June 22, 2013

Paula Deen's apology... why didn't it work?

I had guessed — when we first talked about Paula Deen, here — that Paula Deen would be okay. In the comments:
Rumpletweezer said...
I just hope she turns out to be a Democrat.

Ann Althouse said...
Paula Deen is a Democrat, so she'll probably be okay.
But Paula Deen was fired from the Food Network, even after making this apology:



That had elements of a sincere apology. None of the typical "I apologize to anyone who was offended." Why didn't it work? 4 ideas:

1. She opted out of "Today" show Matt Lauer interview, supposedly because she was in so much pain, but she admits that she caused pain, so she should have gone through the pain to expiate the pain caused. And, really, avoiding Lauer wasn't about pain, it was about the fear of probing questions.

2. The video isn't good enough. She's very poorly lit. There's distracting stuff in the background: a creepy painting, a roll of paper towels, a large display of makeup, wires on the floor. The first quarter of the video presents excuses for not going on the "Today" show that sound untrue. She was "physically unable" to go on the show? She wrecks her own credibility at the outset. She moves on to "the pain that I have caused to myself" pause "and to others." She put herself first there. That's revealing.

3. The Food Network had its polls and its ratings. These are cold, grim economic calculations. Perhaps the time for Paula Deen has ended. I see she'd just come out with a new commercial product called "Finishing Butters," which sounds like the title of a "South Park" episode. The whole Paula Deen thing seems based on a joke. The joke is over.

4. Racism is the unforgivable sin in America. Once it's stuck to you, you can't pull it off. Everyone else must act quickly to keep any of you getting stuck to them.

What do you think? All of the above?

188 comments:

rhhardin said...

It's a blood in the water thing, not an apology thing.

AllenS said...

You can also get in a lot of trouble by simply telling the truth.

Deen even recently told the Washington Examiner, “[Michelle Obama] probably ate more than any other guest I ever had on the show! She kept eating even dur­ing commercials. Know what [the Obamas’] favorite foods are? Hot wings.”

She paints a picture of Obama that’s a far cry from the first lady who was photographed holding a worm she pulled from a vegetable garden yesterday.

According to the Enquirer, Obama now regrets going on Deen’s show. “Michelle’s spitting mad,” a source told the paper. “She thinks Paula is trying to smear her and her family just as the 2012 presidential election race swings into gear.


So, there's that.

Anonymous said...

Several years ago I figured there'd be a backlash against political correctness. It hasn't happened, at least not yet.

Peter

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

When I first read about her supposed comments about the desire to have a wedding with a slave theme - I thought, Lady you just killed it. Then I read on and it looks as if Paula and her son are being sued by a disgruntled former employee. The usual. Then I noted the timeline. This was all back in 2007. Then the "n" word came up. American speech codes are clear: White person cannot say the N word under any circumstances and if over-heard saying the N word - white person must grovel before a camera and grovel on the Today show. I do not blame Paula for canceling the Today show. F*ck Matt Lauer - who is he? Another cookie cutter emotionalist pro-democrat media cheerleader. Ugh. What's the point? Another grovel session for dumb Americans to savor? Get down on your knees and beg America for your forgiveness!
What a sad state.

Quasimodo said...

" Racism is the unforgivable sin in America."

Only the wrong kind of racism is unforgivable.

madAsHell said...

She admitted to a thought crime.

Michael said...

A black friend of hers defended her on CNN last night citing a number of things she had done for other blacks including getting one started in a very successful business. But she is from the south so she was sunk from the get go. She was smart not to go on morning TV. She apparently is/was a huge Obama supporter. But she is from the south and used a bad word.

Michael said...

A black friend of hers defended her on CNN last night citing a number of things she had done for other blacks including getting one started in a very successful business. But she is from the south so she was sunk from the get go. She was smart not to go on morning TV. She apparently is/was a huge Obama supporter. But she is from the south and used a bad word.

Ann Althouse said...

Meade was hearing the video without seeing it and he said "Is that Lindsey Graham?"

rhhardin said...

The internet Catch-22 study guide goes helpfully PC, pointing out tripwires

[Chief White Halfoat:] "Racial prejudice is a terrible thing, Yossarian. It really is. It's a terrible thing to treat a decent, loyal Indian like a nigger, kike, wop, or spic." (5.37)

Chief White Halfoat contradicts himself, saying he is against racism, but immediately using derogatory and racist slurs to define people.


James said...

This event moved so fast I doubt Food Network did any polling; perhaps they called Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson Jr. but that was probably the extent of it. More likely Deen had a low Q score and the network used this incident as an excuse to get out of its contract.

At some level I feel sympathy for her; as far as I'm concerned there are few things that should cause anyone to grovel the way she did and using "the N word" isn't one of them.

Anonymous said...

Matt Lauer Robot says;

All Apologies to the American People Shall Pass Through Me. I Will Define the Necessary Shame: I Will Supply the Proper Hair-Shirt. It is My Job.

Cedarford said...

ironrailsironweights said...
Several years ago I figured there'd be a backlash against political correctness. It hasn't happened, at least not yet
===============================
I don't think there will be a time when the people doing PC to destroy incorrectly thinking people will pause until a victim goes after them and kills a few.

Could be a race baiter like Sharpton needs to be shot by someone whose life he wrecked, or a media mogul or news anchoress doing an active demonization campaign.

But right now, the purveyors of PC think they can do so from utter safety and job security as they seek to wreck reputations and careers of "designated targets" - who are rarely Muslim, minority, or active Democrat lefists. So it will continue - until targets of their aggression take a few of them down.

rhhardin said...

There was an AP item long ago on somebody using a racist slur against Native Americans, and we discussed it in email wondering what it might be. I didn't know any.

"Hey, wampum nose" was all we could invent at a moment's notice.

Shouting Thomas said...

Another denunciation! Of Paula fucking Dean! Yeah, that's important. When are you going to fight back against this idiocy, Althouse?

First, you have to stop participating in the denunciations, but you enjoy that scam yourself when it comes to the gay bullshit. When are you going to stop with that shit?

You're supposed to be smarter than us, professor, so why are you playing along with this vicious fucking stupid crap? Show us the way out of this grotesquely idiotic purge.

Anonymous said...

Adultery in America - Fine.

Texting pictures of your private parts to women not your wife - temporary setback.

Saying a thoughtless word related to race and immediately owning up and apologizing? Your life is over.

The Pharisees are out in force in these times.

"But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' "

rhhardin said...

It would be cool of the Slurs were an ethnic group, some part of the former Yugoslavia perhaps.

n.n said...

It's not "racism". That is a selective sin, as we are all too familiar with Obama, Biden, Rangel, [Kanye] West, et al. She probably has multiple problems, which can be summarized as insufficient leverage.

Bob Ellison said...

The southern word "y'all" (which Deen says all the time and right at the beginning of the video) and the Jersey word "youse" are typically taken as indications of lack of sophistication, but that's wrong. They indicate lack of indoctrination, but they are sophisticated second-person-plural pronouns that we Queen's English speakers lack.

edutcher said...

Maybe because the Lefties are getting ready to sacrifice the blacks on the altar of the Permanent Democrat Majority (AmnestyCare) and this is the bone they're throwing to them to keep them quiet.

Ann Althouse said...

The Food Network had its polls and its ratings. These are cold, grim economic calculations.

