Paula Deen uses the N-Word - gets sued - right or worng?

reply to post by Spider879

As far as I am reading it's not about the N-word that will have that racist POS loose money it's sexual harassment on her brother's part.

I beg to disagree:

The 66-year-old Food Network star and Savannah restaurant owner was peppered with questions about her racial attitudes in a May 17 deposition by a lawyer for Lisa Jackson, a former manager of Uncle Bubba's Seafood and Oyster House. Deen and her brother, Bubba Hiers, own the restaurant. Jackson sued them last year, saying she was sexually harassed and worked in a hostile environment rife with innuendo and racial slurs.

Station spokeswoman Julie Halpin said in a statement: "The Food Network does not tolerate any form of discrimination and is a strong proponent of diversity and inclusion. We will continue to monitor the situation."

The civil suit was filed in March 2012 in Chatham County Superior Court and was transferred to federal court a few months later. Deen and Hiers have both denied the allegations made by Jackson, who is white.

Source: www.today.com...

The sexual harassment suit was filed 13 months ago, the questioning about the word choice happened last month, and Food Network responded immediately with a statement after that and just now decided not to renew her contract.

It wasn't a big deal until she was accused of using a word.

TheRedneck

reply to post by TheRedneck

The sexual harassment suit was filed 13 months ago, the questioning about the word choice happened last month, and Food Network responded immediately with a statement after that and just now decided not to renew her contract.

It wasn't a big deal until she was accused of using a word.

Exactly!

These bastards smell the money. When the first attempt didn’t gain traction they pulled the race card.

Gee…I wonder who else uses that tactic all the time? It seems to work every time its tried.

I'm sitting here thinking about all the young kids who think it's fun to post the N word and things like it on boards like 4chan. Little do they know that if net anonymity is taken away those things can destroy their lives. very scary to think about.

Guys it not just about the N-word look she had the bad taste of having a slave themed dinner some here may think lite of the matter but not me, in any case my harshest critique I reserved for blacks who participated in such a farce, she pushed un healthy foods while diagnosed for diabetes,plus the legal problems I am sure many of us here are capitalist the network looking at her negatives in total decided to dump her.

reply to post by Spider879

I really can't argue with you about the poor choice in the dinner... that was a disaster waiting to happen, and I think it shows a certain amount of disregard toward other humans, not just one specific group. I don't think a bad idea should carry such stiff punishment, though. We're talking about more than just a contract... she will be unable to get more air time now, and her restaurant business will probably suffer as well. She just lost the larger part of her career.

The black waiters chose to go along with the idea apparently... I haven't heard of anyone coming forward complaining otherwise, and this circus is the perfect atmosphere to do so in. As such, I respect their decision. I would hope they made it because they are secure enough in their own self-worth for it not to bother them.

My real gripe is over that silly word and the media storm it has created. It's a word, for crying out loud, and in the Southern culture since 1970 at least, not even necessarily a word that is used for the purpose of a slur. The slur use originated in the South, yes, but later on happened primarily outside the South. Here it simply meant the same as "black man"... to people of all colors who were raised here.

I would love to see the racism taken out of this and the lawsuit allowed to continue. If she and her brother created a hostile work environment, then let the chips fall where they may. But this firestorm over a word just gets my goat.

Oh, and I really don't know much about Paula Deen. I merchandise magazines for extra cash occasionally while attending school, and I have seen her magazine.

TheRedneck

reply to post by Spider879

Guys it not just about the N-word look she had the bad taste of having a slave themed dinner some here may think lite of the matter but not me, in any case my harshest critique I reserved for blacks who participated in such a farce, she pushed un healthy foods while diagnosed for diabetes,plus the legal problems I am sure many of us here are capitalist the network looking at her negatives in total decided to dump her.

So the real issue is her horrible, unhealthy food and capitalist ways?

The ends justify the means, huh? Got it!

Originally posted by Spider879
Guys it not just about the N-word look she had the bad taste of having a slave themed dinner some here may think lite of the matter but not me, in any case my harshest critique I reserved for blacks who participated in such a farce, she pushed un healthy foods while diagnosed for diabetes,plus the legal problems I am sure many of us here are capitalist the network looking at her negatives in total decided to dump her.

It is not against the law to have bad taste.

It is not against the law to sell "unhealthy food".

But it sure can be expensive to be ignorant.

reply to post by JohnPhoenix


I'm not trying to start any weird fight, but what bothers me GREATLY is that the African-American community hates the N-word being used by other races but they LOVE using it themselves.... If you loathe the word SOOO much, then set an example by not using it... When you get mad at others for using it, but use it yourself you're just a hypocrite...

