Popular TV Chef Paula Deen has been embroiled recently in a racial slur controversy that has led to her dismissal from Food Network. It was revealed that Ms. Deen used the “N” word thirty years ago. I don’t know the context in which it was used. I don’t know the frequency with which she used it. I have not heard directly what Paula Deen said some thirty years ago. Nor have I heard her response to the allegations. From what I understand, though, she laughed off the incident saying that it was no big deal and that she has probably used those words several times since then. No big deal? Really? Tell that to those who have been victimized by any type of racial discrimination, be it racial slurs, job or housing discrimination, etc.
Last night, I read a series of Facebook posts regarding the incident and was amazed at the comments in defense of Ms. Deen. Her TV personality is warm, charming and reminiscent of a favorite Aunt or neighbor. In fact, you would love her as a neighbor if she dropped in with a plate of cookies or a pie. Recent events, however, suggest a far different kind of person; one who is still in firm possession of her “Old South” social beliefs, or one who lacks the intelligence and human compassion to understand the gravity of her words. As a celebrity, Ms. Deen has a social responsibility – a responsibility that she neither accepts nor understands. As far as we profess to have come in recent years, this attitude shows how far we still have to go.
Companies like Food Network, Nike and QVC spend millions of dollars annually to acquire and retain a loyal customer base. They carefully cultivate an image of trust, quality and responsibility and they seek out people of like values to represent them in the marketplace. When one of those representatives acts counter to this carefully cultivated image, it is within the company’s rights and in their best interest to terminate their relationship with that representative. We’ve seen it with Michael Vick, Tiger Woods and others that I can’t recall. Why would a company continue to pay a person who is potentially alienating a large segment of their target market?
Books like “Gone With The Wind” portray a time in our country’s history that was so divisive that families fought and died against each other over the issue of slavery. The treatment of Slaves as objects rather than as human beings was a historical fact that cannot be ignored or denied. The question was asked in one of the aforementioned Facebook posts, “What will we do next, ban books like Gone With THE Wind?” No one is suggesting that these books be banned. That isn’t even a valid argument in Paula Deen’s defense. She used unacceptable language, then callously dismissed it, not understanding the hurt that her actions may cause.
Whether that language was culturally acceptable in the deep south thirty years ago or not, she is living in today’s world. Our views today are (or should be) that this kind of language has no place in our world. It was unacceptable back then and it’s even more so now. Time doesn’t make her words acceptable today and she should not be forgiven unless she is truly remorseful. Why do you suppose Nazis were still being prosecuted thirty years after their crimes? It is because they were wrong when they were committed and they remain wrong forever.
When I was in college, we were in the midst of forced busing in Boston. Things were ugly and it was “culturally acceptable” in certain circles for white teens to throw rocks and racial slurs at buses bringing black kids from Roxbury and Dorchester into Boston schools. Does that mean it was OK? These kids were just trying to go to school!
Paula Deen could have easily maintained her job at Food Network and perhaps even elevated her position in the eyes of the world by accepting responsibility for her words of thirty years ago and denouncing her actions as those of one who was young and had a lot to learn. She could have said that her words were hurtful and unacceptable and that she is sorry for the hurt they may have caused. Instead, she chose a different path, a path that can only cause more hurt in a society that is apparently still racially divided.