And they know "Dog The Bounty Hunter" is back on the air*. This is about letting the heat die down.

Racism is the unforgivable sin in America. Once it's stuck to you, you can't pull it off. Everyone else must act quickly to keep any of you getting stuck to them.

Hell, George Wallace was forgiven (granted, he had to get shot...).

Mrs Deen's book sales need to be analyzed. for now, the pontiffs of political correctness must be appeased.

* The big hoo-hah over "Dog" conveniently coincided with a change in direction for A&E. Maybe the same is happening at A&E.

n.n said...

re: selective sin

I nearly forgot Sharpton and his "non-profit" effort to foment division among the population, blacks and Jews, etc.

Bob Ellison said...

rhhardin, that's a great concept. It could be a science-fiction story. The Slurs, the Racists, and the Fat Cats comprise a made-up country like Yugoslavia. Hilarity and bloodshed ensue.

edutcher said...

rhhardin said...

It would be cool of the Slurs were an ethnic group, some part of the former Yugoslavia perhaps.

No, an old doo wop group from the 50s.

MayBee said...

I agree with rhhardin. It's a blood in the water thing

And no, not all racism is unforgivable. Robert Byrd was forgiven. Al Sharpton thrives.


These swarms of the day really make me sick, and I say that without caring about Paula Deen. Bored people fixing on something trivial until someone's life is in tatters. Whether its this, Don Imus, or the chick who had the obnoxious picture at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

Anonymous said...

Matt Lauer Robot says;

I Answer To a Higher Calling. America Trusts Me To Shame Those Who Need Shaming. I Will Lean Back in My Chair, Look at the Person with Narrowed Eyes and Cock My Eyebrow: this Lets America Know I am Watching Out for Them.

Michael Haz said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
MayBee said...

Is there no one who truly cares what Paula Deen said in private?
No.

Cedarford said...

I add, though I do not actively want violence, it would go a long way towards stopping PC, which relies on the passivity and physical restraint of their victims.
There is a reason the militant homos of the Gaystapo were trashing Mormon temples and disrupting white Catholic services, threatening the jobs in the entertainment industry of the non-PC... in the Prop 8 days. While avoiding vandalism and organized fucking with the black ministers and their flocks, or charging into Mosques or hispanic religious services. Or threatening to fire blacks and such from jobs on their anti-gay views.

The reason is pretty simple: The gays would have gotten their fucking asses kicked (or far worse) - by the Muslims, the blacks, the hispanics they sought to shame, fire, and intimidate.

Gahrie said...

This is just a warm up for when Zimmerman gets acquited.

MayBee said...

Iron Chef America is gone?

Michael Haz said...

Food Network was trying to end their contract with her well before this event. Her ratings have dropped, her health issues and the equally low ratings of her son's show were costing Food Network money.

The n-word event was just icing.

Food Network has bailed on most of its other expensive-to-produce cooking shows as well. Emeril Lagasse, gone. Mario Batali, gone. Alton Brown, gone (except re-runs). Iron Chef America, gone. Rachel Ray, gone.

Paula Deen will be okay. Her road show still packs theaters. Her restaurant empire will thrive. People who know that she got jobbed by the PC police will still be fans.

You just can't use the n-word in private conversation decades ago. Unlike the NFL, where you can kill a man and still play.

Anonymous said...

One small crack in the political correctness wall might be the growth and popularity of the HBD blogosphere. The fact that some people are willing to discuss what is quite possibly the single most taboo topic in the country, well, that means something.

Peter

Michael Haz said...

Hell, Ted Kennedy killed, and he was okay.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

The former employee is stating that Paula's son harassed her and that Paula did nothing to stop it.
This all happened in one of the restaurants owned by the family.
We don't know fact/fiction just the accusations... and that dreaded unforgivable N word.

I'm not defending Paula. I don't know what really happened.
I think Bagoh touched on something in the last thread:

Outrage maintenance.
Our never-ending thirst for outrage.
I'd add to that --the career destruction grovel sequence.

Also Allen S touched on something. Could there be a little mob payback going on? Paula didn't paint the proper pre-approved picture of Michelle O?

Known Unknown said...

Saying a thoughtless word related to race and immediately owning up and apologizing? Your life is over.

Deen will be back. She still has restaurants and cookbooks.

Known Unknown said...

Saying a thoughtless word related to race and immediately owning up and apologizing? Your life is over.

Deen will be back. She still has restaurants and cookbooks.

pm317 said...

According to the Enquirer, Obama now regrets going on Deen’s show. “Michelle’s spitting mad,” a source told the paper. “She thinks Paula is trying to smear her and her family just as the 2012 presidential election race swings into gear.


I wonder who leaked this thing to National Enquirer.

Anonymous said...

Matt Lauer Robot says;

I Look At the Person to Be Shamed and Think: They Would Never Ride With Me in My Limo. If they were a Chauffeur They Would Never Drive My Limo. If they Were a Valet They Would Never Park My Limo. If They Were a Car Wash Attendant they Would Never Wash My Limo. If They Were a Pedestrian I Would Roll Up My Tinted Windows, Lock the Doors and Studiously Ignore their Existence. I Call This My 'Limo Test': it Guides Me in Guiding America.

Anonymous said...

Matt Lauer Robot says;

Ann Curry is No Longer Allowed in my Limo.

She Will Have to Live with That Pain.

edutcher said...

Michael Haz said...

You just can't use the n-word in private conversation decades ago. Unlike the NFL, where you can kill a man and still play.

Yes, but only if you're black.

Of course, you can be the biggest racist in the country and get away with that if you're black.

The day that stops, you know the Lefties have made their choice between the Hispanics and the blacks.

Hell, Ted Kennedy killed, and he was okay.

Yes, but only Massholes would vote for him.

Anonymous said...

Matt Lauer Robot says;

When In Doubt I Confer with Mayor Bloomberg to Determine What is Best for America. We Talk in the Back of My Limo.

exhelodrvr1 said...

Being a white racist is the one unforgivable sin. Unless you're a Democratic Senator.

Mark said...

They wanted to get rid of her since last year when it came out that she hid her diabetes for a few years (while selling recipes that cause others diabetes and heart trouble).

They have been waiting for a reason to fire her that wouldn't implicate most of their shows in the same accusation.

The fact that the defenders of her caused the south to be again seen as the region for closet racists is only icing on the cake. Enjoy your representative, southern whites.

Astro said...

'What I said was incredibly stupid..."
"I don't know what the hell I was thinking..."
'What I did was unforgivable..."

Some form of these phrases needed to be said, and Deen didn't come close to saying any of them. She apparently hasn't realized yet that her insulting behavior is unforgivable, so asking forgiveness just doesn't go anywhere.

It's the kind of behavior that intelligent Southerners like Alton Brown have been striving to eradicate, and to see someone like Deen openly exhibit such bigotry must seem to him like a slap in the face.

Mogget said...

It's an acceptable form of bullying for Progressive participation.

Mark O said...

Richard Prior on how to deal with the issue:


http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/f02d0b8cca/word-association-from-nino

Anonymous said...

Matt Lauer Robot says;

The N-Word and Excessive Use of Butter: Is This Not Reason Enough for the Television Pillory?

I'm Full of Soup said...

Who is Paula Deen?

James said...

(while selling recipes that cause others diabetes and heart trouble).

You can't be serious?

ndspinelli said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
MayBee said...