Saying the N word is not illegal. Blacks call each other it all the time and they don't think that's wrong. But it is different if a white person says it. Let's do some history of the word. Mods, please feel free to delete this post if you think it's offensive but I will do my best not to make that happen.

The word we are talking about here is the word "'n-word'" sometimes pronounced "niggra". The expression comes from the word "negro" or "negroid" meaning black. However, during the slavery years they were referred to as "'n-word's" or "'n-word'" as a phrase word depicting the person as being black and a slave.

It is very offensive to most blacks to be called this word by whites because white people used to own and abuse black people in pre civil war America. Those in the science of the day thought wrongly that blacks were like apes and not human in the sense that whites were known to be. We know this is not true, but they tried to make arguments for their wrongs. So the use of the word had a degradational component to it as well.

Paula Deen crystallized the stereotype of the southern bigoted low mentality mindset and has hurt the image of the friendly, kind, and giving southern pride most have come to know.

So, while there may not be a penalty for insensitive and degrading speech, there is one financially for it in business. And sometimes it hurts worse there.

People need to think before they use that word. I'm a white man, and I have the right of free speech to use such a word. But I wouldn't because I know I would hurt, insult, a degrade another person who never did anything to hurt me. Others need to consider the cost of just saying things without respect for those around them.

reply to post by Fromabove

But it is different if a white person says it.

How exactly is that not a purely racist statement?

I realize it was not intended to be, but think about it... certain skin colors receive certain privileges and others do not. One cannot level a table by standing it on the other end.

TheRedneck

reply to post by Fromabove


Thoughtful response there are many in the AA community that hate that word whether it is used by blacks or not perhaps many here are unaware of the effort many AA leaders both elected and self styled who are trying to stop blacks from using that word among themselves, some blacks especially comedians and Rap artist push back against such efforts, they claimed to know how to use it in context to get their point across younger blacks tend to use it as a term of endearment and so too their white and Asian counter part who participate hip hop culture again context is everything for they are aware of how it's being used, there was a recent stupid unnecessary butchering of Huckleberry finn by an overzealous white publisher from the south with the upcoming publication of a new edition of 'Huckleberry Finn' that is to drop the 'N' word. and "Slave" will be used in its place throughout.

That's crazy and leads to mission creep where an intended good goes bad and nothing written or spoken is safe and while I do not throw around that word out of context or from a quote I know very well when to go upside someone's head if I detect hostility or insult behind it's use,for it's all in context.

Originally posted by NickDC202
Why is dumb Paula Deen getting so much more coverage by the mainstream media than the issues revealed by the information shared with the media by the NSA Whistleblower?

Sorry, to me, our Constitutional rights are far more important than some woman with a cooking show...

You've just reminded me of the scene in Jim Carrey's Liar Liar where his co worker asks how her outfit looks, and he says, "Whatever takes the focus off your head".

nothing is ever done, politically, without a "down the road" application. if you've ever taken a humanities class, you're probably aware of the apollo vs. dionysus pendulum of human societies. if you're not aware of it, allow me to explain:

apollo society is all about order in society. perfection in behavior, talents, work ethic, but it's so rigid that it doesn't allow for creativity. as it perfects its arts, it stagnates into a set system of behaviors, art forms, rules and laws govern every aspect of the human being and nothing new is accepted.

dionysus society is all about disorder in society. chaos in application, work when you want to, creativity, no personal accountability. as it impacts the society, it creates havoc, foments revolution, and demands someone else take responsibility for the mess the chaos creates.

the pendulum swings radically from one side to the other and very rarely stops to rest in the middle. when it swings up to one side, the people who supported the status quo of the other, be it order or chaos, end up paying the price with their lives. the people making the laws and manipulating the press and universities, know this all too well. the application of it can be seen in 2 very glaring ways:

PAY ATTENTION THIS IS THE IMPORTANT PART

1. the push to stifle free speech towards certain groups -- et.al, the push to stop people from saying anything negative, no matter how applicable or inapplicable it may be, about specific sectors of society. current examples are: limiting free speech where it applies to african americans, jews or muslims

2. the push to use strict laws regarding sexual improprieties, most specifically weighted entirely in the favor of the woman to the detriment of the man.

how is this applicable?
they are setting everyone up for the resultant backlash. the pendulum swinging wildly to the other side. in effect, if people don't stop wearing their egos on their sleeves as regards free speech, and if women don't stop accusing men they don't like of stuff they didn't do (not saying this is normally true, but the push is forcing more and more innocent men to plead guilty for sexual crimes they didn't do as the only other option is 20 years in prison, if not more. the system is rigged to punish men at the moment, any men.) this will have a backlash ladies and the people who design these laws, know that!

these extreme laws regarding free speech and sexual harrassment, are meant to do one thing and one thing only, FOMENT THE OPPOSITE as the pendulum rockets to the other side.

we are witnessing in the op's article, another example of the fuel that will fire this thing out of the collective rocket of people being exhausted by abusive laws.

