Inky Jazz

  • READ
  • CREATE
  • HOPE
  • EAT
    • Dinner Ideas
    • Smoothies & Drinks
    • Snacks
    • Sweet
    • Sides
  • NOTE TO SELF
  • Email Me

Paula Deen and the N Word

Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
“… that SCARLET LETTER, so fantastically embroidered and illuminated upon her bosom. It had the effect of a spell, taking her out of the ordinary relations with humanity, and inclosing her in a sphere by herself.” —The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne

Nigger is a nasty word. Like any other word, there’s nothing offensive about those particular letters strung together.  It’s the connotation, and this one has a history as ugly as any. It has been spit out with venom and hatred, with whipping, chains, and every kind of inhumanity.

I don’t know how Paula Deen said the word. I don’t imagine she said it playfully or in kindness. Maybe she is racially prejudiced. Gasp. Truth is, a lot of us are. And certainly we’re all prejudiced in one way or another. We all have nasty slurs lurking in our brains, some of them nursed, some showing up out of nowhere, maybe even taking us by surprise. We don’t always know, or aren’t willing to admit, what’s hidden in the back of our darkest closets.

Paula Deen is from the deep South, the place with a history we, as a country, would like to forget. Maybe it reminds us of who we are or who we can sometimes be. Old habits die hard. They don’t always keep up with the times or evolve as quickly as we’d like.

So Paula let the N word slip. And now we’re persecuting her like nobody’s business. Forget that we were buying her pots, frying up her donut burgers, and tuning in so she could entertain us Southern style.

Paula, we’ve discovered you are fatally flawed. Now we won’t promote your wares or cook your stuff. We won’t watch you anymore. Public opinion can make you or break you. Better to find yourself on the right side of the line of fire. I sure couldn’t survive.

So I’m glad it’s not me. I’m glad no one is stringing out my life on the media clothesline, parsing my words, magnifying my flaws. I’m glad I’m not the one being incinerated, an effigy, an example of what happens to those who cross the line of public opinion.

But then, I’m not saying or doing anything that isn’t supported by a decent majority — one that’s willing to speak up, that is. Whew.

Does Paula Deen deserve a public tongue lashing, a media fest, a personal hashtag for her indiscretion? Probably. Does she deserve to have her sponsorships pulled, her career destroyed? I don’t know. I won’t name any names, but many public figures have gotten away with far worse. Maybe they were better looking or more charming. Who knows, maybe she, too, will rise like a phoenix from the media ash heap. Publicity has magical powers.

In some respects it’s a good way for society to keep its citizens in check, a kind of modern Scarlet Letter. But I can’t help picturing a mob pushing its victim out in front, shouting, “Crucify her!” And I can’t help wondering if that could, or would, ever be me.

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)
  • More
  • Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Telegram (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Skype (Opens in new window)

Filed Under: Random Tagged With: pop culture and christianity

What are your thoughts? Cancel reply

underwater scene painted on a rock
art journal lettering: Psalm 126
Inky Jazz
gustav klimt mother and child
Chalkboard lettering
Chalkboard calligraphy
mixed media collage - white lettering
mixed media collage
deep sea painting (acrylic on wood)
pencil sketch eye
pencil sketch eye
gustav klimt mother and child
acrylic on milk can
gustav klimt mother and child
deep sea painting (acrylic on wood)
acrylic on milk can
art journal, lettering
sun and moon acrylic painting
Masquerade: Art Journal Page, mixed media collage
Masquerade: Art Journal Page
Gustav Klimt, Rendition of Stoclet Frieze Expectation, crop
Gustav Klimt, Rendition of Stoclet Frieze Expectation
gustav klimt mother and child
pencil sketch eye
Inky Jazz
Picasso Tete d'une Femme Lisant (Head of a Woman Reading)
deep sea painting (acrylic on wood)
Gustav Klimt, Rendition of Stoclet Frieze Expectation
Gustav Klimt, Rendition of Stoclet Frieze Expectation
Psalm 16: art journal lettering and doodle
Picasso's Tete d’une Femme Lisant (Head of a Woman Reading): Rendition in black and white
Picasso’s Tete d’une Femme Lisant (Head of a Woman Reading): Rendition in black and white
Gustav Klimt, Rendition of Family
Gustav Klimt, Rendition of Family
marker, water soluble crayon
ink art calligraphy

Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner

 Subscribe in a reader

Random Life

Pig Headed Prodigal

Most of us are familiar with the story of the son who rejects everything he’s ever known to live what he thinks is the good life. He moves far away from home and spends his entire inheritance chasing his misguided dreams. Eventually his life choices have narrowed to sleeping with the pigs he feeds. When […]

Financial Peace

We did our first Financial Peace University (FPU) class this weekend. Dave Ramsey himself (the founder) admits the concepts are little more than common sense, certainly nothing revolutionary. The genius is his repackaging and marketing. Lest you think I begrudge his piece of the American Pie, let me just say I admire his creativity and […]

Coach high tops: Fatima Metallic Dust, in bronze, front view

Taking Risks With Style

These shoes look like ordinary high tops, in the Converse style that a lot of people are wearing these days. Actually, they’re much more, and not because they’re this incredible, burnished bronze, reminiscent of something Renaissance, or because they’re so comfortable (unlike most of the hard, flat, archless versions of this style), or because they […]

Keeping Up with the Joneses — In Which I Admit to Living Beyond My Means

I understand the importance of living within my financial means. And now that I’m doing Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace, that concept is really being driven home. But when it comes to time and energy, I regularly live beyond my means. Everyday I’m allotted 24 hours. That’s my limit, the extent of my daily budget. But […]

tree reflected in water

Born Again and Gay

They’re a conservative Christian family. Church on Sundays, Bible reading every night. Born again. They’re looking for a church where their teen boys can fit in. But they’ve had a hard time finding a church that would accept them, one that isn’t a gay church, that is. I was talking to my old college roommate. […]

more life ...

1 Samuel 1:27-28

Stories

A Fruit by Any Other Name | Adam & Eve: Part 1

The woman had never paid much attention to the serpent, not that she could recall. He had stayed on the periphery, his voice interjecting occasionally, but always under the radar.

Mysterious Visitors | What Sarah Heard

It was not her habit to eavesdrop, but when Abraham ran into the tent and said, “Sarah, get out your best flour and bake three loaves of bread, and hurry!,” when she heard him calling the servants to quickly slaughter the calf, she was curious. Who were these men who had appeared out of nowhere, and why was Abraham so eager to entertain them?

The Offering | The Sacrifice of Isaac: Part 4

Abraham turned to his son, the rope stretched between trembling hands. Isaac looked at his father, and a hoarse whisper escaped his lips, “Father … .”

In the Shadow of the Mountain | The Sacrifice of Isaac: Part 2

Abraham had no plan. He had no idea how he would actually accomplish what God had asked, neither did he want to think about it. Not that any amount of thinking could prepare him for what he was about to do. He simply put one foot in front of the other, the way he had […]

Abram & Sarai | The Big Idea: Part 2

She did not like the idea of her husband being with another woman, especially not her maid, and she was glad that part was over. Was it her imagination, or was Hagar patronizing her?

The Empty Altar | The Sacrifice of Isaac: Part 3

“We have the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?”

more stories ...

Eats

roasted pork shoulder on platter of vegetables

Slow Roasted Glazed Pork Roast

chocolate peanut butter smoothie

Chocolate Peanut Butter Smoothie

granola master recipe

Granola: The Master Recipe

chocolate peanut butter smoothie in a footed glass

Chocolate Peanut Butter Smoothie Redux

Dinner this Week 3

wheat grass smoothie

Smoothie Basics 101

seeded flatbread crackers with 100% spelt flour

Seeded Flatbread Crackers

campari tomatoes

Dinner this Week 2

cashew cream of broccoli soup

Cream of Broccoli Soup

Foodie Things to Try

more eats ...

Copyright © 2019 Inky Jazz

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.