.
It's the kind of behavior that intelligent Southerners like Alton Brown have been striving to eradicate, and to see someone like Deen openly exhibit such bigotry must seem to him like a slap in the face.


But it is past behavior. This is not something she said recently.

MadisonMan said...

If it's not going to work, why not go out in a blaze of glory?

To all the people who are calling for my head: I assume there is absolutely nothing in your past that might cause you embarrassment, or of which you are ashamed. I am sorry your loved ones must live with such a paragon of virtue. It must be very tiring

Anonymous said...

Matt Lauer Robot says;

I Alone Will Determine if the Apology is To Be Accepted; I Alone Will Define the Suitable Penance. Only Matt Lauer Can Absolve You of Your Sins

The Power of Matt Lauer Compels You.

The Power of Matt Lauer Compels You.

The Power of Matt Lauer Compels You.


KCFleming said...

The progressive religion requires a sacrifice every so often, whether to the god of racism or environment or feminism doesn't much matter much.

It feeds on a regular basis, so best to keep your head down when there's been a dry patch.

Anonymous said...

Matt Lauer Robot says;

I Cast You Out, Unclean Spirit!

Astro said...

But it is past behavior. This is not something she said recently.

2006. If it had been 1956 she might have gotten a pass.

pm317 said...

My husband just joked that her son will start a new TV show called "Not my Mama's culture".. LOL

{For those who are not aware, after her diabetes revelation, Food Network put her son up to a show called "Not my Mama's meals"}.

Nomennovum said...

Racism is the unforgivable sin in America. Once it's stuck to you, you can't pull it off. Everyone else must act quickly to keep any of you getting stuck to them.

No it is not. I suspected she would not skate, though. Her problem is (1) she is the wrong color, (2) she has no liberal PC history and therefore no liberal political mojo, and (3) she is a tacky southern hick.

Liberals are racialists. (1) You can be a black racist and be fine. Evidence: so obvious, I need not spell it out. (2) You can overcome past anti-black racism by establishing your liberal bona fides and acquiring political power thereby. Evidence: Sen. Robert Byrd, KKK Grand Kleagle. (3) Liberals are elitist snobs. They despise the rabble and want to control them.

Thus, she can be safely sacrificed to the PC gods, even though she voted for The One.

Tank said...

Shoulda said:

Hey, the black cooks in my restaurant use that word.

The black waitstaff use that word.

The black customers use that word.

I was confused. I thought with all of them saying it, it was ok.

Nomennovum said...

Don't let me forget to mention that the Democrats will soon be making her an honorary Republican.

It will start right here on this thread, I am sure.

Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...

pm317 said...

I wonder who leaked this thing to National Enquirer.


I think you may be somewhat confused about the Enquirer's business model

Brian Brown said...

It didn't work because Democrats generally don't do apologies well.

somefeller said...

Ann Althouse asks:What do you think? All of the above?

Hard to say. These sorts of things tend to be overdetermined. But if there's one thing I've learned from the past decade or so of political discourse, Saul Alinsky had something to do with this mess.

Ipso Fatso said...

"Racism is the unforgivable sin in America. Once it's stuck to you, you can't pull it off."

Racism is part of the human condition, always has been, always will be. What Deen said was stupid but she should have never been fired. The same goes for Jimmy the Greek, Al Campanis and all the others including the black guy that was let go recently for taking a shot at whites.

Don Imus, who I hate, and Dog the bounty Hunter, are both back on the air. Paula Deen will be too. She should make amends in some way. FN handled it the wrong way.

Brian Brown said...

Racism is the unforgivable sin in America. Once it's stuck to you, you can't pull it off.

Hysterical bullshit.

Our current President sat in a racist "church" for 20+ years, with his wife and children no less, and people like you voted for him.

Anonymous said...

Matt Lauer Robot says;

Get Thee to a Nunnery.

jacksonjay said...


Chuck Hagel Robot says:

"Stone Her, Stone Her!"

"Give Me a Rock!"

Saint Croix said...

Racism is the unforgivable sin in America.

We are a very moralistic culture. We always have been. We're still beating ourselves up about slavery (a worldwide phenomenon). We've voted for a President with black skin to prove how non-racist we are. And then we did it again. And still it's not enough. We will never cleanse ourselves of our shame.

I feel no shame. Because I'm shameless, I guess? I just got here! That's my attitude. Don't blame me for shit I didn't do. I got enough shit-I-did on my plate.

In the year 2113, to atone for abortion and infanticide, the USA will elect a baby President.

"Goo goo. Goo goo goo."

And the 2113 Vladimir Putin Robot says (under his breath): "I hate this fucker."

Brian Brown said...

By the way, on CNN right now there is some sort of "body language expert" going through her video frame by frame telling us Dean's frame of mind during each part of the video.

Reason 422,134 why America is an empire in total decline.

The idea that somehow saying nigger in private is an unforgivable sin is preposterous.

Watching the race obsessed, guilty white liberal boomers go into over drive about this is comical.

Anonymous said...

Matt Lauer Robot says;

Uneasy Lies the Head that Wears The Crown of Television.

Anonymous said...

Guess Deen also believed her FOO (friend of O) status would protect her from the pc police.

Anyway, she deserves to be fired: too stupid, too bigoted, too arrogant.

Patrick said...

Perhaps the time for Paula Deen has ended? I didn't even know it was upon us.

edutcher said...

Nomennovum said...

Liberals are racialists.

No, they're racists. even the white ones hate white people (other than themselves, of course).

(2) You can overcome past anti-black racism by establishing your liberal bona fides and acquiring political power thereby. Evidence: Sen. Robert Byrd, KKK Grand Kleagle.

Don't forget the "white niggers" thing. That was within a year or two of his death.

Byrd got a pass because he was necessary if the Demos wanted any of their bills passed.

Jay said...

It didn't work because Democrats generally don't do apologies well.

Only because they don't give 'em, they expect to get 'em.

somefeller said...

What do you think? All of the above?

Hard to say. These sorts of things tend to be overdetermined. But if there's one thing I've learned from the past decade or so of political discourse, Saul Alinsky had something to do with this mess.


For once, he's right about something.

rhhardin said...

I wonder if the Navy still has riggers.

Tank said...

I wonder if all of her black employees are going to quit in protest. Or maybe they can sue because they now know that she once said a bad word. Now they're suffering terminal butt hurt.

Prolly need years of therapy to get over working for someone who said a bad word.

jacksonjay said...


That Hillary joke about Gandhi being a convenience store clerk has been forgotten!

Biden and Reid comments about The Saint have been forgotten!

I doubt that the George Allen "macaca" comment or various rape comments will ever go away!

Just Say In!

Anonymous said...

Matt Lauer Exorcist Robot says;

Especially Important is the Warning to Avoid Connections with the Demon. We may Ask what is Accusatory but anything Beyond that is Dangerous. She is a Liar. The Guest is a Liar. She will Lie to Confuse Us. But She will also Mix Lies with the Truth to Attack us. So don't Listen to Her. Remember that - Do Not Listen.

edutcher said...

jacksonjay said...

That Hillary joke about Gandhi being a convenience store clerk has been forgotten!

Biden and Reid comments about The Saint have been forgotten!

I doubt that the George Allen "macaca" comment or various rape comments will ever go away!

Just Say In!


Or Hagel asking an Indian prof if he was Taliban.