I am so sick of hearing this whining about this word. Really. This is stupid, and anyone who is offended is stupid.

On Fathers Day I tried to have a family outing at the local municipal park. We have a really nice one, and there is a table that we call "our table" when we want to go out there. there is a whole routine that our family knows, a drill. By the time it is all done there is about 25 folks who show up. We do this for various days, but typically July 4th (for the fireworks show in the park) we make sure we have "our table".

In any event, on Fathers day, about 40 feet away at another table, was a large group of hispanics. Mind you, other than me, my mom, and my sister, we are all hispanic too. Typically we play nortena music mixed with some banda music. For those of you not from around here: it is Mexican music.

This other table, however, was not playing anything that would be considered family friendly. Our 3 hour picnic was spent being accosted by gangsta rap and lots of misogyny, cursing, and excessive use of the N-word.

If a culture is going to use a word as self defining, I will not tolerate any complaints. If you disagree, then change it. If it is offensive for a grey haired, fat southern woman to say it, it is offensive for Lil Wayne to say it.

Hypocritical, double standards. It makes everyone involved look stupid. And it makes humanity stupid. Just stop.

reply to post by Spider879

here was a recent stupid unnecessary butchering of Huckleberry finn by an overzealous white publisher from the south with the upcoming publication of a new edition of 'Huckleberry Finn' that is to drop the 'N' word. and "Slave" will be used in its place throughout.

That's crazy and leads to mission creep where an intended good goes bad and nothing written or spoken is safe

Thank you! That gets a star!

If rednecks had tear ducts, I would have cried when I saw that bastardization of a classic novel... and incidentally the first novel in America to seriously attack the issue of slavery.

Context really is everything, and the overzealous efforts to remove a word form the vocabulary I believe have actually harmed the cause of equality by creating bitter feelings among people. I hope your leaders (I don't really understand that term either as it applies to blacks; what does a leader have to do with skin color in an equal society?) succeed in their efforts to bring sanity to the issue.

TheRedneck

Originally posted by AshleyD
I'm not a lawyer so am not sure on all the legalities but I do know there is such a thing as 'creating a hostile work environment.' Using the word itself would be covered under freedom of speech (but you can still sue for anything).

However, if it can be proven her behavior was 'creating a hostile work environment,' then there is a chance she could be held liable.

Even if she is found to not be liable, it's not exactly good business sense to be throwing the word around.

Or to be asking her staff of Black people to act like slaves. How stupid can someone be??? This is what happens when people get too full of themselves. They think their ____ don't stink.

reply to post by PtolemyII


The Daily Show said her words aren't as harmful as her cooking has been to the Black population.
I'd have to agree.

"Free speech" doesn't apply here, at least as far as the Food Network is concerned. You don't have any "free speech" guarantees in corporate America or the workplace and that goes from Paula Deen all the way down to the poor slob flipping burgers at McDonalds.

Deen has a constitutional right to say whatever she wants. The Food Network has no constitutional obligation to continue employing her.

Not defending or condemning that necessarily-- just pointing it out. Deen is a baby boomer, she really has no excuse for being an idiot.

Regardless of right or wrong (I think it's wrong for anyone in the last 40 years to use that word, it's simply not acceptable behaviour), the Food Network had the right to just not renew her contract which was up for renewal at the end of the month anyway.

It was just unfortunate that this episode had to come right as her contract was up for renewal. Food Network too the easy way out.

Originally posted by DelMarvel
"Free speech" doesn't apply here, at least as far as the Food Network is concerned. You don't have any "free speech" guarantees in corporate America or the workplace and that goes from Paula Deen all the way down to the poor slob flipping burgers at McDonalds.

Deen has a constitutional right to say whatever she wants. The Food Network has no constitutional obligation to continue employing her.

Not defending or condemning that necessarily-- just pointing it out. Deen is a baby boomer, she really has no excuse for being an idiot.

You're correct, Free Speech doesn't apply. Free Speech does NOT include hate speech (of which the N word is an example). You also can't yell "fire" in a crowded theatre and claim you did this under free speech rights.

You're correct, Food Network has every right as an employer to not renew her contract, for any reason they choose. That's why most contracts have expiration dates.