Paula Deen's contract will not be renewed.

[MauiGirl]

I haven't read all of the posts and won't jump into all of the debates but have a couple comments.

I think Food Network was too harsh and swift in this decision.

I do not condone any racial slurs or name calling, however admitting that she maybe used the N word in 2007 does not make her a racist.

I enjoy watching Food Network, and especially enjoy the different personalities of different cooks, as well as their techniques. I don't have any favorites that I exclusively follow, and rarely cook as they do, but enjoy for entertainment value just watching them all. I love their enthusiasm for cooking and food.

I will miss Paula Deen, and what I perceive as her sweet, loving, Southern charm. She is somebody I'd like to have as a neighbor. I don't care about her weight, over use of butter, her health, or her wealth. I am impressed with her rags to riches life story, and her overcoming huge obstacles in her life.

Who are we to judge? Is there anyone on here who can honestly say under oath that they have never in their life uttered the N-word? And for those that have, does that mean you are a racist, and should lose your job and be shunned by the world?

As a society we all need to strive to be sensitive and respectful, and to do better when we know better. Peace begins in our hearts.

[yorkietalkjilly]

Originally Posted by MauiGirl

I haven't read all of the posts and won't jump into all of the debates but have a couple comments.

I think Food Network was too harsh and swift in this decision.

I do not condone any racial slurs or name calling, however admitting that she maybe used the N word in 2007 does not make her a racist.

I enjoy watching Food Network, and especially enjoy the different personalities of different cooks, as well as their techniques. I don't have any favorites that I exclusively follow, and rarely cook as they do, but enjoy for entertainment value just watching them all. I love their enthusiasm for cooking and food.

I will miss Paula Deen, and what I perceive as her sweet, loving, Southern charm. She is somebody I'd like to have as a neighbor. I don't care about her weight, over use of butter, her health, or her wealth. I am impressed with her rags to riches life story, and her overcoming huge obstacles in her life.

Who are we to judge? Is there anyone on here who can honestly say under oath that they have never in their life uttered the N-word? And for those that have, does that mean you are a racist, and should lose your job and be shunned by the world?

As a society we all need to strive to be sensitive and respectful, and to do better when we know better. Peace begins in our hearts.

I don't think anyone here is calling her a racist because she used that word. And I, for one, can honestly under oath and standing before God say I have never used the N-word or anything like it. And I grew up in a time when many did, believe me! But it always seemed ugly and wrong and I knew how black people hated it.

[Maximo]

Originally Posted by MauiGirl

Who are we to judge? Is there anyone on here who can honestly say under oath that they have never in their life uttered the N-word?

I can. The word makes me cringe first and foremost because it is a slur, but it is just gross. It is like the word "fart" to me. I hate that word. Hard to explain. I dislike that people like Gwyneth Paltrow, who is besties with Jay Z and Beyonce, throws it around on her blog to try to be cool.

[yorkietalkjilly]

Originally Posted by Maximo

I can. The word makes me cringe first and foremost because it is a slur, but it is just gross. It is like the word "fart" to me. I hate that word. Hard to explain. I dislike that people like Gwyneth Paltrow, who is besties with Jay Z and Beyonce, throws it around on her blog to try to be cool.

Agreed. I think anybody can judge cruelty and a complete lack of judgment. In fact, we should judge it in others and ourselves and change our ways if we have been party to similar behavior in any way.

[Lil Sis]

Originally Posted by Yorkiemom1

Absolutely correct Ann...but people that are not "fat" or "overweight" actually, perhaps subconciously....mayby not.....automatically attribute being overweight to over eating and no self control....."you are fat because you brought it on yourself....you have heart disease and diabetes because you are fat, because you over eat and have no self control...you brought it all on yourself....so you dont deserve any understanding or sympathy or even empathy.....you are a product of your own mouth and what you put in it". Talk about prejudice!!! This train of thought creates hate, disgust and prejudice against people that are overweight through no fault of their own or what they put into their mouths. What is so sad is since it is not prejudice based on race or religion, it is not important, it doesnt count, and it continues to run rampant. As medical professionals. all we can do is try to help people that are suffering with this disease (yes, obesity has now been FINALLY, through evidenced based research, been declared a disease) seek the needed medical attention they need to try to control the disease, as well as secondary conditions, such as cirrhosis of the liver, diabetes, heart disease, etc.

I teach food nutrition in my food production classes. I tell my students there is not a "bad" food.... it is how it fits in your total food consumption. For example, being from the south I love LOVE biscuits and gravy, I have them once a year. That once is not going to cause heath issues... but if I made choices like that every day it would.

I do honestly and totaly belive many health issues are from poor food choices and fast food is a PART of our obesity problems in the us. I am chubby, I work not to get more weight - it is a constant struggle. I do feel so much better when I do make the right choices.

I think many of the fn chefs show food receipes that are not always the healthest.. what fun would that be lol

[BabyGirl Rosie]

Originally Posted by MauiGirl

I haven't read all of the posts and won't jump into all of the debates but have a couple comments.

I think Food Network was too harsh and swift in this decision.

I do not condone any racial slurs or name calling, however admitting that she maybe used the N word in 2007 does not make her a racist.

I enjoy watching Food Network, and especially enjoy the different personalities of different cooks, as well as their techniques. I don't have any favorites that I exclusively follow, and rarely cook as they do, but enjoy for entertainment value just watching them all. I love their enthusiasm for cooking and food.