But, then, he's one of "their" Republicans.

Anonymous said...

Saint Croix said...
"And then we did it again."

Did we? He returned to office, but did we re-elect him? Guess only the NSA, the IRS, and AG Holder know.

An "N" word in private got Paula fired; an unethical, if not illegal, wiretap and computer hacking of non-complied journalists would protect Holder from losing his job. May be too many judges are tapped and are afraid to say no to J Edgar II.

CNN would rather spend every waking minute to analyze Paula's bigotry than one more minute to report on Obama regime's malfeasance.

somefeller said...

Leaving aside the usage of a particular offensive word, if past choices of certain party themes are now unforgivable sins, anyone who was a member of the Kappa Alpha Order in college is sweating bullets this morning.

Many if not most readers of this thread will have no idea what I meant with that comment, but those who went to college at a Southern university will probably get it and chuckle.

Anonymous said...

Paula Deen Advisor Robot says:

There is one outside chance for a cure. I think of it as shock treatment - as I said, it's a very outside chance... Have you ever heard of Television Exorcism? Well, it's a stylized Ritual in which Matt Lauer will try to Drive out the Politically Incorrect Spirit.

chickelit said...

Althouse wrote: I had guessed — when we first talked about Paula Deen, here — that Paula Deen would be okay.

I hope she comes out OK, but it may take some time.

chickelit said...

Somefehler wrote: Many if not most readers of this thread will have no idea what I meant with that comment, but those who went to college at a Southern university will probably get it and chuckle.

Knowing you from comments alone, I'm sure it was meant to demonize an entire group of people.

Jenny said...

Hell in a hand-basket. If the libs decide you've got to go . . . you're gone.

Now they can read your email and listen to your phone calls to find evidence of your wrong-doing.

I'm done with food network, for what that's worth (nothing, I imagine).

I'll be buying a Paula Deen cookbook today and a pound of butter.

rhhardin said...

It's meant to say that blacks are important.

All that blacks are allowed to be important about, however, is whether somebody said nigger.

Career destruction proves that importance of blacks to blacks, and repeat.

There are tripwires corresponding to every Democrat constituency. Check it out.

Morality is pretty different from that setup.

somefeller said...

Knowing you from comments alone, I'm sure it was meant to demonize an entire group of people.

There's one who didn't get it.

chickelit said...

There's one who didn't get it.

I didn't go to a southern University, so please explain it.

somefeller said...

I didn't go to a southern University, so please explain it.

No need to. Like I said, most people won't get the reference, but those that do will probably emit a short chuckle. But let's just say it has something to do with party themes, gray uniforms and Robert E. Lee.

Anonymous said...

Most of what being liberal is about these days is feeling superior, as somefeller now demonstrates.

From wiki:

The fraternity has been criticized for racial insensitivity, identification with the Confederacy and racism. In November 2002, the Zeta Psi and Kappa Alpha Order chapters at the University of Virginia were suspended and subsequently cleared after the fraternities held a Halloween party where a few guests were photographed wearing blackface and dressed up as Uncle Sam and Venus and Serena Williams.

In 2009, Kappa Alpha Order at the University of Alabama was criticized for wearing Confederate uniforms for an "Old South" parade that passed by an African-American sorority house celebrating its 35th anniversary.

AllenS said...

party themes, gray uniforms and Robert E. Lee.

I laughed so hard, I almost pissed my pants.

Big Mike said...

Who's Paula Deen, and why do I care?

I'm not surprised that liberal Democrats are racists under the skin. Some day they're going to have a lot to answer for.

virgil xenophon said...

Ok, Ok, chicken-man, I'll enlighten. KA's don't have a fraternity chapter north of the Mason-Dixon line. And "Old South Day" is their spring formal. N'uff said?

William said...

We're painting ourselves in a corner by saying that Deen's words are unforgivable. Ray Lewis drove away from two dead bodies, and Michael Vick tortured dogs. These men have been forgiven. Are their crimes so much less than Deen's?......If the Obamas really wanted to appear lofty and forgiving, they could invite her to a White House dinner. Invite Jeremish Wright too. Let it be known that the Obama family and America are willing to look beyond a few dumb words and judge a person by the quality of their life's work.

Saint Croix said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

But right now, the purveyors of PC think they can do so from utter safety and job security as they seek to wreck reputations and careers of "designated targets" - who are rarely Muslim, minority, or active Democrat lefists. So it will continue - until targets of their aggression take a few of them down.

Ah Cedarford, the voice of reasonableness and moderation.

somefeller said...

Glad to see someone got it! I was concerned because, well, Wisconsin.

And I'm not feeling superior, creely, I'm just making a little observation on the implications of this new addition to the sin list. Plus, some of my best friends were KAs. (See what I did there?)

Freeman Hunt said...

It didn't work because it's the Food Network. The home-type programming networks operate on good will. Deen dashed hers.

RiverRat said...

If she were black...everyone would be laughing. If she were brown...a few frowns. But she's white. Gotta put down those friggin gringo honkies.

RiverRat said...

If she were black...everyone would be laughing. If she were brown...a few frowns. But she's white. Gotta put down those friggin gringo honkies.

traditionalguy said...

That about sums it up.

Does she need a job now? We might need a fat Methodist cook who can also dress up like a cheerleader and sing while she serves, clears the table and washes the dishes. But it must all be music we pre approved...not Dixie and not Yellow Rose of Texas.

edutcher said...

somefeller said...

Glad to see someone got it! I was concerned because, well, Wisconsin.

And I'm not feeling superior, creely, I'm just making a little observation on the implications of this new addition to the sin list. Plus, some of my best friends were KAs. (See what I did there?)


Yes, he did it again.

Anonymous said...

A Creepy Painting. A Roll of Paper Towels. A Large Display of Makeup. Wires on the Floor. Those Who Whisper in the Walls Understand the Significance of All Of This. Do Not Forget the Baby Spiders.

Anonymous said...

The Creepy Painting Contains Tortured Souls Trapped in Circles of Nauseous Color. Some Inner Circles are Mouths, Frozen in Soundless Despair. They Cannot Warn Us. There are Spirits in the Wires on the Floor.

Anonymous said...

There are Never Enough Paper Towels to Wipe Clean the Tears of the Tortured Souls. There is Never Enough Make-Up to Disguise the Pain Inside. The Creepy Painting Beckons: Look Closer.

Anonymous said...

Behind the Creepy Painting There is Blood On the Wall. The Paper Towels will Not Clean This, Either.

Anonymous said...

The Blood of the Tortured Souls Seeps into the Back of the Canvas. Sacrifices are Needed: it is Understood.

Anonymous said...

The Mute Mouths Feel the Blood Seep into Them. It Nourishes Their Unending Torment. How many Unsuspecting Victims Has She Lured Into This Room With Promises of Butter and Promiscuity? The Creepy Painting Knows.

Anonymous said...

Blood and Butter: Those Who Whisper in the Walls Have Heard the Muffled Screams. And the Laughter. Always the Laughter.

Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...

William said...
We're painting ourselves in a corner by saying that Deen's words are unforgivable. Ray Lewis drove away from two dead bodies, and Michael Vick tortured dogs. These men have been forgiven.


The NFL is more than a little morally compromised itself, with a business model that requires human beings to inflict long-term damage to each others brains solely for the purposes of entertainment. Everyone involved understands that it is probably best to not hew too closely to any absolute standards of morality in this field.

