The Paula Deen Forgiveness Thread

[Craisin]

It's just as funny to me that there is outrage that she dropped an N-Bomb, is the fact that there is outrage she got fired. I honestly couldn't give two fucks.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dF1NUposXVQ

All I can think of now. Louie C.K. if you don't wanna click.

[Topcatyo]

The controversy isn't that she said the N word, it's that she was also just outright racist and abusive to her employees.

[Craisin]

The controversy isn't that she said the N word, it's that she was also just outright racist and abusive to her employees.

Oh; I suppose I haven't followed the story very well at all; so I'll admit to not knowing what I am talking about.

[Topcatyo]

The complaint alleged ââ,¬Å"racially discriminatory attitudes pervadeââ,¬Â Uncle Bubbaââ,¬â,,¢s Oyster House where Jackson claimed African-American employees were required to use separate bathrooms and entrances from white staffers. Jackson also said African-Americans were held to ââ,¬Å"different, more stringent, standardsââ,¬Â than whites at the restaurant and that Hiers regularly made offensive racial remarks. In the complaint, Jackson is described as a ââ,¬Å"white female.ââ,¬Â However the complaint noted she has biracial nieces, so ââ,¬Å"derogatory remarks regarding African Americans are even more personally offensive to Ms. Jackson than they would be to another white citizen.ââ,¬Â

...

Jacksonââ,¬â,,¢s complaint also accuses Deen of racism and enabling Hiersââ,¬â,,¢ behavior. According to the complaint, Deen and other managers at her companies ignored Jacksonââ,¬â,,¢s attempts to discuss Hiersââ,¬â,,¢ behavior. As evidence that Deen ââ,¬Å"holds such racist views herself,ââ,¬Â the complaint details an incident that occurred when Jackson was in charge of ââ,¬Å"food and serving arrangementsââ,¬Â at Hierââ,¬â,,¢s wedding in 2007. The complaint includes a comment Deen allegedly made when asked by Jackson what type of uniforms the servers should wear at the wedding.

ââ,¬Å"Well what I would really like is a bunch of little norwegians to wear long-sleeve white shirts, black shorts and black bow ties, you know in the Shirley Temple days, they used to tap dance around,ââ,¬Â the lawsuit claims Deen said. ââ,¬Å"Now that would be a true southern wedding, wouldnââ,¬â,,¢t it? But we canââ,¬â,,¢t do that because the media would be on me about that.ââ,¬Â

I believe the complaints were, in tl;dr form, black employees had to use a separate bathroom, were verbally abused, and were not allowed to work the front, among other things. There are also accounts of sexual abuse, apparently all of which Paula Deen was (allegedly) privy to, but did nothing about.

[patriotclock]

The controversy isn't that she said the N word, it's that she was also just outright racist and abusive to her employees.

is there evidence of that?

[AstronautClock]

I agree that if the word has been deemed as horrible then it should not be uttered by anyone.

That being said, it's just a word for Christ's sake.

everyone should be able to say it. banning words is stupid and dumb

[AstronautClock]

The controversy isn't that she said the N word, it's that she was also just outright racist and abusive to her employees.

I heard she uses farm animals as employees

[patriotclock]

Lisa Jackson, a former employee of restaurants owned by Deen and her brother, Earl "Bubba" Hiers, filed a lawsuit alleging racial and sexual discrimination.[39] Jackson, who is white, is alleging that Deen made derogatory remarks regarding African-Americans which were personally offensive because her nieces are bi-racial with an African-American father.[40]

yo the lady suing sounds like a huge cunt

[Craisin]

everyone should be able to say it. banning words is stupid and dumb

They aren't really banned; but when you are in the public eye everything will be looked at under a microscope.  

See: Kramer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kth0UOU5a_M
^Dave Chappelle making light of the incident, with George R.R. Martin laughing and in the crowd.

[BoomStick Clock]

I used to say norwegian all the time, just as a random expletive.
Now I say niggard instead.

[Topcatyo]

is there evidence of that?

Nope, that's why I used the word allegedly in there

[BilliardBall10]

i dont get it...why saying ''norwegian'' is racist?

also:

if my hodoring insults hodor, then go hodor yourself
LAWL

[AMPM]

Is that auto-play the fuckin'....God, you know what sounds like, it sounds like the Gummi Bears theme song.

GUUUMMI BEEARS, BOUNCING BOUNCING ALL EVERYWHEEERE something like that

[Slurpee]

But we canââ,¬â,,¢t do that because the media would be on me about that

haha
I'll say



 I think what has people's fascination is not that a word was used, but more that there is racism afoot and, more importantly, that the racism in question is so bizarre. tapdancing?
if I were to begin listing black stereotypes starting from the 2010's and working backward... I'd probably reach "rule egypt" before I even considered "prone to tap dancing". that's one of those things that's so racist that it's more likely to confuse than offend; like if she wanted asians with long thin mustaches, silk gowns, and coolie hats picking rice. it's archaic as to be nearly radically unfamiliar, akin to circa-1850's "entertainment" racism, and what's actually unsettling about it is the implied existence of systemic societal and cultural buffers that would make this seem to her to be a normal thought to be voicing. paula deen is just... a dumb butter lady, with a shiny ham face, who ended up in a bad situation because she was insulated against the fact that the broader western culture had by and large rejected certain notions of cultural acceptability. she became a conduit for the realization of those notions in the social eye, and rejecting her celebrity is, consciously or otherwise, one of society's ways of reinforcing its rejection of those notions.