Southern lady, something seems so shady

I have found myself being well behaved on Twitter and FB after the Paula Deen story broke.  I did not give into the #PaulaDeenTVshows or #PaualDeenbestDishes.  In part, I had hopes that she was not like other older White Southerners.  I had hopes that although she is from Savannah, the only place that comes to mind as being more oppressive for Blacks than the entire state of Mississippi, she was the exception.  I loved me some Paula Deen.  She was honest about how one got Southern flavor in cooking, butter and mayonnaise.  She, unlike many Southerners, did something real about here health when she learned she had diabetes.   However, my admiration dwindled when I learned it was not just her brother, Bubba, holding on to the bygone era of the plantation system in the South but she also had such fantasies.  “Nigga please”, was my initial reaction when I learned of her desired hopes for a plantation style wedding.  Warning this post does not become any less offensive. 

The one phrase we can take away from the Paula Deen blowup is “institutional racism”.  Institutional racism is the worse kind of racism for it allows the racists and the victim of racism to exist as if there is nothing wrong with racist behavior.  They find themselves overlooking the actions of the other by attributing said behaviors as being acceptable for that group.  Ms. Deen, God bless her heart; truly has no idea why people are upset with her.  She lives in a world were good Blacks need to be guided for they are little more than children and bad Blacks are niggers.  In her world all is good with “her niggas” such as Hollis.  When the KKK came to mess with my family back in the day, my grandmother’s cousin, also KKK, had to explain to his brethren why they could not mess with my grandmother’s family.  My grandmother’s family was his niggas and stuff would not go right if you messed with his niggas.   If you follow that logic then you understand what is still wrong with the South today. 

As I listened to her responses in various videos and I reviewed the tweets/FB postings of her supporters, I saw a familiar pattern of defense:  I did nothing wrong.  Well, I said it 20 years ago.  Some of my best friends are blacks (coloreds).  Well they (Blacks) use the N-word with each other all the time.  They (Blacks) use it in their music.  They (Blacks) should go back to Africa.  They (Blacks) say bad things about White people.  Oh, lawd, I need to break it down to these people why they are racists. 

God bless their hearts on so many levels.  As a Southern, backwoods, Black lesbian living in the heart of Mississippi, I shall address these defenses as best as I can.  In my reasoning, Ms. Jackson was not referring to something Ms Deen said 20 years in the past. Ms. Jackson’s lawsuit is in regards to recent, less than 20 years, behavior.   Also not all Blacks are rappers and therefore we do not all use nigger as a form of affection for one another.  We use it in the same derogatory manner for which it was created.   I have used the word often in my blog postings when describing those who subscribe to niggardly behavior.   I find it to be confusing and alarming (institutional racism) the number of people who are upset because they are not allowed to call Black people nigger.  I have been upset because my skin color kept me off the little league soccer team.  However, I have never been upset with not being able to degrade another person. 

I am sad that Ms. Deen has become a victim of her own behavior but I am happy that we are at least discussing the part institutional racism still plays in our lives in America.  It is my hope that we grow from this event.  Although I see the trolls on Twitter and FB attempting to start a racial holy war over an entertainment event, I have hope we will use this event to better ourselves as a nation and species.