Anonymous said...

Almost Imperceptibly, the Creepy Painting Grows Larger With Each New Sacrifice. There is Butter Beneath the Chair.

Clark said...

The left has been out for Paula's blood since the whole diabetes flap. He wouldn't tow their line then, so they set out to destroy her. Mission Accomplished.

Nomennovum said...

I went to a Southern college. I remember thinking that, when my sophomore year roommate from Westchester County, NY decided to join the Kappa Alphas (“an order, not a fraternity”), I was left scratching my Yankee head, wondering what he saw in that Old South Day stuff. But he liked his brothers, who were his friends. My friends and I at school would refer to the whole fraternity thing as “rent-a-friend.” Later in life, I came to realize men don’t rent friends. They rent women – either on long-term lease arrangements or by the hour. Male friendship, however, is one of the few things in life that is free.

Anonymous said...

There is Butter Beneath the Chair. There is Butter On the Back of the Door, and on the Door Knob. There is Butter Inside the Lipstick Tube.

Grandma said...

St. Croix: "...we will never cleanse ourselves of our shame."

for all the little children of the world, red n yellow, black n white, we need to provide reparations, contingent upon a gag order and censorship of the ethnicity of whom enslaved whom. It's reprehensible to continue to foist racial division on generation after generation.

I guess the composer of that song was racist, or is projecting that jesus is--whay about the little brown children?

Pc-ness is going to destroy the melting pot before the

William said...

I like her recipe for deep fried pecan pie, but the honey glazed marshmallow topping seemed a bit much. I'd prefer just whipped cream. Sometimes less is more.

Anonymous said...

How Many Must Be Sacrificed To Appease the Butter Demon? How Many More? Only She and the Creepy Painting Know the Answer to This. But it is Probably a Lot.

chickelit said...

The NFL is more than a little morally compromised itself, with a business model that requires human beings to inflict long-term damage to each others brains solely for the purposes of entertainment. Everyone involved understands that it is probably best to not hew too closely to any absolute standards of morality in this field.

Wow. Just wow. A border piece for my puzzle. Maybe even a corner piece.

Thanks, ARM!

Anonymous said...

There is Butter on the Handcuffs. There is Butter on the Night Stick.

Anonymous said...

Once We Realize The Truth of Her Pain-and-Butter Room the Seriousness of Her Verbal Transgression Lessens.

Creepy Painting, Indeed.

Saint Croix said...

LOL Betamax

Saint Croix said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Saint Croix said...

Black people are just like white people, just like brown or yellow or red people.

If you got an advantage, you use it. It's natural. It's called power. So black people now manipulate and use racial guilt for their own advantage.

To resist this urge, you have to come to some moral realization that other people are like you. And you should apply the same rule to them as you would apply to yourself.

There will be no baby Presidents. That actually will be the nice thing, politically, about the aftermath of abortion. There won't be this group of people who beat us over the head with how evil we are, and use it to manipulate us.

Of course, some might say that a baby's inability to manipulate us is a testament to their lack of humanity. On the other hand, you might say it makes them nicer than us, better people, more innocent.

David R. Graham said...

Maybe someone already mentioned: that "creepy painting" is a print of a Kandinsky.

Saint Croix said...

Maybe someone already mentioned: that "creepy painting" is a print of a Kandinsky.

Yeah, but she likes it because it looks like a dozen frying pans going at once.

Saint Croix said...

or plates of food.

food, food, food!

Saint Croix said...

a baby's inability to manipulate us

Except for that crying-because-I-want-you-to-feed-me-right-now thing. Babies actually learn manipulation early and often.

William said...

I just read an account of her life in the Daily Beast. Her life had a lot of challenges and setbacks, most of them a lot more severe than this. She'll survive, and, if she ever misses a meal, it won't be because of this....In discussions of her racism, liberal commenters never mention that she was an early and significant supporter of the Obamas. I was of the opinion that support of the Obamas proved beyond any reasonable doubt that one was not a racist. This is disturbing news: an Obama supporter caught using the n word. No wonder they glide over this detail in her biography. It's like telling a Baptist that your sins are not cleansed by baptism.

Writ Small said...

We have plenty of examples of PC excess, but this in not one.

The Food Network needs its hosts to be uncontroversial. She's not losing her restaurant and she's not going to jail. She keeps the millions she's already earned. An organization allergic to controversy severed a contract with her. I can't get too worked up.

David said...

"Racism is the unforgivable sin in America."

Some kinds of racism are. Most prominently white old time out in front N word racism.

Black racism is more often than not excused on grounds of prior hardship. Only the most egregious and unrepentant black racists seem to have a problem.

Liberal racism (against southern whites, for example) is applauded, even if raw or blatantly prejudiced. More subtle liberal racism, like the sometime assumption that blacks simply can't cut it without some kind of assistance, is hardly noticed at all.

So I would say that racism against blacks is the unforgivable sin. But that's just politics. Martin Luther King, Jr. assumed that white racism was forgivable. His entire crusade was directed not just at freeing blacks from discrimination. He also wanted to achieve something even more difficult, giving white racists a path to redemption.

How far we have fallen since then.

hombre said...

She's a Southerner. End of story.

David said...

As to Paula Dean, I think it's because she is so blatantly and openly southern. That's another unforgivable sin in some (quite wide) circles. Add the two together and it's Death to Paula.

Plus her food is unhealthy.

Rabel said...

You know how some people when faced with mounting evidence that their lover is messing around, breaking vows and such, find themselves unable to face up to the reality of the situation and look for someone or something on which to take out their frustration. For example, kicking the dog.

The left is feeling that kind of frustration right now and Paula just peed on the floor.

Anonymous said...

Liberal racism (against southern whites, for example) is applauded, even if raw or blatantly prejudiced.

I grew up in the South. Even when I was a true-blue California liberal I knew that what I heard from my California friends about southerners was mostly bigotry.

Jupiter said...

If she hadn't hired any black people, she wouldn't have this problem.

Just saying.

Anonymous said...

Whatever happened to Jimmy Dean?

Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...

Paula Deen is a Democrat, so she'll probably be okay.

That's a good point, and one that many here might not understand. So let me explain:

You start out in 1954 by saying, “N***er, n***er, n***er.” By 1968 you can’t say “n***er”—that hurts you, it backfires. So you say stuff like, forced busing, states’ rights, and all that stuff, and you’re getting so abstract. Now, you’re talking about cutting taxes, and all these things you’re talking about are totally economic things and the byproduct of them is blacks get hurt worse than whites… “We want to cut this,” is much more abstract than even the busing thing, uh, and a hell of a lot more abstract than “N***er, n***er.”

That's a quote from the GOP's most successful strategist, describing what was cannonical GOP political strategy from at least 1980 (if not 1968) to the present day.

It helps explain why Republicans are not trusted on issues of racial reconciliation. And I am sure that a number of commenters will go berserk to illustrate the point.

jr565 said...

I'd be worried if I were Quentin Tarantino. Becuase that guy has uttered the n word an awful lot for a white guy.


avwh said...

R&B:
That's a quote conveniently taken out of context.
Where's the link for the whole interview/comment?

Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...

You must need a hell of a lot of "context" to deprive that quote of its inherent despicableness, avwh.

