Something’s Cooking

I wish to tread lightly here.  I was, somewhat, appalled by the treatment that chef, Paula Deen, received this last week.  Now, I am going to dip into details of everything, but here is a small, brief review:

Paula Deen, master TV chef, has been fired (contract not renewed) on several of her cooking shows and other types of financial supporters.  The problem stemmed from a court transcript supporting that Paula, sometime in the past, used the “N” word.  Now, that in itself is a hot bed.  I understand that and am not trying to belittle it.  The court transcript came from a harassment suit filed by one of the employees at a restaurant run by her brother, “Bubba”, and that she, apparently help(s)(ed) to run (own?) also.  She was asked, under oath, if she had ever used the “N” word and she said, “of course” and later stated it was “a very long time ago.”

I think that is a fair recap of all that I have read today, which is, probably, a dozen things on the Internets, including several clips.  I even watched one of the evening show hosts make fun of this happening to her and she had just been a guest on his show like last week.   Please don’t inundate this site with a bunch of emails going deeply into the details.  That’s not what this article is about.  Also, no hate mail, either way.  It isn’t nice and I won’t leave it on here.

As to the reason for this article, I am working on it.  I am not out to vindicate Paula, nor am I out to hang her.  I am not a close friend of hers; I do not work with her; I don’t think I even own any of her products.

My big concern is not this issue.  My concern here is that people are choosing sides based on a lot of things that haven’t been fully discussed and they are getting angry without thinking it all through.  I am not saying that there is nothing to the allegations; I am not saying there is anything.  What I am saying is that the thing has gone viral and some of that has been almost devoid of the issue.

One person I listened to proclaimed how guilty and how bad Paula was, but if you listened the woman didn’t like her to start with because she “used too much butter in her recipes” and her food wasn’t good for people.  Really?  To degrade a person readily and fully for such a serious accusation mostly just because her food is rich in calories and fat?

The person who brought the accusation of racism against Paula (the restaurant) is a white person.  I am having difficulty figuring out how she was racially slurred by Paula.  It has something to do with this woman’s children or husband, I believe.  Still, this smells to me of “I want attention and I am mad at you, so I will grab straws” kind of thing.

Everyone seems to be on a witch hunt here.  Accusations made and she has admitted to saying one thing years ago and, perhaps, another time.  She can’t remember and didn’t think it was important at the time.

I am not condoning the behavior.  But, neither am I condoning the behavior of the thousands (millions?) of people who have latched onto a couple of details and pushed this person (who seems nice to me) out on her backside.   One of the things I do not like about the media audience of the US is that they tend to blow things way out of proportion just because they can.  It’s funny when it’s a monkey in customs or a cat with two faces; it’s cute when it’s something sweet a child says or a man using a flash mob to propose to his wife; however, it’s horrible when some person’s entire livelihood is overcooked and ruined when the rumor mills start.

I think of all the times in the past when something seemed one way and people jumped on the band wagon only to find out a few days later that, oops!, sorry, it didn’t happen like that.  I guess I am just saying can’t you all wait just a little bit to see what all is going on instead of taking that one statement or one opinion and making it law!?

Just my opinion.  My other opinion:  Racism is wrong.  Very wrong.  I don’t condone it at all.  You all need to know that and not take anything I said above out of context.  If she committed the offense that she is being sued for, okay, then she is in trouble.  However, let the cards all play out to see what’s going on – just in case.

Namaste,

Scott