Sticks (of Butter) and Stones

Dear Reader (and Professor J, wherever you are),

What is it about summer that causes these whirlwinds about mega-entreprenuers and what comes out of their mouths? Is it the heat? They seem to revolve around food moguls. I'm tempted to make an "if you can't stand the heat" joke. The layers of things going on here are enough to give me a stomach ache.

We don't know how to have a really honest discussion about race issues in this country. It makes all of us uncomfortable. And, bless her heart, Ms. Deen isn't helping. If only she'd kept shoveling grits into her mouth she might not have had room for her foot. Anyone in the South will tell you that the vast majority of that kind of language is generational. It's increasingly offensive to everyone, not just African Americans. It hasn't played well in the New South. Younger white people (can I say that? Okay, Caucasian, just to be safe.) have no tolerance of it even within families. Give it 20 or 30 years and it will disappear, except that the rappers now keep it alive.

I'm perplexed about what kind of attorney would advise her not to just settle out of court on the original matter. Surely she must have been grilled (or perhaps deep fried) over what she may have said in the past as well as the circumstances, people present, whether she was drunk or traumatized in some way. And according to her, she used the racial slur after being robbed and having a gun held to her head. It's hard to speculate about what any of us might say under those conditions.

And should even the worst thing you've ever said be reason enough to warrant the kind of reaction we're seeing? Martha Stewart lied to federal agents, under oath, about her insider trading. She was able to be punished with a brief stint in prison. She's recovered nicely. Paula can't be imprisoned (yet) for her hateful words, but apparently she is deserving of having everything she's built over a lifetime destroyed as the next best option. Her employees are entitled to a safe and fair work environment without harassment or discrimination of any kind. But from what I can tell so far the main thing Deen is guilty of is bad manners and outdated thinking (and making her fellow southerners look bad). When the labor laws start to cover ill mannered demanding bosses, nothing will ever get done. 

The political correctness police and the power they seem to wield, make me a little nervous. My daughter who is getting her Masters in education has been enlightening me to all the ways to offend people of other cultures and races. It's kind of like the tax code. You are likely to be committing some offense you are unaware of.

Black history around Martin Luther King's birthday? Offensive.
Irish history in March? Offensive.
Anything about Columbus, Native Americans, and Pilgrims in October and November? Offensive.

I'm not sure when the Italians and Germans are supposed to be offended but I'm sure it's there somewhere. 

Are we all just being trained now to look for ways to be offended? How is that helping?

But back to Paula. The real offense she's committed is foisting her fat and calorie laden recipes on a public already dealing with a myriad of health issues created by the kind of diet she promotes. Or did promote until she was diagnosed with diabetes. Or did promote until she was caught keeping her health issues a secret so she could keep making money off her image and recipes.

Okay, I'm offended. Sign me up for the Food Police.