According to a transcript of the deposition, filed Monday in U.S. District Court, an attorney for Jackson asked Deen if she has ever used the N-word.
“Yes, of course,” Deen replied…
Personally, I think everyone’s a racist in some way, shape or form. To me, being racist doesn’t mean that you have to go burn crosses in the yards of black people, vandalize mosques or break into Korean-run dry cleaners and liquor stores. I think there are many, many more forms of less abrasive and subtle racism that exists out there, but is still racism nonetheless.
Hop on a MARTA train, notice that every single person riding with you is black, and you clutch your purse, or discreetly attempt to move your wallet from rear pocket to front? That’s racist. Pass on the first available cab because the driver looks Middle Eastern and you think he might smell bad? That’s racist. Assume that the dry cleaners run by the Koreans are going to be cheaper and higher quality, because they’re Koreans? That’s racist too.
See, none of those examples are necessarily violent, physically detrimental or really anything beyond minor slights, but the bottom line is that such behaviors do exist in the world, because I think everyone’s a little bit racist somewhere in their heads. Racism mostly stems from assumptions and stereotypes exist because there’s always a shred of truth in them, and the people who let these beliefs manifest into hateful actions are extreme cases.
Paula Deen admitting to having used the N-word in her lifetime shouldn’t really be news, but because the fact that she happens to be considered somewhat of a low-grade celebrity, and the fact that the mainstream media doesn’t really have anything else to focus on, makes it news.
The thing is, as much as nerds on the internet love to make fun of Paula Deen because of her southern drawl and her default cooking style of adding eight pounds of butter to everything, I have to say that I really admire her blunt honesty and her overall message.
Of course she’s used the N-word in her lifetime. She’s from Albany, Georgia, which is way, way further south in the state of Georgia. And then she moved to Savannah, a city which to this very day, still has homes on the outskirts of town still flying stars ‘n bars on their front lawns, proudly. It’s a state practically synonymous with racism and black discrimination. The fact that Paula Deen readily admits it is refreshing, and frankly if she denied it, no one would believe her at all, because people believe what they want to believe. Why go through the trouble to walking on eggshells for months afterward to snarky people trying to bait her into slipping up?
Besides, when the day is over, I’d wager on the assertion that over 50% of Americans have spoken the N-word in their lifetimes, and not in that “for educational purposes” way, either. Whether it was heard by anyone else is irrelevant, if it came from your lips, it was still said. I’ll be honest, I’ve said it before; I can’t say that I’m proud of it, but the context also happened to be when two black guys kicked in my front door and attempted to rob my house, because they didn’t realize that I was actually home at the time, but the fact of the matter is that I still used the word, because I was shocked, I was enraged, and the situation warranted it to come out given the circumstances.
Anyway, the fact that Paula Deen admit to using the N-word is hardly the most important part about her honest admission. It’s what came afterward that should be focused on, despite the fact that nobody is, but it’s that she doesn’t tolerate prejudice. She admits her upbringing having led to the word being used, and completely acknowledges the changing of the times, and how it’s not acceptable to use in today’s day and age. And therefore she doesn’t, and regardless of her personal feelings, and as much as people love to make fun of her and assume her to be a complete idiot, she’s undoubtedly a smart enough businesswoman to know to actually use the word in these times.
Personally, I think Paula Deen was smart to just admit it, and move on. She says she’s looking forward to the trial, and I’m guessing it’s just going to be her repeating the same thing over and over again with different words each time, but putting more emphasis on the fact that she doesn’t tolerate prejudice, and has no intention of using the N-word again (audibly, publicly) in today’s day and age, and eventually people will turn their accusatory fingers towards the people issuing the lawsuit, then claiming people trying to grub for money.
This kind of reminds me of the baseball PED scandal in a way; Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens deny over and over again that they’re not on any sort of performance enhancers or steroids, and they’re always under legal scrutiny. Andy Pettitte, another pitcher, when named as a user in a massive report, comes out and admits that he used human growth hormone, that it was wrong, that he won’t do it again, and that he did it because it helped him recover faster, so he could play the greatest game ever. And with that, people dropped the subject and went back to accusing Bonds and Clemens.
I think Deen’s admission will simply speed up the whole song and dance situation. Sure, for now, people are going to accuse her of being a racist, bigot, and all sorts of mean things, but I’d bet that it’s going to blow over substantially faster than if she denied it.