He says that racial fears should be politicized (for Republicans) by masking them in economic terms. I'm glad you find that mitigating. The rest of us over all these years didn't, and are glad that it's now biting the party that embraced it in its proverbial, collective ass.

Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Chip S. said...

The full quote is here.

The part omitted by Ritmo is this:

And subconsciously maybe that is part of it. I'm not saying that. But I'm saying that if it is getting that abstract, and that coded, that we are doing away with the racial problem one way or the other. You follow me — because obviously sitting around saying,...

It's clearly a description of the evolution in ways that Reagan could get the votes of people who previously voted for Democrats or former Dems like George Wallace.

Ritmo, you can argue your general point w/o distorting the meaning of this quote.

Nomennovum said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
jr565 said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Chip S. said...

This is why I think it's important for Repubs to distance themselves from flat-out racisms whenever possible. O/w you make it easier for people to claim that you're for lower gov spending b/c you're really out to hurt blacks.

Nomennovum said...

Republicans are not trusted on issues of racial reconciliation.

Tell us more about the unremitting racism of the party that was founded by anti-slavery activists. Tell us more about why we should listen to what Democrats say about racism.

Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...

It's clearly a description of the evolution in ways that Reagan could get the votes of people who previously voted for Democrats or former Dems like George Wallace.

Ritmo, you can argue your general point w/o distorting the meaning of this quote.


Forgive me, but I feel that your "context" is intended to distort by denying that allowing for a gradual "evolution" away from outright racist rhetoric allowed Republicans to capitalize on underlying, muted racism and coded appeals to it for the four intervening decades.

It did. And now the changing demography means it won't work any more. So what Republicans are "pissed" about is that Atwater's prediction, assuming you embrace the utopian progressivism you (and he) pretend to see in it, finally came true - and in a way that the Republicans were obviously not rewarded for. It's not complimentary to them that the hard reality of changing demography FORCED this change, and not the willingness on the part of Republicans over all these years to say "White racists can be nice people with their own, selfish, tribal economic concerns - but we won't just come right out and say it" that did it.

You don't want to deal with that, do you?

Good. Neither does the GOP.

Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...

This is why I think it's important for Repubs to distance themselves from flat-out racisms whenever possible.

But the coded, muted, resentment-filled racism of Atwater's strategy was just A-OK with you, right?

Nomennovum said...

It's not complimentary to them that the hard reality of changing demography FORCED this change, and not the willingness on the part of Republicans over all these years to say "White racists can be nice people with their own, selfish, tribal economic concerns - but we won't just come right out and say it" that did it.

So, in your opinion, do Paula Deen's apparent racial views mirror more closely those of the Republicans or the Democrats? I assume the former, since you are bringing up the issue of Republican racism. Am I correct?

jr565 said...

There goes Ritmo pushing out the lefty talking points. in this case Martin Bashir's. If there were no MSNBC, would Ritmo have anything to talk about?

Ritmo and Bashir and the left are fundamentally dishonest. Notice the ellipses in the quote he uses to smear the republicans? That means that something is missing from that quote. And isn't it convenient that he doesn't include those extra words.

Here is the full quote:
"You start out in 1954 by saying, “Nigger, nigger, nigger.” By 1968 you can’t say “nigger”—that hurts you, it backfires. So you say stuff like, forced busing, states’ rights, and all that stuff, and you’re getting so abstract. Now, you’re talking about cutting taxes, and all these things you’re talking about are totally economic things and the byproduct of them is blacks get hurt worse than whites. And, subconsciously, maybe that is part of it. I’m not saying that. But I’m saying that if it is getting that abstract and that coded then we’re doing away with the racial problem one way or the other, you follow me?“We want to cut this,” is much more abstract than even the busing thing, uh, and a hell of a lot more abstract than “Nigger, nigger.”

The talk in the 80's was not about race but about economics.And that 30 years ago when he uttered the words he suggested that appeals to race was not a prudent idea for campaigners in the south. (Though I do note that the left STILL uses race in all of their campaigns. It's always race with them.

He also says in the same exchange:
The South in 1964 was considered reactionary, Neanderthalic, and so forth because we weren’t mainstream on not only on the race thing but on economic issues and national defense and all. We were considered, you know, ultraconservative and everything.

What happens is a guy like Reagan who campaigns in 1980 on a 1964 Goldwater platform, minus the boo-boos and obviously the Voting Rights Act and [Tennessee Valley Authority] and all that bullshit. But, if you look at the economics and the national defense, what happened is the South went from being behind the times to being mainstream.

The Reagans did not have to do a Southern strategy for two reasons: number one, race was not a dominant issue, and, number two, the mainstream issues in this campaign had been quote “southern issues” since way back in the ‘60s



The left can't imagine that the South is anything but 1964. And Ritmo can't help but carry the water for lying left. F U, Ritmo.


Martin Bashir Broadcasts misleading edit of Lee Atwer quote to portray GOP as racist

The South was mainstream in the 80's. You know what isn't mainstream? The left. They are still mired in the 60's. They have yet to realize that that was more than 50 years ago. But selectively quoting Republicans is always current.
Again, F U Ritmo.

Chip S. said...

But the coded, muted, resentment-filled racism of Atwater's strategy was just A-OK with you, right?

I would really appreciate it if you'd stop attributing unspoken beliefs to me. It indicates that you have no rebuttal to things I've actually said.

If you want to have an honest discussion of what I think is an important point, I'm willing. If you want to play bullshit internet games, I've got better things to do.

Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...

So, in your opinion, do Paula Deen's apparent racial views mirror more closely those of the Republicans or the Democrats? I assume the former, since you are bringing up the issue of Republican racism. Am I correct?

I have no idea and probably even less interest in what she said, and I doubt that I'll achieve sufficient motivation for that to change. I had little interest in her before this kerfuffle. She seems like a typically ignorant and disinterested, plump, unhealthily, moderately successful entrepreneur of the American appetite for fluff and unhealthiness, and this doesn't change that.

But she is not a major strategist to one of the two political parties running my country. So that's an important distinction. She doesn't advise Obama on social policy. Thank God.

Feel free to take her as seriously as you want. I don't. Atwater was different.

jr565 said...

Ritmo wrote:
But the coded, muted, resentment-filled racism of Atwater's strategy was just A-OK with you, right?


Except Lee Atwater was saying the exact opposite, dingleberry. He's saying that by the 80's the South had become mainstream and the appeals to race were a non factor. So Reagan DIDN'T use those code words,and it was counterproductive for any one to do so (except those on the left who continually do exactly that).

What I DO object to is when lefties misconstrue or misatribute what righties say because they want to show how racist they are.
It would work a lot better if you didn't have to cut out portions of the text so as to make your talking point.
Stop regurgitating MSNBC talking points you tard.

Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...

I asked a question, Chip. There's an underlying sentiment in Atwater's remarks that you are refusing (and IMO, opportunistically so) to comment on.

That's fine. That's your choice and your prerogative.

But the voting public sees it differently. They did then and they did now. And it's the fact that Atwater's constituency declined that made it so - the power in their justified protest over it.

It's political reality now, Chip. The odds are evened. You don't have to find it interesting, or even worthy of comment. But we have a completely changed political reality because of it. If only for the sake of whatever abstract philosophies or ideas you do find interesting (economics, whatever), I'd recommend not believing that anyone can run away from it forever. It's American history and politics in action, no less so than Civil Rights and abolition themselves.

jr565 said...

