Kathy, she was planning a plantation wedding like in the old days when the blacks wore the outfits and served the whites. She's talking about the slave days. The blacks in that attire is what she wants. Not waiters of all races. The blacks in those days were considered to be inferior, they were not there by choice. She glorifies those days. Waiters serve, they are not inferior. They are there by choice. They are not slaves.

The issue to some of us is her obvious atttude shown by her use of the n word and desre for that wedding and possibly the way she treated her black employees. When asked if she ever used the n word she said "of course". Like doesn't everyone. Some of us think all that shows a racst atttude.

BTW, Kathy. That's funny that in my school in Texas It was:

eeny, meenie, miny moe
catch a tiger by the toe
if it hollers make it pay
50 dollars every day

Who's this wedding for?

I am not a great fan of the plantation wedding, however I am not sure it really glorifies a time period as much as it simulates one. Let it be said that I think that this is an inappropriate theme for a wedding, but I don't know that I HATE Paula Deen for it. Isn't she just in charge of food???

Kathy, Paula Deen wanted a Plantation style wedding for her brother because of the beauty of mansions and the beauty seen in nearly all of the Shirley Temple movies many of us have watched since childhood. "WE" people don't have to see the hate in everything that went on during the slavery days. As for the black pants, white shirts and bow ties representing slavery, I have to say that's the biggest crock of sh*t I've heard. Clothes don't represent anything unless ones mind tells them so. That's like some people saying a girl deserved to be raped because of the clothes she wore. Next gumpy will be telling us to not ride around on horses because black people had to saddle them up in slavery days for those mean ole white people.

No, "gumpy" won't be telling you that. Plantation wedding, blacks dressed as the slaves were back in the slave days. You want a big mansion wedding with all the stuff that was beautiful you wouldn't have the slaves as part of it because slavery was not beautiful. The fact that she does want that, imo, means she includes the slaves as part of the beauty. That's racist. I hate racism, not her, her racist atttude.

Definition of the word opinion: A view or judgment formed about something, not necessarily based on fact or knowledge

Yep, your opinion is she is not racist. My opinion is that she is.

I just read her deposition. She wanted blacks. She was asked if she could not do the same with people of other races. She said it wouldn't be the same as it was back then. She was asked when. She said pre Civil War. She was asked if she realized those servants back then were slaves and she said yes. She says she didn't mean it in a derogatory way, she just liked the look. Ah yes, the good old days when you could watch your slaves. She also said her family tells sexist and racist jokes and she doesn't mind. She says her family knows to not use the n word in a mean way. She says it's ok for her brother to show porn at work and show it to employees. Her own words screw her. No longer an opinion. Fact is, she's a racist ... based on her own words.

Grumpy, I bet you would find something racist about a white woman wearing a white apron these days.
You are really a piece of work I do give you that.


"Jackson's attorney also pressed Deen to explain whether she had once suggested that all black waiters be hired for her brother's 2007 wedding. Deen testified that she had been inspired by an upscale Southern restaurant where "the whole entire wait staff was middle-aged black men, and they had on beautiful white jackets with a black bow tie. I mean, it was really impressive,".

What the news media left out of the story is that Lisa Jackson is white and thus does not have legal standing to pursue a Title VII claim for race discrimination. Paula Deen’s attorney on June 21 filed a Rule 11 Motion for Sanctions claiming dirty tricks.

http://www.oanow.com/opinion/columns/ar ... f6878.html

Paula Deen's Food Network career imploded last Friday after the cable network said it would not renew her contract. Though Food Network's simple statement, "Food Network will not renew Paula Deen's contract when it expires at the end of this month," did not mention a reason, it comes after a video deposition turned up in which Deen admits to using the N-word and talking about a politically incorrect party she was thinking about hosting. Deen's testimony was taken in correlation with a harassment lawsuit filed by Lisa Jackson, the former employee of a restaurant co-owned by Deen and her brother Bubba Hiers.

