tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3315491509187311287.post810206360557019745..comments2022-11-08T01:54:26.793-08:00Comments on Black Woman Blogging: If We Could Forgive George Wallace . . . . (A Conversation with Black Folks About Paula Deen)blackwomanblogginghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13179156751612506333noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3315491509187311287.post-44995976566459237892013-06-24T07:20:42.609-07:002013-06-24T07:20:42.609-07:00I’m going to take issue with some of the points yo...I’m going to take issue with some of the points you’ve made on this post. First, I believe that to omit anyone from this discussion—rappers, non-black people, and the like, does a disservice to all of us. This issue affects all of us, not just the ones we like, and if you don’t like the N-word, don’t use it, but other people’s use shouldn’t disqualify them from having their say. I respect that this is your blog, but this is not your discussion, and you don’t have the right to keep others from participating. <br />I also believe that it’s a false premise to conflate Paula Deen’s acknowledgement of racism with George Wallace’s. Wallace, at least early in his political career, was no segregationist, and perhaps not the racist he is known as today. He was a trustee at Tuskegee Institute, and ran on a populist campaign that was as inclusive as you’d expect a southern white man to be at that time. His daughter, in her memoirs, said that race was never discussed at home. It was only when he lost to a devout segregationist that he adopted that platform and never looked back. He may have renounced this racism late in his life (and then it was only after her was SHOT), which is commendable, but his actual sin was that he exploited and manipulated the racial fears and solidarity among poor whites in order to get into office. <br />Paula Deen is guilty of the casual racism that renders people invisible, as objects and not fully-fleshed human beings. And every white person is guilty of that at some point in their lives, just as we are guilty of the same when it comes to others. If she used the word nigger at a certain time in her life, like she says, and has since moved away from that, then I’m okay with it; if she uttered the word for a period of time after a black man put a gun to her temple, I can completely understand why she went there, and in that context (and that context ONLY), there’s nothing to forgive. HOWEVER, we’re not talking about an isolated incident that happened a lifetime ago; this is about issues rooted in her past that must be considered given the RECENT events that are still unfolding. <br />Deen had every opportunity in the world to get ahead of this situation and mitigate any fallout; she didn’t. Now, I have no axe to grind against the woman, I don’t see myself boycotting any entity that continues to do business with her, and I accept that she has many, many black fans who will stand by her as her white ones do. I also believe that her Savannah restaurants will continue to do well. But she’s through as a celebrity endorser and television personality; her reputation is tarnished. Just as Michael Vick, Michael Richards, Hank Williams, Jr., Charlie Sheen, and so many others have learned the hard way is that what you do on your own is one thing (to an extent), but when you are on TV pitching products, you represent the entity you’re shilling for; and you don’t offend the people who sign your checks.<br />Paula Deen shouldn’t go to Oprah unless she wants to be blasted like Mitt Romney was when he spoke to the NAACP. No, she should go to Ebony, TV One, or a similar entity that carries a lot more resonance with the average black life. Other than that, I don’t believe that the average black person thinks Deen speaks to them, so I doubt they’d treat her with anything other than a shrug.<br />Therren Dunhamnoreply@blogger.com