Kappa's Opinion on the Paula Deen... Whateva...

  Okay, now I just finished reading the Paula Deen deposition (posted below), and in my honest opinion I think that this whole situation has been taken a little too far. I'm not saying that use of the word nigger is acceptable in any case, this being no exception, but come on really!?

The excuse is not that she is from the south, or that's the way it was, and sometimes still is down here. The thing is that the people that are looking to chastise her for the use of the word may be persons that have used it themselves. I know I've said it more times than I can count, in both negative connotation and as a personal pronoun.

 Black people, you know we say it like it's going out of style. Hell, as a guest on msnbc this evening put it, "We dance to the word in our music!"  White people, if we say it out loud we are sure that many of you say it in hushed whispers amongst yourselves where the individuals within earshot are not of color. Other races use similar moniker along with a plethora of other terms. Everyone is labeled as something, good or bad, and even those labels are at times debated.

Paula Deen

To me Paula Deen is the nice older white woman that will strike up a conversation with you as if you are longtime friends. She is that neighbor that is always cooking up something good, calls your house to tell you to send one of the kids over to "pick up some of this food, 'cause I made far too much, and I got too many leftovers in my refrigerator already." She is that lady that will "fix you a plate," and would hug and kiss on your kids as if they were her own grand-kids.

If Paula Deen said the "N" word, as it is put, then she is no more guilty than anyone else that has said it. If she had been tossing the word around carelessly, or ranting like Michael Richards then that would have been reason for concern. If she had been telling us to "use the colored entrance," spraying us with hoses, sic'ing dogs on us, intimidating, actively seeking to suppress our vote or any other numerous oppressive techniques similar to a particular party and its subsets, I too would have torch and pitchfork in hand.

Food Network may have sucummed to the pressure too early on this. I can understand their intolerance, especially with food being a medium that can bring us all together, but such an extreme step may be unwarranted. She did offer what appeared to be a heartfelt apology, and not one of those "I-just-got-caught," or "The-situation-now-involves-me-personally" back-peddaling apologies.

Sometimes people search for a reason to get up in arms. They look for a molehill to turn into a mountain. I feel like this is one of those times.

Scribd.com (May 17, 2013) Paula Deen Testimony

TPM -Talking Points Memo (June 19, 2013) article "Paula Deen On Her Dream "Southern Plantation Wedding"

The Huffington Post (June 21, 2013) Paula Deen Fired: Food Network Cancels Show After Racism Scandal

The Huffington Post (June 21, 2013) Paula Deen Apologizes In Video Statement Addressing Racism Scandal (VIDEO) [UPDATED]

Vol. 3?

I had a talk with my mom a while back and I told her that in my 20's I thought I knew everything, but in my 30's I realized that I knew nothing. To which my mom told me that in your 40's you begin to realize and understand how the things you have done in life have affected the person you are. At this moment I feel as though I am looking back and seeing past experiences, choices, decisions, outcomes, consequences and rewards, both bad and good. Half a lifetime ago I graduated high school and went off to join the Marines. I look at that point as the "second volume" of life. The point of my life when I found out who I was, who true friends are, and how to survive. Maybe this is the start of the "third volume" where I take from the lessons learned in previous volumes to further shape this life. Learn from the negative, build on the positive.