Now, in a surprise backlash to her corporate blockade, people are standing behind Deen in droves. A "We Support Paula Deen" Facebook page has 288,000 followers. A Change.org petition, calling on Food Network to bring back the Southern cook, has garnered more than 14,000 signatures.

I abhor racism. However, after reading the transcript of the deposition, I agree that Paula Deen has done nothing to merit being fired.

http://blogs.miaminewtimes.com/shortord ... ad_the.php

Paula Deen: A modern-day lynching
Posted: June 29, 2013 - 9:25pm | Updated: June 30, 2013 - 12:32am

By Tom Barton
Georgia’s history books report that 458 people were lynched in this state between 1882 and 1930, second only to Mississippi.

Most of the victims — but not all — were black. This carnage left a permanent bruise on the Peach State. It’s a reminder that justice should be dispensed in court, not at the end of a rope.

Or by money-grubbing lawyers.

Forget everything you’ve heard or read about Paula Deen the past two weeks. Ignore her tearful apologies for saying the N-word 30 years ago. Dismiss those who believe she’s worthy of forgiveness, like former President Jimmy Carter and the Rev. Jesse Jackson. Forget all the good she has done in feeding the hungry and helping the poor, and the jobs and paychecks her businesses have provided.

None of that matters now. The deed has been done.

Savannah’s celebrity chef has been lynched — figuratively and publicly in the court of public opinion, and without a full and fair accounting of the facts. Why? Mostly because this 66-year-old woman who impressively built an empire from scratch said “no” to the equivalent of a shakedown.

When Deen refused to pay $1.25 million in hush money last year to a former employee of her brother’s restaurant — a white woman who claimed, among other things, that Deen’s brother was guilty of racial discrimination — the lynch mob began forming.

“Exposure of the racist and sexist culture of her corporate and personal life is going to permanently, and irreparably, damage the value of the brand,” Savannah attorney S. Wesley Woolf warned in a Jan. 31, 2012, demand letter to Deen’s lawyer. He stated that “if we are unable to settle, the Complaint will not be quietly filed. I am making arrangements for a press conference on the day of the filing. I have identified the journalist for the New York Times who covers civil rights matters and he will be provided a pre-filing exclusive. A nationwide press release will be issued to the major networks, newspapers, newsmagazines and news websites across the country.”

And finally, the closer: “I hope that upon full and deliberate consideration of this offer, (your clients) will come to understand that the small price they quietly pay and that my client quietly accepts will allow Paula Deen a chance to salvage a brand that can continue to have value.”

Woolf was a hangman of his word. Except for one thing. The Times didn’t break the June 19 story about Deen using the N-word. The National Enquirer did. Still, the illusion of the First Lady of Southern Cooking as an unreconstructed bigot spread faster than grease on a hot griddle.

Today, the celebrity chef that Forbes said earned $18 million in 2012 is being hung out to dry financially. To add insult to injury, the woman behind the lawsuit, Lisa T. Jackson, admitted that she never heard Deen make a racist remark. Or, do anything discriminatory. But when you’ve threatened to inflict “permanent” harm on someone, facts don’t matter. It’s about whipping a mob into a frenzy.

It’s a lynching for our times. Yes, that word shouldn’t be idly used. But given the injustice, it fits.

None of this absolves Deen from using a racist slur. It doesn’t excuse her brother, Earl W. “Bubba” Hiers, who’s accused of sexual harassment. But there is such as thing as punishment fitting the crime. This doesn’t come close.

And what about that lawsuit — the one that spawned the rope used to string up Paula? It’s pending in federal court here before U.S. District Judge William T. Moore Jr.

Moore has sent signals that suggest this case is a lemon. It’s no wonder. White people can do bad things. But what is white-on-white discrimination? An opera lover being forced to listen to country music?

The plaintiff and her lawyers, which includes Atlanta attack dog Matthew Billips, shouldn’t be hoping for a big score. They fired their one bullet. It made a huge noise and caused tremendous harm. But they got zilch. It makes you wonder if they studied law by watching “Night Court” reruns.

Here’s what Moore said Aug. 23, 2012, about the plaintiff’s legal strategy — it “defies logic and borders on the ludicrous.”