Chip S, qouting Lee Atwater wrote:
It's clearly a description of the evolution in ways that Reagan could get the votes of people who previously voted for Democrats or former Dems like George Wallace.

But also the way that things like economics and National Defense become a generic Southern Argumnent that would appeal to many in the South, inluding, I'd imagine, many blacks.

Nomennovum said...

I have no idea and probably even less interest in what she said.

That is a cop out, Ritmo. I actually know that you are capable of honest and straightforward argumentation if you try. Furthermore, I am sure you have an idea about what she said. But let me give you the benefit of the doubt. Google her. It will take you 30 seconds to figure out exactly what she said. Then answer the question.

jr565 said...

Ritmo wrote:
But the voting public sees it differently. They did then and they did now. And it's the fact that Atwater's constituency declined that made it so - the power in their justified protest over it.

It's political reality now, Chip. The odds are evened.

That's because of how MSNBC reports the quote. And because MSNBC viewers are apparently dumb. THat's because Bashir is quoting something out of context, and you can see that he is because of the ellipses in the conversation. What that is is simply a lefty talking point that you are passing out as truth.

MrCharlie2 said...

3

MrCharlie2 said...

3

Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...

I'm capable of finding out what a dishonest celebutard who was fired from her job said re: the N-word, nomennovum. I'm just wondering why I should.

From what little I read so far, all I found out was that she admitted to saying that word, at some time, in some place, and not (so far as I can tell) even in remote relation to her job. Do I think that should be a fireable offense? No. Not at all, really.

Is that what you're getting at? I'm really not sure how much offense I'm supposed to work up over a blubbering blob of Southern-fried celebutardiness, really? But I hope whatever smidgen of interest that does reside in me, to which I just spoke, answers your question to at least a realistic degree.

Nomennovum said...

Is that what you're getting at?

Not at all. If it were my business, I probably would have fired her. It's not for me to respect her 1st amendment rights, if she materially damages my company and hurts my shareholders when doing something hateful and stupid -- and likely in violation of her contract.

This is simply what I was getting at:

Nomennovum said ...

Don't let me forget to mention that the Democrats will soon be making her an honorary Republican.

It will start right here on this thread, I am sure.

6/22/13, 9:29 AM


Either I was right or you are engaging in tu quoque logical fallacy ... or both.

Chip S. said...

Ritmo, the "New Deal coalition" was a corrupt bargain b/w those who wanted to aggrandize the power of the fed gov over the economy and whites who wanted to be allowed to operate their Jim Crow regimes in the South. Does that suffice to invalidate FDR's policies in your mind?

When the national Dems finally became embarrassed enough by this coalition, the South was in play for major political realignment. What would the new coalitions look like?

I don't claim expertise on the history of the '60s, but my impression is that Goldwater's stance against the 1964 Civil Rights Act was a key factor. It seems to be a case in which BG's libertarian principles made him attractive to people whose opposition to the CRA had odious motivations. After the '64 debacle, the question for conservatives was how to build a majority out of what they had.

You're wrong if you think that no alternatives to the Atwater model were tried. Read about the career of Linwood Holton, a strong pro-civil-rights politician who in 1969 became the first Repub gov of VA after Reconstruction. He explicitly rejected bringing former Dixiecrats into the VA Repub party.

That strategy was ultimately abandoned by the Repubs, and I don't know exactly why. Neither do you, I daresay. But it seems likely to me that the loss of virtually any black support after 1964 meant that the Holton strategy wasn't really feasible in most southern states. So what was left to the Repubs if they were to win at all was to shut up about race and focus on the areas of common agreement among racist and nonracist whites--which is to say, economic policy. That is in fact what Atwater is saying in the undoctored version of the quote you love to post here.

Was that less savory than the Holton strategy? Absolutely. Was it as bad as the New Deal strategy? Absolutely not.

Politics ain't beanbag, as the saying goes. It doesn't do any party any good to lose consistently for the best of reasons.

But in the end, we can simply judge candidates on the basis of who they are, w/o accusing them of being unsavory b/c some of their supporters may not be morally pure. That goes for Dems as well as Repubs, obviously.

I believe in holding individuals accountable for their own actions and beliefs. So Paula Deen or Jeremiah Wright or whoever stands or falls on the basis of herself or himself, not on what baggage other people want to pile on them. What's so difficult or controversial about that?

Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...

Nomennovum:

It was Althouse, the hostess herself, who brought politics into it.

She did it in a proud way, reprinting her own comment from another thread.

There is a political lens through which racial issues are viewed, and there is nothing wrong with that. It worked to the Republicans' advantage from 1868 - 2008 (the first half of which they overwhelmingly laid claim to African American support), and not thereafter. That's the straight shit on the politics.

But I don't think the purported politics of someone too ignorant to have a very interesting viewpoint or understanding on it (i.e. Deen) matters here. Althouse thinks it does. I think it doesn't. But I nonetheless addressed the reasoning behind her political fear/concern. Not a big deal either way - since the issue itself of Deen's politics don't matter. I probably should have kept my mouth shut.

Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...

Chip - you bring up a lot of interesting history, which I'd like to read in more detail, but I wanted to first put Nomennovum's restlessness to rest re: Deen. Regarding the more interesting conversation that I, admittedly, (and you) got a bit carried away with - I would refer you to a point I made in that comment. African American support was for Republicans prior to FDR. Between FDR and Nixon the GOP could still get some black support, but not thereafter. Some people think the political/economic "goodies" offered to blacks thereafter (or as you say during FDR) was corrupt, but not that offered to more privileged and established whites. Suffice it to say, I don't follow that logic. If anything I think it's more corrupt to rubber-stamp a bad social reality than to have the government first ratify and then attempt the implementation of a popular movement to correct it somewhat. It doesn't mean it did it perfectly or without any heavy-handedness. I think affirmative action does more harm than good given that we showed a black president can get elected. But the straight-up politics is that the Republican game after 1968 could only work for so long. From now on we're going to have to address these issues of corrective action and public effort honestly, and without overt, covert or otherwise unfair appeals to smaller or more ethnically defined communities. That's fine.

Nomennovum said...

the issue itself of Deen's politics don't matter.

I think that is true. I also think many on the right find that fact bitterly ironic.

Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...

I believe in holding individuals accountable for their own actions and beliefs.

I think this is the point. It's an easy thing to say in a non-multiracial/multicultural society, which America wasn't and still isn't - or is even less so. But prior to the generation succeeding the repeal of anti-miscegenation laws, you still had communities vying for dominance over one and another and competing with one another. Now that we're getting beyond the folly of that, we can address what works best via individual concerns versus community/communal concerns more honestly and less divisively in terms of inciting racial discord and discrimination. That's fine. Some people will say it ratifies extreme individualism as the only lens through which to view American concerns. I say it will more easily allow us to address the distinction between those which concern and are best address by individuals and those which concern and are best addressed by entire American communities.

jr565 said...

Here's what some black dems were saying about Carter when he was running:


Atlanta Mayor Maynard Jackson last week postponed plans to endorse Jimmy Carter and angrily exclaimed: "Is there no white politician I can trust?"
Jesse Jackson, director of Chicago's Operation PUSH, called Carter's views "a throwback to Hitlerian racism." Mayor Richard Hatcher of Gary, Ind., declared: "We've created a Frankenstein's monster with a Southern drawl, a more cultured version of the old Confederate at the schoolhouse door."

