Before I start, let me say I am not a Paula Deen fan by a stretch. Don't get me wrong, I do not dislike her, I simply barely knew of her existence. I never watched one of her cooking shows, never bought any cookbook or any product endorsed or sold by her. That said, I have no reason to hold any partiality towards her, and in fact, this post is not directly about her predicament.
I found that there is huge hypocrisy about how this affair is being handled by the media, by folks in general, and mostly by store chains that carry Deen product. I am against racism in all shapes or forms, but the question begs: what is more racist, a person who used a derogatory remark to refer to a individual who practiced a violent crime against her decades ago, or a police officer who constantly addresses African-Americans by a respectful sir and Mr., but profiles against this racial group every day of his professional life.What is more racist, I ask? Enough about that, this is not about cop-racial relations as well.
The reason why the N word bothers so much in this day and age is because it is still so much in vogue in society. I am no insensitive, and I do know the context and how hurtful it is for an African-American to hear this word. In my thinking, though, the word is hurtful whether uttered by a white person or an African-American. And it seems that some African-Americans are at fault in keeping this word in vogue this day and age, and making mounds of money on the trot.
In fact, hundreds, possibly thousands of American records, books and movies have been produced, since the hey days of civil rights in the 60s, that contain the N word in full regalia. In fact, lots of singers, comedians, composers, actors, writers etc, make sure the word remains very much alive, by using it plentifully. In fact, I reckon some artists have made millions on their use of the N word, making it a trademark of their performances. They maintain the N word contextually relevant in society, and their use is just as hurtful, wrong as when uttered by a person from another race.
You see, to me when a famous singer uses the N word in his songs, in the context that he is part of the group that is offended by it, he is nothing more than a huge hypocrite. A hip-hop artist who made millions in record and concert sales is no longer part of the ghetto - he is part of a financial and social elite, and he is very condescending against his public. He really means the N. Yes, artists do feel superior to other folks, even non-famous ones do, can you imagine a guy making eight figures a year?
One could say, "it would not be realistic for the N word to be removed from movies, there is a historical context, it would be censorship, where is the right of expression," blah, blah, blah. First, Hollywood is the first to say - when it is convenient, by the way - that it produces fiction. Movies are not necessarily about reality. Second, it would not be the first time Hollywood portrays non-realism in movies to make a point. The movie industry pushes several pet agendas, such as glorification of certain professions, derogatory portrayal of religion, social issues, sexual orientation, even sexual positions which do not correspond to the general truth at all. The only difference is that in this case, the self-censorship and removal of this word from movies would have a good effect, which is questionable when Hollywood seems to suggest everybody is having anal sex.
It occurs though, the shock value of keeping this word in movies does draw some people to the movies, just like it draws some people to concerts. If you know X, Y and Z will be in a movie or performance, you can be certain the N word will be used a few times, and you can laugh it off, as if it were OK for them to use it. They have "artistic license" to use the N word. I am sorry, but I do not buy this rationale that it is OK for an African American entertainer to use the N word, not so for everyone else. It is wrong and hateful for both.
Shock value is also used by the press, which needs a scandal du jour to draw audiences, and nothing better than place a rich, whitest of persons in the midst of such upheaval!
The one thing that bothers me is the double standard. Big store chains have undone contracts with Deen because of the N debacle, yet, you can find in their offerings, plentiful of CDs and DVDS from artists such as Public Enemy, Chris Rock, Paul Mooney, Eddie Murphy and Tupac Shakur, plus tons of movies with other lesser known artists, where the N word is said repeatedly in the vilest of ways. Thus, it is OK to propagate this hatred in "artistic" form, while making a stand against a woman who admits having used the word once!
Mind you, these store chains, who shall remain nameless, but you know who they are, have been asked in the past to remove such merchandise from their shelves by myriad groups . Yet, it continues to be there.
Thus, if you ask me, this whole Deen affair is one huge piece of hypocrisy.
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