Racism, Cluelessness, and Consequences

~ Laura

I’m not sure why I’ve been following the Paula Deen controversy closely. I never watched her show. I’m not a fan of fried foods and buttery desserts. I guess it’s the whole trainwreck thing. She keeps opening her big mouth and making things worse for herself. Where is her lawyer? She needs better handlers.

Yesterday, I actually skimmed the deposition which began this whole nonsense. Again, where was her lawyer?  The woman just rambled on and on and nobody cut her off or whispered in her ear to shut up.

Is there a difference between racism and cluelessness? I don’t get the feeling that Paula is a racist in the KKK hood sort of style. She doesn’t seem to be angry or mean. But she is jaw droppingly stupid. A plantation themed wedding with black servers? Really? She clearly had never thought about how other people might feel about this. Is that racist? Or just stupid?

Matt Lauer’s interview with Deen was cringe worthy. You get more of the Paula riding the Clueless Train. But there’s also Matt’s loaded questions and disdain. Check out his questions: “Do you think you’ve been treated fairly by your business partners?” ” Millions of dollars are at stake. Are you here to express what you just said or are you here to stop the financial bleeding?” I’M HERE TO STOP THE FINANICAL BLEEDING, MATT.  “Given the same circumstances, would you have fired you? ” YES, I WOULD HAVE FIRED MYSELF, MATT. What dumb-assed questions.

Deen may have lost big endorsement deals, but her fans are mobilized. Her book is number one on Amazon’s Best Seller List. Actually, Anthony Weiner is top in the NYC polls, too. Clearly, the road to success  in America is to be a racist or a pervert. Maybe even a racist-pervert.

Published by Laura

3 thoughts on “Racism, Cluelessness, and Consequences”

  1. Your lawyer isn’t supposed to whisper in your ear or shut you up at a deposition. He’s supposed to (i) instruct you in advance not to volunteer, to answer the question asked and say no more and (ii) object to, and instruct you not to answer, questions that he considers improper.

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  2. I read Paula Deen’s memoir/biography a while ago (not sure why). I enjoyed it, got an impression of a strong willed woman who built a big business from very little, following her dreams and talents. I haven’t been following the details closely (just as I haven’t followed Weiner’s saga closely). My take home is that we have to be careful about demanding ideological purity from people we enjoy for some reason or another. Maybe finding out more about Paula Deen’s racism would make me dislike reading her recipes (I only read, since I don’t really cook) or Weiner’s politics, but I’m wary of throwing out too much because of the stains. People are flawed and in this day and age we find out more about their flaws than we did in the past. I’m not willing to throw out every creator even if I dislike some part of their behavior.

    I think the line for me would be personal harm — as opposed to bad thoughts and a general contribution to the wrongs of society. Harassing an individual woman, firing a particular person, . . . .

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  3. bj…did you hear what she said during her nytimes interview last year, when she introduced a particular man who worked for her in an extremely offensive manner?

    Though I am more angry at her defenders than I am at her. If I read one more comment to the effect that everyone says racist things, I will throw up. These people need to get out more. And I love it when the same people then go on to claim that there is no such thing as racism anymore and that reverse racism is the real problem. Their cognitive dissonance is quite outstanding.

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