Read more: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,914056,00.html#ixzz2WyUnSs26

Chip S. said...

From now on we're going to have to address these issues of corrective action and public effort honestly, and without overt, covert or otherwise unfair appeals to smaller or more ethnically defined communities.

I would welcome this.

Nomennovum said...

Nothing like a good Mau-Mauing. One day it's Serena Williams and rape. The next it's Paula Deen and race. The first spoke an uncomfortable larger truth and was mildly pilloried The second spoke her mind and revealed a small but nasty truth about herself and was exiled.

jr565 said...

In fact Carter ran a Souther Strategy before Reagan did.

How Reaganism actually started with Carter


So why is the Southern Strategy not mentioned by the Ritmo's of the world when Carter appeals to them to win an election? Is Carter Lee Atwater?

"Jimmy Carter used similar coded language in fishing for votes from white ethnics in the North who objected to blacks moving into their neighborhoods. In an interview with the New York Daily News in April 1976, Carter said: “I see nothing wrong with ethnic purity being maintained. I would not force a racial integration of a neighborhood by government action.” A few days later, questioned about this remark, Carter elaborated: “What I say is that the government ought not to take as a major purpose the intrusion of alien groups into a neighborhood simply to establish their intrusion.” Jesse Jackson called this “a throwback to Hitlerian racism.” Carter not only won a majority of the Southern vote but also did well among white ethnics."
The idea that these are code words is the authors asssertion, not my assertion. But it does show that Carter, the democrat, handily won the souths Whites.
In fact, the author shows his own bias by saying that even Robert F. Kennedy engaged in the same opportunistic raice baiting later used by Reagan when he said in response to Eugene Mccarthy's support for public housing in 1968:

"You say you are going to take ten thousand black people and move them into Orange County? It is just going to be catastrophic!"

The point being, maybe what Robert F Kennedy was doing, by disagreeing with Eugene Mccarthy was not in fact race baiting but making a valid point. Only the left, who support the Eugene McCarthy's of the world (and later the Carter's) woudl say that THAT is race baiting. Because to question the premise of their policies requires opposition to their policies to be racist, or race baiting.
But I digress...

jr565 said...

Carter ran a southern strategy. Carter appealed to the religious in hte South. They later turned on him, and went for Reagan. Because he turned out to be a turd and a pussy.

The Southern Strategy was really more an appeal to whilte blue collar voters rather than an attack on blacks. In 1960 those voters went for JFK. In 1964 then went for Barry Goldwatare, in 1968 they went for George Wallace.
Then Richard Nixon. Then Jimmy Carter.
I'm having a hard time finding the problem first with runnning a Southern Strategy, since how else do you expect a president to win the South. But more importantly, it would appear that these voters aren't that particularly geared around race, considering they are voting democrat and republican almost in every off year.

Democrats like to pick and choose their "going after the white votes" incidences in history to peg Repubs as "the racists". While ignoring their own history when not convenient.

If Ritmo is going to blast Lee Atwater he might as well blast Carter, and Kennedy before him. Or recognize that going after the white blue collar vote isn't any more racist than going after the black vote. Since the Souther White Blue collar vote was not voting along racism lines by the time of Lee Atwater or Carter, but along states rights lines and national defense lines that had little to do with race as a whole.

In other word, Ritmo is an ass.

jr565 said...

Why is Ritmo an ass? For injecting Lee Atwater, into a discussion about Paula Dean. Lee Atwater, who ran Reagan's campaing in the 80's. 30+ years ago.
And he can't even come with an accurate qoute. It has to be a taken out of context quote from MSNBC.
What does Lee Atwater have to do with Paula Dean? God if I know, but Ritmo will try to insert it into the conversation to derail it and make it about racist repubs.

SomeoneHasToSayIt said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
SomeoneHasToSayIt said...

don't get why Blacks get to be the ONLY racial group whose specific ethnic slur is unforgivable.

Every racial group has a slur. It's part of human nature to know and use them, in appropriate situations (like demonizing before war. 'Japs and Krauts', anyone?)

But maybe Deen deserves to be fired. Not because of the slurs she used, but because of her embarrassing and sniveling apology.

We are the lesser sons and daughters of greater fathers and mothers.

Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...

How do those sloppy seconds taste, jr?

Chip S. said...

Every racial group has a slur. It's part of human nature to know and use them, in appropriate situations (like demonizing before war).

Is there a race war coming that I haven't heard about?

SomeoneHasToSayIt said...

Chip S. said...

Is there a race war coming that I haven't heard about?


Not yet. And I hope not. But if one does, the slurs will get a revival. It's in our genes.

William said...

I don't think Paula Deen will die broke because of this. Being fired from the Food Channel is a punishment proportionate to the crime.....I don't understand why R&B considers her political affiliation irrelevant to the discussion. White segregationists were an important part of the New Deal coalition. I think it's fair to say that not all of them migrated over to the Republican Party. The southern populists hated other people besides blacks, and the Democratic Party remains an excellent vehicle for the expression of those resentments.

Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...

I don't understand why R&B considers her political affiliation irrelevant to the discussion.

It wasn't to The Food Network. They fired her anyway.

So how does bringing that up even help Republicans who want to accuse Democrats of covering up racism in 2013? It does the opposite. I don't know anyone so intent on kicking themselves that they bring up the opposite of their own point, but for some reason, you guys keep managing to do just that. To absurd lengths.

As I've become fonder of saying lately, I sure hope you proved whatever point you were hoping to make.

Gene said...

Gahrie: This is just a warm up for when Zimmerman gets acquitted.

To prevent riots, if Zimmerman is acquitted Attorney General Holder will immediately announce that he plans to prosecute Zimmerman for violations of Martin's civil rights. And the family will announce a civil suit.

Zimmerman has two more trials to go through before he's home free, which should be enough to satisfy the most ardent would-be rioters.

William said...

I think that if Paula Deen were Republican that would be considered an aggravating factor in determining her guilt. But she's a Democrat and a supporter of Obama. This is not considered a mitigating factor or, for that matter, even a factor in the apportionment of her guilt. So there you have it. White southern Republicans are more racist than white southern Democrats because they just are.

ampersand said...

If the Three Stooges were working today, most episodes would end with everyone hurling RACIST accusations at each other,well maybe a kwanzaa cake too.

Lydia said...

The only thing that could possibly save Deen is another Oprah interview.

eddie willers said...

But she is from the south

The correct answer came at post #6.

I will now read the rest of the thread.

Ignorance is Bliss said...

Racism is the unforgivable sin in America. Once it's stuck to you, you can't pull it off. Everyone else must act quickly to keep any of you getting stuck to them.

LOL- I see what you did there.

Ignorance is Bliss said...

The post has been up for about 12 hours. Am I the first one to catch the Tar Baby reference? I don't see anyone else mentioning it in the comments.

chickelit said...

The post has been up for about 12 hours. Am I the first one to catch the Tar Baby reference? I don't see anyone else mentioning it in the comments.

The Disney movie was banned and nobody reads it anymore.

Saint Croix said...

Nice catch! I'm from the South and I totally missed that joke.

I love that movie when I was 6.

Free Song of the South!

And here is a pretty good discussion of "tar baby."

Jupiter said...

"Is there a race war coming that I haven't heard about?"

It's only a war when both sides are fighting. Right now, I'd call it more of a lynching.