Now that Paula Deen’s ordeal has been swirling around the media for a good while now, I feel confident in having an opinion about her new scandal. So, like any good blogger, I’m going to share that opinion with you guys, my readers.
Let’s start with absolute fact. The lady (Lisa Jackson) who is suing is WHITE. She is not black. She is not a racial minority. She is a white female. WHITE WHITE WHITE.
The lawsuit in question was filed against Paula Deen and her brother, Bubba. Seriously, his name is Bubba. You just can’t make this shit up.
Over a period of five years, Bubba made some pretty disgusting sexual comments toward Jackson. He watched porn in his office knowing his employees could see it. He made black employees enter and exit through a different door than white employees.
Also, Paula has admitted to using the N-word, like a million  years ago. She then explained that she was born sixty years ago in the south…as though that’s an excuse. Big deal. I was born thirty years ago in Virginia. **Shrugs**
Allegedly. Let’s not forget none of this has been proven just yet, other than the use of the N-word. 
Paula Deen’s sons say this whole thing began as extortion. It does seem very possible that something like this could begin that way, so I won’t discount that theory just yet.
So, let’s get my opinion going here. Â I’ll tackle this mess one thing at a time.
#1– Paula says the N-Word.
Yeah, that’s pretty crappy of her. Regardless of the time she said it. It’s also pretty crappy of her of having some sort of weirdo wedding theme fantasies involving hiring all black male wait staff. Really? What the hell is that all about? Why would you even want to go back to the pre-civil war mess masses of men and women died to get rid of? Seriously, Paula?
Fix it: Â Give a real apology. And mean it!
#2–Bubba (oh, I giggle every time I read his name in the papers!) watched porn in the office he shared with Lisa Jackson.
Holy crap. WHY would somebody do this? And did it really happen? That’s just disgusting. Porn is okay to watch with someone else as long as they’re okay with it. If they’re not okay with it, you wait until you go home like normal people. Duh.
#3–Black employees were supposed to leave from a different door and use a different bathroom.
I don’t even know what to say about this one. I really have no words.
The accusations are pretty ridiculous. Ridiculous meaning horrible. I can’t even think straight when I hear Paula Deen’s name anymore. The thing is, if all this stuff was really going on, I think some of the other employees would have spoke up by now, right? Or at least, I would hope so! But, without those accusations being made and the suit being filed, the ordeal with the N-word would have never been brought to light, either.
So, perhaps this case is about half true, half false. I really don’t believe the part where the black employees were made to leave out the back door and use a different bathroom. Â Then again, it could be true. I just hope it isn’t. I just really, really hope this was made up or extremely exaggerated. HOPE.
I do believe, however, that Paula Deen might be just a little bit disillusioned. The way she spoke about the wedding with the black male servers really, really disturbed me. It made me wonder if that woman had ever read a book about the civil war, pre-civil war, or slavery. Those were NOT fun times, no matter what color you are. But, especially for minorities. If you were black and you came to the United States, it wasn’t on business or for a vacation. It was on a boat packed with other black people, shackled in the bottom level, nearly starved to death, only to be auctioned the minute you saw daylight again. And then you were a slave. If you were a Native American, well…I hope you weren’t too attached to the land you and your family had lived on for centuries because some white guy is gonna come along and build a log cabin on it. But, it’s okay. You can go live somewhere else, right?
And Mrs. Deen wants to use this period of time for a wedding? What’s going to be on the invitations? A bride shackled to the groom in the bottom of a sloop? Oh, no. It’ll be an Indian scalping a bride and groom together, at the same time, with the same tomahawk! Cause nothing says “I do” like pre-civil war servitude.
So, here’s the thing. Paula Deen has dug herself into a deeper hole than she was in to start with. If the allegations against her (and Bubba…giggles) are true, then she needs to really think about herself. The employees should have never been treated that way. They should have been protected. PERIOD. Black employees, white employee–they should have been treated like human beings. If you can’t treat your employees as such, you shouldn’t be in business. It’s that simple. Didn’t Paula and Bubba’s mama ever teach them to treat others how they wanted to be treated?
Further proof that everything you need to know about acting like a human being and not being an asshole is taught in kindergarten.
Do I believe Paula deserves what she’s getting?
Well, yeah. Kinda. Someone of Paula Deen’s status as an employer and a celebrity should have held herself at a higher standard. She should have actually did the work she knew needed to be done by keeping her brother in check by any means necessary. She apparently did not do this. Aside from the racial slur, she STILL should have seen this one coming. And about that slur…there is no excuse for that. You can’t say that because you were raised in a different time in the south means it’s okay or excusable somehow. No. Just no.
What you can do, however, is to say you’re sorry and mean it. We’ve already covered that, but I felt it needed mentioning again.
And here’s more of my opinion…
I don’t think Paula’s life is over just yet. She’ll have another cooking show. She’ll get more book deals for butter books. I mean cookbooks. She’ll keep making money. She has a slew of support from fans. If she were to come on and say she screwed up and give a real, heartfelt apology, I would support her again, too. But, I do NOT want to hear her apologize only for saying the N-word. She needs to definitely apologize for that too, but I want to hear that things at her brother’s eatery have been fixed. I want to know her employees will be treated better, too. I want her brother, also, to have to stand up and apologize publicly seeing as how most of this crap involved his sleezy arse.
Just remember, though, that every single time someone points a finger, you have to have both sides of the story before you know what really happened. We know that Paula did say the N-word and have weirdo antebellum visions for her brother’s wedding theme, but what we don’t know is the extent of treatment toward employees. This blog post was based on the assumption the allegations were true. They COULD be half false. Keep that in mind. 😀
Rhiannon Writes On 