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Paula Deen


Eric83

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Not that my opinion should matter to you (or frankly, anyone else but me), but I don't think you're being fair here. Race-related discussions tend to be emotional possibly because race isn't based in any real logic.

Two boys named Paul Jones could be born in Los Angeles, grow up together, share the same interests, yet are considered completely different because of race. The black Paul is supposed to inherently know what it's like to be black even if all of his experiences are identical to the white Paul. Their vocabulary is supposed to be substantially different because black Paul should instinctively know how to speak "black English." And if black Paul grows up privileged and white Paul grows up in poverty--completely opposite environments--black Paul is still supposed to instinctively "be black." If he's not. someone will remind him. He'll end up going in search of his "black self" in some African-American/Black studies class because even though we're told that black people originated in Africa, the only people who know how to be black call themselves African-Americans. Even the progressive white liberals believe this and they probably see themselves as neither racist or racialists.

Only black immigrants are exempt from being black. They can come to America and excel in education and not be subjected to having to speak a certain way because they are generally seen as an enigma.

I'm crazy and totally unfocused.

So, maybe you should consider that you played a part in the tone when you implied that soap opera watchers should be limited in any way. Then you compounded it by implying that laughing at a movie satirizing racism also limits its viewers. Had you found a brazenly racist fictional character that everyone loves, you'd be more in the ball park.

And again, this is about how an employer treats her employees. The lawsuit makes her racism (or perceived racism for those who don't think she's racist) significant. A racist who is not in a position to adversely affect the life of the "outsider" (or "minority") is totally insignificant. As long as Racist Ronny isn't toting a gun, keeping people from employment, or locking them up based on a feeling, etc., then his babbling is as insignificant as mine.

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The responses are negative because you're making bad points and using poor reasoning to make them. Part of the problem we have these days is that people think that they should be able to make poorly constructed arguments and the rest of us are supposed to pat them on the back and say "Thanks for participating!" instead of telling them why what they said is wrong. But this isn't tee ball. Not everyone gets a trophy. When you said that we should give Deen a pass because we're soap fans, that was ridiculous and borderline offensive and we told you that. The "I'm just trying to discuss" is a cop out. We ARE discussing. We're just not telling you what you want to hear.

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My main thing is that people can say and do things that are considered racist in TODAY'S world, but if it's not meant with malice because of the time they come from, then I don't think it's any big deal. People are racist because they are TAUGHT to be. And children grow uyp to be adult with all kind of atttitudes ingrained in them, some keep the attitudes as a way of pleasing their parents, others outright rebell against them just for the sake of being contrary, it just depends on the individual. Just because someone isn't able to shed the baggage they were brought up with, doesn't make them evil or bad people, or worthy of losing their careers. But she will be fine in the end, after all, Sharon Osbourne used to mail her turds to people in tifany boxes, and look where she is today.

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Paula Deen isn't only being accused of using the N word. Thats where it comes to a disconnect. Some are defending her because they think she only said the word while people who are angry with her are angry because of her alleged actions at her restaurants. Her sayong it is not surprising its the other things she said and has allegedly done that disgusts me.

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I look forward to when this woman and her sycophants are no longer chewing up news cycle bandwidth. I wish the SCOTUS VRA decision got this much discussion but this is America and we only seem to care about these things when they hit pop culture. One racist at the Food Network and everyone takes to the barricades. Five racists on the Court is just another day in these United States. I wonder how many of the people freaking about Paula Deen are even going to notice when their state legislatures screw with their voting rights.

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IA that people are taught to despise "different" people for no reason other than the belief that they are "different."

I'm making a huge assumption here that "TODAY's world" is a reference to political correctness so if I'm wrong, I apologize. While I agree that political correctness has run amok, I don't find that to be the case in this situation. Just because society may have ignored certain things in years gone by, doesn't mean those things were okay.

I used to be able to separate the intent from the result and not look at the entire picture, but I no longer find that to be the best way in matters pertaining to race. I disagree that Paula Deen and others like her are unable to shed their baggage. If you listen to her, you might get the impression that she simply does not want to change which is why she is what she is. She wants to be the way she is and have people deal with it. I have no problem with her taking that position at all. She can be who she is and I can still see who she is as a racist.

Is her lack of malice really that if she sees certain human beings as less than she is? I take it that the employee who filed the suit would disagree with it not being harmful.

A person with those views can be benevolent and fee stray animals but that person is not going to see those animals as human. That same person can feed black people and do seemingly kind things for black people and not see them as any different than those stray animals. Fighting against this kind of viewpoint is futile as far as I am concerned. I just think we, as in society as a whole, need to stop pretending that every black person should be grateful because some white person claims to be kind to black people despite race. It's supposed to be humane to help fellow humans so why is that any more special or significant. And having a black friend is the greatest act of benevolence ever--especially one as black as a board.

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It wouldn't have been any less damning if a Black person sued her and I'm not sure why more credence is given to the person because they're White. The color of the person suing her is irrelevant especially if it were one of her employees who finally had enough of her racism and decided to speak out. But maybe you're right, maybe if the plaintiff were black no one would have blinked twice and would have been accused of being a disgruntled underprivileged employee trying to attack poor Southern God fearing Paula Deen.
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