Paula Deen Admits to Racial Slurs

[giovanni_hotel]

She's sweet and charming.....and a racist. Moving along.

I mean she was routinely telling racist and ethnic jokes at work among her work staff. That's just crazy nowadays.

[Dino Velvet]

I mean she was routinely telling racist and ethnic jokes at work among her work staff. That's just crazy nowadays.

She acts like the bouncer not the proprietor.

[broncofan]

Sorry but my life doesn't revolve around keeping track of faux celebrities (especially wannabe reality TV celebs) and all their fuck ups or all their moments. It's sad that this shit now passes for real journalism these days when in fact it's just human interest story bullshit and the fact society LOVES to see the rich/famous/powerful taken down a peg or two. Couldn't care less about it (except enough to state my opinion on the matter).

Right, except that an entire category of publishing is devoted to things much less relevant than an appalling thing a celebrity said and the fact they're being sued for it. Magazines publish everything from who someone is dating, to what they wear, and what they eat. It is usually only when the hot button issue of racism comes up that people assert the story is not newsworthy. What's newsworthy is what people deem interesting.

You can count on some fresh outrage every time a story like this comes up, someone will say , "how is this newsworthy when people are dying in ....", except that magazines and newspapers still report things of various degrees of seriousness all the time no matter what's going on.

[Sulka_bewitched_me]

Right, except that an entire category of publishing is devoted to things much less relevant than an appalling thing a celebrity said and the fact they're being sued for it. Magazines publish everything from who someone is dating, to what they wear, and what they eat. It is usually only when the hot button issue of racism comes up that people assert the story is not newsworthy. What's newsworthy is what people deem interesting.

You can count on some fresh outrage every time a story like this comes up, someone will say , "how is this newsworthy when people are dying in ....", except that magazines and newspapers still report things of various degrees of seriousness all the time no matter what's going on.

America....Old Southern hag.......'nuff said.

[Sulka_bewitched_me]

Right, except that an entire category of publishing is devoted to things much less relevant than an appalling thing a celebrity said and the fact they're being sued for it. Magazines publish everything from who someone is dating, to what they wear, and what they eat. It is usually only when the hot button issue of racism comes up that people assert the story is not newsworthy. What's newsworthy is what people deem interesting.

You can count on some fresh outrage every time a story like this comes up, someone will say , "how is this newsworthy when people are dying in ....", except that magazines and newspapers still report things of various degrees of seriousness all the time no matter what's going on.

Just shows you how vapid journalism (and the American's Cult of Celebrity) has become. This lopsided allocation of media attention and public focus is an ominous indicator of how shallow and superficial society has turned into.

[speedking59]

while not excusing boorish behavior, her redneck, white trashiness is what i find attractive about her. i would do her in a New York minute.

[Cecil Rhodes]

while not excusing boorish behavior, her redneck, white trashiness is what i find attractive about her. i would do her in a New York minute.

want here address

[Cecil Rhodes]

Paula Deen has black friends. She even lets them use her bathroom.

even worse, she lends them money

[Cecil Rhodes]

Always surprised at people's defensiveness when a prominent person is caught out saying intolerant things. People make mistakes but she's not really accused of one or two comments but a pattern of harassment towards her workers. Her desire to have black wait staff dress as slaves is pretty damning.

Also gotta love the self-pitying comment about racism towards African Americans being okay because "99% of people have used slurs towards whites". I don't trust that statistic nor do I trust someone who tries to conflate the history of persecution and mistreatment of African-Americans in the United States with that of whites. All racial slurs are wrong to be sure, but the history of racism in the U.S has been fairly one-sided.

1] Telling jokes is not against the law even if you are offended by them nor is speaking your opinion . It is a Right protected by the Constitution .

2] Paula doesn't have any or very few black wait staff . They all work in the kitchen

[broncofan]

1] Telling jokes is not against the law even if you are offended by them nor is speaking your opinion . It is a Right protected by the Constitution .

2] Paula doesn't have any or very few black wait staff . They all work in the kitchen

Your second point only reinforces why your first point is off the mark.

Title VII makes it illegal to alter the terms and conditions of work on account of race, and that includes an action for harassment. I'm not going to go through the test they use for harassment cases, but things employers say can constitute harassment. I've seen dozens of cases where employers using the n word were successfully sued for creating a hostile work environment. Since the law doesn't directly police speech, it doesn't run afoul of the first amendment's protections. If offensive jokes make the working conditions intolerable for minorities, they are illegal under title vii.

Also, as to your second point, it is illegal to intentionally exclude individuals from certain positions because they are black. Even having a stratified workplace like that could subject an employer to liability under disparate impact theory. These are not the good ole days anymore!