Now, I know this Paula Deen story isn't really political, but it has political implications. I don't know much about Ms. Deen, nor did I watch her show. My sister thinks highly of her, and enjoys her cooking. I have seen her in interviews and think that she seems like a caring person. To put it simply, I like her. So she voted for Obama, not exactly her greatest decision, but I can look past that.
If you haven't heard about this story, Paula Deen used the "N" word back in 1986. She confessed to it during a civil suit filed against her and her brother. She put out a video of her apologizing. After people complained that the video was poorly edited, she put out a new one. Food Network has dropped her show, and other companies are beginning to follow, or considering dropping her.
Now that we are somewhat up to date on that, here is what is getting me. This has become a big story in the Main Stream Media (MSM). Today on Fox News Live with Megyn Kelly, there were two people who responded. One was a conservative talk radio host, who was black, and a white female liberal talk radio host. They debated back and forth about the topic. The conservative sees a double standard in the use. He brought up the point that when the "N" word is used in music 29 times, its an art, but when a white person uses it once its racist and insensitive and they should lose everything.
There was something that the liberal said that caught my attention. She said that her black friends say it's okay for them to use it between themselves, but coming from a white person it's very offensive. The part that stuck out to me in that statement that she said she had black friends. So what if you have black friends? I love this about liberals. They try to trump conservatives to make themselves look better, like conservatives don't have black friends. The conservative she was debating was black!! Really? It is a liberal ideal to make oneself look better than the other, a self-righteousness politically speaking. "Look at me!!! I have black friends so I know everything there is about racism!!!"
What is interesting is that the black liberals aren't mad about this, it's the white liberals!! MSNBC does almost nothing but talk about racism today. Al Sharpton, the left wing civil rights leader, came out and said that she shouldn't be judged based on what happened almost 30 years ago. Granted, Paula Deen is apparently a liberal, so of course Al came to her aid right away. If it were a white conservative, then it probably would be a different tone.
As offensive as the "N" word is to people, Paula Deen under the Constitution has every right to use it if she wants, just like rappers do when they use it 29 times in a song. Political correctness is what this story is about. People wanting to silence others because what they are saying may be "offensive." Of course you don't want to offend someone. Yes, it hurts. That doesn't mean that they CAN'T say it. If offends me when people call Sarah Palin stupid, or call me fat, but I don't tell them to shut up. They have every right to say what they want, no matter how offensive it may be.
Does that mean that people should slur people for gain? No. There is a limit to what a person should say about another. As a Christian, I believe that all people are made in God's image, and should be respected as so no matter what their beliefs. I am talking mostly about banning words. That is where freedom of speech begins to be infringed upon. We cannot stay silent on this, because once that freedom is taken away, then all our rights fall just like a row of domino's. One right after the other. Let's put an end to political correctness and expose it, in a respectful way. Paula Deen is just the beginning.