So does what happened to Paula Deen. These rope burns were undeserved. They could sting for a long time.

Tom Barton is the editorial page editor of the Savannah Morning News. tom.barton@savannahnow.com.
http://savannahnow.com/column/2013-06-2 ... dEZTPlONOI

The thing is this Dee, You nor I have a say in whether she get's fired. That is up to those that employ her. She has brought a lot of negative attention on those that employ her. They didn't want it and let her go.

Deen admits to talking about a 'politically incorrect party she was thinking about hosting'. What is politically inccorect about servers in black pants, white jackets and bow ties? Nothing. But when you say you want them all to be black so you can have a 'pre civil war' party, wtf do you think that makes the servers? That makes them slaves, Dee. I'm wondering what upscale establishment she was talking about. Could it have been the mess hall at the latest KKK rally? Or the awards dinner at the stormfront hero's awards? She could always start a cooking show on Glenntv.

This isn't just about her using a word some 25 years or so ago. It's not because she wanted a southern style wedding, because that's not what she wanted unless southern style means racist.

Those that want to stand behind her are free to do so. Those that no longer want anything to do with her are free to do so too!

What is politically inccorect about servers in black pants, white jackets and bow ties? Nothing. But when you say you want them all to be black so you can have a 'pre civil war' party, wtf do you think that makes the servers?

You do realize that those servers wouldn't actually BE slaves, right? They'd be playing a part for a few hours.
Women at the wedding in hoop skirts wouldn't give up their right to vote, either. lol

To be more correct aren't they actors playing slaves? The waiters are being paid for this party. They aren't actual slaves. Samuel L Jackson played an Uncle Tom like character in Django Unchained. He isn't actually a slave.

I don't have a dog in this race. I think Paula Deen was more stupid than racist.


LOL!!!! Chaos - Great minds and all that.

I am with Monster. I am allowed to not like what she did and what she condoned at her restaurant. I didn't ask Food Network to fire her, or any of the other places that dropped her. That was their chosen response to the situation. Racism, even a tiny bit of it, is not something I can stand. And I truly believe that equality is intertwined. If you care about equality for women, for gays, etc, then equality for blacks should matter to you.

Dee, you are welcome to support her. I will be 100% honest, I can't understand throwing away friendships over a celebrity that would not look twice at you. When I read your post on page 1, it completely and totally changed my view of you. If you think you are not racist at all, you might want to go read that post objectively.

Omg! This is sounding more like a Peyton Place scenario every day! Jackson never heard Deen use a racial epitaph? So what is the lawsuit about??
Jackson is not Negro and therefore was not entitled to file a lawsuit per se mandating her lawyer had to file the lawsuit under a different rule?? The whole thing is for sure sounding like "shakedown" time...IOW, attempted extortion...

This is not to say that Deen does not have a blind spot for her own bigotry...but as John asked: Is Deen a lightning rod for America's racism? I for one can actually say I have (to the best I can remember) never used the N word, but it is my understanding that thousands of Americans through the years have indeed used the term at one time or another--is Paula worse than these people? I don't know: it's beginning to sound like she is a victim of the "ol' adage it's ok if you don't get caught..."

That Deen is guilty of extreme naive insensitivity and bigotry is obvious, but Jackson et al are beginning to look like the true slime balls...

I care about equality and I don't care about this case at all. I don't even see how you see this as an equal rights case. I still don't even really get what she did that was all that offensive!!!!

If her restaurants paid blacks 6 dollars an hour and whites 7 dollars an hour, that is an equal rights case. She wanted to cast black waiters into an antebellum plantation party? I don't see that as anything particularly horrible.

I posted links to the allegations. I have said it has nothing to do about a word, but her actions.

Blacks were paid less
Blacks had to use the rear entrance
Whites could use the customer restroom, blacks could only use the one in the back
Dark blacks could only work in the back of the house
Comments were made about "monkeys" and "niggers" to blacks specifically and Paula did nothing about it

There is also this gem, where she gives insight to her ideas of slavery.

