Whether or not she is a racist, the actions described in the deposition are definitely racist for sure. Using a slur against a bank robber that solely refers to the color of his skin, thinking that a southern plantation wedding is appropriately staffed with middle aged Black men and women... it all shows incredibly bad judgment.

Paula, as a straight white celebrity, has an unbelievable amount of privilege in America, and hopefully this teaches her and her fans a lesson about other people.

 

[FireDancer]

I do find it true however that it seems more "acceptable" for people of color (not just blacks) to make racial slurs against other races, particularly against whites while obviously it's not "acceptable" the other way around. It's a definite double standard. And allowing that will only continue to encourage the divide.

I don't recall there being this much outrage when Jesse Jackson called New York "Hymietown" or over any of the racially charged crap Al Sharpton spews constantly. They are the same and should be treated the same but they generally aren't. It is what it is and I don't lose sleep over it but it is laughable how many people insist the double standard doesn't exist.

Another double standard that comes to mind is that black pride and white pride are viewed separately. You can be proud of what you are without hating anyone else but the perception that comes with the later is that you are a racist. That doesn't even make sense.

I also laugh when something done by a non-Hispanic white person against a Hispanic person is labeled racism. They are both the same race (general) you moron. That would be like saying when the German assaulted the Irish guy it was because he was racist. Nationality and race are not the same thing.

 

[roomthreeseventeen]

I don't recall there being this much outrage when Jesse Jackson called New York "Hymietown" or over any of the racially charged crap Al Sharpton spews constantly. They are the same and should be treated the same but they generally aren't. It is what it is and I don't lose sleep over it but it is laughable how many people insist the double standard doesn't exist.

There was a TON of outrage about that comment. Like, a ton. It should be note that "Hymietown" is a religious slur and not necessarily a racial one.

 

[Nancy F]

What do you all think about Bill Maher calling Sara Palin's son retarded?? Whoopi Goldberg seemed to think it was alright. As did Barbara Walters. Guess he can get away with it because it was Sara's kid and not somebody that they respect. . Haven't heard what they had to say about Paula. But I'll bet they won't give her a pass because of the " coming from a different generation when it was excepted" point of view. (pun intended.)
Nancy

 

[Sanchez]

Whether or not she is a racist, the actions described in the deposition are definitely racist for sure. Using a slur against a bank robber that solely refers to the color of his skin, thinking that a southern plantation wedding is appropriately staffed with middle aged Black men and women... it all shows incredibly bad judgment.

Paula, as a straight white celebrity, has an unbelievable amount of privilege in America, and hopefully this teaches her and her fans a lesson about other people.

And you decide this? Is there some panel out there rendering such decisions?

Racism is a belief, not an action. It is so easy to make these types of accusations when not constrained by the meaning of the word.

 

[roomthreeseventeen]

And you decide this? Is there some panel out there rendering such decisions?

Racism is a belief, not an action. It is so easy to make these types of accusations when not constrained by the meaning of the word.

Sorry, no. There are absolutely degrees to which one can perceive racism, but there is very little about calling someone a "n****r" that's not racist.

 

[LisaR]

She's a cook/chef/celebrity. She's not a leader of any consequence. The media has made this news.

I'm not really sure I understand what you meant by the words in bold. I believe racists or ignorant individuals need to be called out. I don't care if you are a celebrity, athlete, politician, hair stylist, garbage collector, or my next door neighbor; if you make ignorant comments and someone overhears them, I hope those individuals are put in the spotlight so everyone can see what they are really like.

 

[Sanchez]

Sorry, no. There are absolutely degrees to which one can perceive racism, but there is very little about calling someone a "n****r" that's not racist.

So she is a racist according to you.

 

[FireDancer]

There was a TON of outrage about that comment. Like, a ton. It should be note that "Hymietown" is a religious slur and not necessarily a racial one.

There might have been outrage there but around here it was barely even mentioned. The big double standard is more about how things are covered in the press. There are a lot of double standards in the press for sure but the way race is addressed is one of them.

Look at how the statement Karen Lewis made was covered. Sure, it made the news for a second but if the role was reversed and some white lady in the same or an equivalent position decided to blame black people for all the problems in a white school district there would be much more outrage and completely different coverage.

