SECOND CHANCE FOR PAULA DEEN? Should Paula Deen be allowed a second chance? She used the “N” word years ago and apologized for it recently. Even Bill Maher said America is the land of second chances, she should not have to go away, and that her apology sounded sincere. He pointed out Martha Stewart was given a second chance after being released from prison in 2005. Martha Stewart was actually convicted of a federal crime and immediately had her own TV show, on a major network, after her release. I am a Southerner, born in Mississippi and raised in Georgia. I heard the “N” word quite a bit when growing up in the Deep South. I used it myself up until about the age of 14 when I started to figure out things for myself. My Dad used the word and unfortunately, he was racist until the day he died. My late mother never used the word and was not a racist. I have some relatives who used the “N” word, but stopped using it over the years as they shed their old racial prejudices. I feel uncomfortable hearing the “N” word whether used by a white person or by a black person, in conversation or song. That’s just me. I also don’t like racist terms like “cracker” and “honky.” “Redneck” I can tolerate most of the time – like in Jeff Foxworthy’s comedy routine. I have also had it directed at me as a racist pejorative. Back in the 1970s, one of my shipmates, (who was black) judged me to be a racist because of my Southern accent. My accent was still very strong in those days. One day he thought I was giving him a hard time because of his race and called me a “****ing redneck”. Prejudice and discrimination are not traits associated with any one race. By the way, I am happy to say the shipmate and I eventually became friends as he got to know me as a person. There are people who have said things a lot worse and never even used the “N” word. Examples: 1. “The President should show his birth certificate.” After he released it, the next demand was, “The President should show his college transcript.” NBC renewed “The Apprentice” even after Donald Trump said those things for the entire world to hear. 2. The President is “shucking and jiving” his way to victory. Sarah Palin recently signed a lucrative contract to be a contributor on the Fox News network. 3. The man in the White House is “the food stamp” president. Newt Gingrich still makes a lot of money on speaking fees. 4. I voted in the Republican primary back in 2000. I wanted a genuine American hero, John McCain, to become President. By the time the California primary was held, he did not have a chance. He crashed and burned in the South Carolina primary and never really recovered. Why did he lose South Carolina? Here is a contributing factor. In the dirtiest of political tricks, Karl Rove started phone calls for an advocacy (or push) poll and Republican primary voters in South Carolina were asked something along this line: “Do you know John McCain is the father of a black girl?” You see, John McCain and his wife adopted an orphan from Bangladesh. Most of us know the people there have very dark skin. Karl Rove’s poll made it sound like John McCain had fathered an illegitimate child. Karl Rove went on to play a prominent role in the administration of President George W. Bush. Since 2009, Karl Rove has been a paid commentator for Fox News. So, there are people who were not kept from signing lucrative TV contracts after saying some truly reprehensible things. Should Paula Deen be allowed a second chance? I am glad I do not have to make that decision. No matter what a TV executive decides, he (or she) will make a large group of people angry. Perhaps it takes the Wisdom of Solomon to make the right decision. I do not claim to have that type of wisdom.
Posted on: Sun, 30 Jun 2013 09:08:14 +0000
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