And tells her body guard to get from in front of the black board because people can't see him.

http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainmen ... -1.1379912

Here is the video

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/2 ... 80720.html

mpicky...I really don't care if you think I am a racist or not. I know what's in my heart. You have already tared and feathered Paula because in your mind you know what's in her heart also. You don't even know if these allegations are true or not but I have a feeling you don't really care.

You are correct, I don't care about Paula Deen. I suspect that she will be fine in her 13M dollar home regardless of the outcome of any of this. I care more about the little guy, the ones that don't have the money to get on the Today show.

This post will be mostly stream of consciousness thoughts prompted by this thread ~

I believe "equal" means ... EQUAL ~ I believe we are all products of our environments ~ I grew up in a very liberally reform Jewish family ~ our parents drilled into us the [even unintended] evils and damage of racism, bigotry, discrimination ~ my personal interactions with kidlets at school have deepened my sensitivity to [even unintended] racism/bigotry/discrimination ~ there are good and bad everything ~ blacks/whites/latinos, Christians/Jews/Muslims, conservatives/liberals, rich/poor ~ everything ~

We can never know what is in someone's heart or head until they tell us ~ and we must remember that that "someone" is also the product of her/his environment ~ sometimes we all make a comment [from anger or in jest] that someone else feels is hurtful ~ we don't "win" anything if we don't play fairly ~ there is always at least a second side to every issue ~ sometimes bad things happen to good people ~ sometimes good things happen to bad people ~ a closed mind doesn't learn anything ~

More to come ~

Sooz

Wow mpicky... you sound like a bitter jealous person. Paula worked to achieve what she has and didn't sit around on her ass collecting food stamps and welfare while raising her sons alone. I doubt if she had to pay a dime to get on the today show nor do I think she got paid to be on there. Am not sure what your beef is with that but that's your problem obviously. If she has a 13M dollar home more power to her. Because I don't live in a 13M dollar home doesn't make me hate people who do.

Culturally Speaking
Challenging assumptions about culture, race, and mental health.

by Monica Williams, Ph.D.

Colorblind Ideology is a Form of Racism

A colorblind approach allows us to deny uncomfortable cultural differences.

Published on December 27, 2011 by Monnica T. Williams, Ph.D. in Culturally Speaking


What is racial colorblindness?

Racial issues are often uncomfortable to discuss and rife with stress and controversy. Many ideas have been advanced to address this sore spot in the American psyche. Currently, the most pervasive approach is known as colorblindness. Colorblindness is the racial ideology that posits the best way to end discrimination is by treating individuals as equally as possible, without regard to race, culture, or ethnicity.

At its face value, colorblindness seems like a good thing — really taking MLK seriously on his call to judge people on the content of their character rather than the color of their skin. It focuses on commonalities between people, such as their shared humanity.

However, colorblindness alone is not sufficient to heal racial wounds on a national or personal level. It is only a half-measure that in the end operates as a form of racism.

Problems with the colorblind approach

Racism? Strong words, yes, but let's look the issue straight in its partially unseeing eye. In a colorblind society, White people, who are unlikely to experience disadvantages due to race, can effectively ignore racism in American life, justify the current social order, and feel more comfortable with their relatively privileged standing in society (Fryberg, 2010). Most minorities, however, who regularly encounter difficulties due to race, experience colorblind ideologies quite differently. Colorblindness creates a society that denies their negative racial experiences, rejects their cultural heritage, and invalidates their unique perspectives.

Let's break it down into simple terms: Color-Blind = "People of color — we don't see you (at least not that bad ‘colored' part)." As a person of color, I like who I am, and I don't want any aspect of that to be unseen or invisible. The need for colorblindness implies there is something shameful about the way God made me and the culture I was born into that we shouldn't talk about. Thus, colorblindness has helped make race into a taboo topic that polite people cannot openly discuss. And if you can't talk about it, you can't understand it, much less fix the racial problems that plague our society.