You will see crimes committed by white people against black people labeled as hate crimes when the reverse isn't done in nearly the same proportion. This is even the case when it was a crime of opportunity and there is no evidence what so ever that the race of either person had anything to do with their target.

Like I said, it is what it is but so many people ignore that it is happening. Part of the problem is that people in this country can't have a logical discussion about race without being labeled a racist. That is totally absurd.

 

[roomthreeseventeen]

You will see crimes committed by white people against black labeled as hate crimes when the reverse isn't done in nearly the same proportion.

Black on white hate crime isn't really a thing. There is no history of it in this country.

 

[Shmily1]

This was on the news yesterday.

http://www.wtoc.com/story/22639351/in-her-words-notes-from-the-paula-deen-video-deposition

 

[FireDancer]

Black on white hate crime isn't really a thing. There is no history of it in this country.

That kind of weird statement is exactly what I'm talking about. Of course some of the crimes committed by black people against white people are because of the victim's race just as that is true the other way around. It shouldn't be assumed in either direction that that was the motivation though without some sort of evidence of it and that is where it is treated differently. Well, treated differently unless you blatantly ignore the fact that one of them even exists.

 

[roomthreeseventeen]

That kind of weird statement is exactly what I'm talking about. Of course some of the crimes committed by black people against white people are because of the victim's race just as that is true the other way around. It shouldn't be assumed in either direction that that was the motivation though without some sort of evidence of it and that is where it is treated differently. Well, treated differently unless you blatantly ignore the fact that one of them even exists.

I'm not ignoring the fact that it exists. I'm saying if you look at the history of this country, hate crimes against Black people outpace hate crimes against White people to an unbelievable amount.

 

[FireDancer]

I'm not ignoring the fact that it exists. I'm saying if you look at the history of this country, hate crimes against Black people outpace hate crimes against White people to an unbelievable amount.

Absolutely, but that shouldn't change the way individual cases are reported on. What happened in the past or even the same day two states away probably won't have anything to do with why person A killed person B.

It seems as though without any evidence of it a crime by a white person against a black person is assumed to be racially motivated while the reverse isn't the case. In either instance wait for some actual evidence of racial motivation before screaming hate crime. That's all I'm saying. Look at the Zimmerman case. There is no credible evidence that race played any role what so ever in the incidents that night yet you see everywhere people pulling out the race card.

ETA: Back to the topic at hand, maybe Paula Dean is racist, maybe she is just naive and showed poor judgment. I don't really care either way. There are plenty of racist people of all color in the world, I just shrug my shoulders and go about my life.

 

[chobie]

There was a TON of outrage about that comment. Like, a ton. It should be note that "Hymietown" is a religious slur and not necessarily a racial one.

There was a ton of outrage then and still is 30 years later. If the Internet had been around when he made those comments it would have been an even bigger deal because more people would have heard it from more sources. But the fact that it did make those national media then and is still brought up 30 years later indicates quit a bit of outrage to me (rightfully so, I might add).

 

[chobie]

There might have been outrage there but around here it was barely even mentioned. The big double standard is more about how things are covered in the press. There are a lot of double standards in the press for sure but the way race is addressed is one of them.

Look at how the statement Karen Lewis made was covered. Sure, it made the news for a second but if the role was reversed and some white lady in the same or an equivalent position decided to blame black people for all the problems in a white school district there would be much more outrage and completely different coverage.

You will see crimes committed by white people against black people labeled as hate crimes when the reverse isn't done in nearly the same proportion. This is even the case when it was a crime of opportunity and there is no evidence what so ever that the race of either person had anything to do with their target.

Like I said, it is what it is but so many people ignore that it is happening. Part of the problem is that people in this country can't have a logical discussion about race without being labeled a racist. That is totally absurd.

How old were you in 1984?

 

[GigglyFigment]

I've thought she was a horrible person since the "I've got Diabetes and here's what you should take for it" debacle. She's older and from Georgia, of course she's likely to spout out racial slurs - possibly without even thinking she's a racist.

Point is, she doesn't really seem to care too much about her public/other people. It's rather an established pattern of behavior at this point.