One More Thing to Hate About Paula Deen

It's currently Wednesday evening. I just got home from my 2nd job of the day, and it's been a long one. For one thing, James Gandolfini died today. I've never watched The Sopranos, but from what little I've seen of him I know that he was a great actor and his death at such a young age (51) is truly tragic.

Also is the news today? Paula Deen is a racist.

I'll walk you through it.

Celebrity chef, restaurant owner, and butter enthusiast Paula Deen is currently involved in a lawsuit with a former manager from her restaurant. The plaintiff claims that Ms. Deen and her brother Bubba have used racial slurs numerous times while running the restaurant, along with some other really terrible offenses. Most of the claims go against Bubba (by the way, if your name is Bubba you're probably going to be involved in at least one lawsuit in your lifetime) but some other allegations towards Paula are her desire to dress her black servers in clean white jackets and shorts and have them dance around for a "true Southern wedding". (A summarized transcript of the case can be found here, which also includes a link to the full transcript).

Now I should explain: before today I had no real problem with Paula Deen. I was actually quite the fan. I know a lot of people hated her before all this stuff came out. She has a ridiculous accent, a fake-like cheeriness, and she makes really unnecessarily bad health choices.

But I was a fan; I found her charming in an old Southern way (apparently I was right). I've made my share of her recipes and even have a cookbook of hers (a gift from my Nana, who cannot stand Paula Deen). [Correction: book was gift from my aunt not my nana. Credit where credit is due.] But what I've always known about Paula is that you can't eat her food everyday because it's horribly bad for you. That's what comfort food is: food you make once in a while when you want to sacrifice health for taste. We're supposed to try to find a balance between health, taste, and time in our meal. But occasionally it's okay to sacrifice one for the other**. Just not all the time.

**I'm clearly not a doctor. This is just my view on eating. If you want to know how to eat right I suggest you google something from a professional. Or hit up Pinterest.

My reaction to Paula Deen being racist was the same as mine to Paula Deen having diabetes: "Yep, I believe that." I mean of course she's racist: she's an old white woman from Georgia. The odds were kind of in her favor, weren't they? But I don't condone it: racism is disgusting and anyone who uses slurs is also disgusting. Even if they do make a mean apple pie.

I actually kind of hope some of these claims are false. A little piece of me hopes that this cheery persona Deen has worked so hard to create has some tiny shred of honesty in it. But this is a celebrity chef we're talking about, so anything is possible. Paula Deen could be a huge racist asshole and Gordon Ramsay could actually be the sweetest man on the planet. It's hard to say what's real these days.
 
Reaction to all of this has been terrific, at least as far as comedy goes. As soon as this case was made aware to the public, people went nuts on Twitter. The hashtag #Paulasbestdishes instantly became a punchline for people to create "racist" food dishes, like Okra Winfrey or Trayvon Martinis. If you have a Twitter, I suggest you check out that tag. Because things like that are one of the best reasons to have a Twitter. Also, you should follow me. I'm fun. 

I grew up in West Virginia (recently celebrating it's 150th year) and throughout my school years I saw a ton of racist attitudes. I do not use the n-word in my own home (or any other time) because I don't want to associate myself with some of the kids I went to high school with. I remember one horrible redneck kid in my homeroom in high school who told his friends that "being gay was about as bad as being black." He was trying to sound tough in front of his buds, I'm sure, but damn that's always stuck with me. How terrifying that some kids are still brought up with this mindset.

But if you happen to be like Paula Deen (racist) just try this out: keep it inside. I mean seriously. I get that "it's your opinion" but let's be honest: your opinion is the wrong one. It is a backwoods opinion and a thing of the past. If you have an issue with someone for being a different race, it's on you. You are the one who has to get over it. The world is trying to become a progressive, friendly place and if you like to throw the n-word around, then you aren't helping anything.

Also, racists? Stop with this whole "why can't I say it if they can say it?" argument. It's stupid and makes you look ignorant. I won't go into a huge rant about it, but I went to an open mic night this week and another comedian (I forget his name, damn) summed it up perfectly:

"Gay people can say f****t, black people can say n****r, everyone's got a word. Except white people. Sorry white people. That's just the cost of privilege." Yep, he nailed it. White people get everything else, just accept that there are a few words you're actually not allowed to have.

Alright I didn't quite mean to get on a tangent about racism. Perhaps I'm just upset that someone I was fond of is probably going to screw up her career by saying things like "of course I use the n-word". But Independence Day is coming up and I just want to remind all the bigots that it's for everybody. But I'm sure my lovely readers aren't bigots. If you were, you probably wouldn't have made it this far down the page.

And if the baked beans you serve at the July 4th picnic happen to be Paula Deen's recipe, don't bring it up. Just make it with lots of love and offer it to anybody who wants some. That's the sign of a good cook/human being.