Colorblindness is not the answer

If you can't see it, you can't fix it.
Many Americans view colorblindness as helpful to people of color by asserting that race does not matter (Tarca, 2005). But in America, most underrepresented minorities will explain that race does matter, as it affects opportunities, perceptions, income, and so much more. When race-related problems arise, colorblindness tends to individualize conflicts and shortcomings, rather than examining the larger picture with cultural differences, stereotypes, and values placed into context. Instead of resulting from an enlightened (albeit well-meaning) position, colorblindness comes from a lack of awareness of racial privilege conferred by Whiteness (Tarca, 2005). White people can guiltlessly subscribe to colorblindness because they are usually unaware of how race affects people of color and American society as a whole.

Colorblindness in a psychotherapeutic relationship

How might colorblindness cause harm? Here's an example close to home for those of you who are psychologically-minded. In the not-so-distant past, in psychotherapy a client's racial and ethnic remarks were viewed as a defensive shift away from important issues, and the therapist tended to interpret this as resistance (Comas-Diaz & Jacobsen, 1991). However, such an approach hinders the exploration of conflicts related to race, ethnicity, and culture. The therapist doesn't see the whole picture, and the client is left frustrated.

A colorblind approach effectively does the same thing. Blind means not being able to see things. I don't want to be blind. I want to see things clearly, even if they make me uncomfortable. As a therapist I need to be able to hear and "see" everything my client is communicating on many different levels. I can't afford to be blind to anything. Would you want to see a surgeon who operated blindfolded? Of course not. Likewise, a therapist should not be blinded either, especially to something as critical as a person's culture or racial identity. By encouraging the exploration of racial and cultural concepts, the therapist can provide a more authentic opportunity to understand and resolve the client's problems (Comas-Diaz & Jacobsen, 1991).

Nonetheless, I have encountered many fellow therapists who ascribe to a colorblind philosophy. They ignore race or pretend its personal, social, and historical effects don't exist. This approach ignores the incredibly salient experience of being stigmatized by society and represents an empathetic failure on the part of the therapist. Colorblindness does not foster equality or respect; it merely relieves the therapist of his or her obligation to address important racial differences and difficulties.

Multiculturalism is better than blindness

Research has shown that hearing colorblind messages predict negative outcomes among Whites, such as greater racial bias and negative affect; likewise colorblind messages cause stress in ethnic minorities, resulting in decreased cognitive performance (Holoien et al., 2011). Given how much is at stake, we can no longer afford to be blind. It's time for change and growth. It's time to see.

The alternative to colorblindness is multiculturalism, an ideology that acknowledges, highlights, and celebrates ethnoracial differences. It recognizes that each tradition has something valuable to offer. It is not afraid to see how others have suffered as a result of racial conflict or differences.

So, how do we become multicultural? The following suggestions would make a good start (McCabe, 2011):
1.Recognizing and valuing differences,
2.Teaching and learning about differences, and
3.Fostering personal friendships and organizational alliances

Moving from colorblindness to multiculturalism is a process of change, and change is never easy, but we can't afford to stay the same.


http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/col ... orm-racism

I didn't say she paid to be on the Today show. She would not have been on if it were not for her money and fame. The only time you see average joe's on that show is when something extraordinary happens. My point is, she will be fine regardless of how I perceive her. Regardless if I choose to "help" or not help her cause. There are MANY people in America who will NOT be okay if I and others choose not to speak up. Those are the people I choose to spend my time and energy on. The only reason I am even speaking of Ms Deen is because people keep bringing it up and trying to change the story. The story is NOT about her use of the word NIGGER. It is about her actions against her employees. Allegations at this point, yes, but enough to garner attention. I do not know for the life of me why I would give HER the benefit of the doubt over the little people. I choose to give THEM the benefit of the doubt until the matter is decided.

I don't HATE her. You are the one that throws that word around all willy nilly. Look at you, hypocrite, deciding for me what is in MY heart yet telling everyone else they are wrong for doing so to Ms Deen.

LOL sure mpicky, sure. I'm the hypocrite... if it makes you feel more like a woman believing this, by all means knock yourself out.