I will miss Paula Deen, and what I perceive as her sweet, loving, Southern charm. She is somebody I'd like to have as a neighbor. I don't care about her weight, over use of butter, her health, or her wealth. I am impressed with her rags to riches life story, and her overcoming huge obstacles in her life.

Who are we to judge? Is there anyone on here who can honestly say under oath that they have never in their life uttered the N-word? And for those that have, does that mean you are a racist, and should lose your job and be shunned by the world?

As a society we all need to strive to be sensitive and respectful, and to do better when we know better. Peace begins in our hearts.

I agree with this statement by you. I don't use the N word nor do I agree with using it. However, one thought comes to my mind......Ye without sin cast the first stone. Society is quick to point a finger in certain areas but turn their eyes to others. She made a mistake. We all have. I guess I'm just more forgiving than some on mistakes since I know I have been forgiven for mine.

[BabyGirl Rosie]

Originally Posted by Lil Sis

Taylor I find this highly offensive. I am southern... as is/was my family. We and I do not use the "N" word. I will say in my grandma's time she used the word "colored" in the same way I would say "African American or perhaps black"-- with the people I have met as an adult and with travel bigots are not exclusive to the south.


I never liked or disliked Paula deen. I thought she was a bit over the top with the "yall" stuff. I also felt she took the "bad" parts of southern cooking and focused on it. She kinda of reminded me of the show "two fat ladies" -- they were from UK.


As far the "n" word being racist.. I think it is an insulting word. I hear my students use it and I always have a discussion with them. I hear words to white and Hispanic that are just as bad, and I see reverse predijuce all the time. It is an emotional word...

I agree with Shinja on the southern part. I don't think we can say all southern people use the N word because that just isn't true. I think some used it freely in the past but with a different meaning than it is used today. However, Paula Deen is not that old and she shouldn't have used it. But again I don't think she should be an outcast because of it. I don't use it and don't agree with the use of many of the slang words.

It is used like the word "retarded" is. I am a mother of a special needs child. I hate this word. But I still hear it in our society. . I politely ask there's on not to use the word. It's what works for me.

[capt_noonie]

Paula Deen is a famous chef, and sh'e famous bc of her extremely fatty foods. She KNEW she had diabetes and however you feel that food does or does not cause the diesease, she still cooked that food, which is not good for her and people like her. She hid that fact from the public and her fans and only admitted to it AFTER she signed a lucrative deal with a pharmaceutical company. Then only after that did she lose weight.

And let us not forget, her deal was ending soon anyway. They didn't just out and pull the rug out from under her. Food network chose not to RENEW her deal. They are still letting her finish up her contract. Two different things.

[capt_noonie]

Originally Posted by BabyGirl Rosie

I agree with this statement by you. I don't use the N word nor do I agree with using it. However, one thought comes to my mind......Ye without sin cast the first stone. Society is quick to point a finger in certain areas but turn their eyes to others. She made a mistake. We all have. I guess I'm just more forgiving than some on mistakes since I know I have been forgiven for mine.

True, but we are not famous celebrity chefs or public figures. When someone comes into the public eye, there are a lot more things that the public will want to know and talk about. Of course none of us are perfect. But we don't have millions and fans and people looking up to us. Even when I cook at home, I would never use a recipe like hers, with all that butter and sugar, I know it's not good for you, and I would not serve that to people I care about. And people know, I 'm not the healthiest person out there by far, and her recipes freak me out.

[BabyGirl Rosie]

Originally Posted by capt_noonie

True, but we are not famous celebrity chefs or public figures. When someone comes into the public eye, there are a lot more things that the public will want to know and talk about. Of course none of us are perfect. But we don't have millions and fans and people looking up to us. Even when I cook at home, I would never use a recipe like hers, with all that butter and sugar, I know it's not good for you, and I would not serve that to people I care about. And people know, I 'm not the healthiest person out there by far, and her recipes freak me out.

I do agree with you. You do need a different level of expectations when in the public eye. She knew better than doing it. So I do understand this point.

[yorkietalkjilly]

Originally Posted by BabyGirl Rosie

I agree with this statement by you. I don't use the N word nor do I agree with using it. However, one thought comes to my mind......Ye without sin cast the first stone. Society is quick to point a finger in certain areas but turn their eyes to others. She made a mistake. We all have. I guess I'm just more forgiving than some on mistakes since I know I have been forgiven for mine.

I wouldn't worry too much about Paula Deen. Society made her a multimillionaire and if she does her due diligence in making amends and her damage control is successful, society at large, though quick to point fingers, also often forgives the truly repentant celebrity fairly quickly and she'll probably get another fat contract to do a show on another network in time.

[capt_noonie]

Originally Posted by Wylie's Mom

Food doesn't *cause* either type. Even bad fatty foods don't cause it. It's like saying water causes dehydration. It's the lack of water that causes dehydration. Food is a contributor to diabetes only if/when that food is abused / used in excess and IF the person is also genetically or otherwise vulnerable to developing diabetes. It's never just the normal use of food. Obesity is a huge factor, and obesity is *not* always caused by just food - sometimes it's solely caused by genetic disorders (often linked to Leptin etc). Type 2 can also be secondary to certain other diseases; it also can be caused/triggered/secondary to medications one takes (which is really the most tragic, in my mind). And btw, type 2 is also genetic, not just type 1. Type 2 is less vulnerable to genetics than type 1, but it's still about 10% influenced by genetics (and that's statistically meaningful). Thin people can have either Type 1 or 2. Many Type 1 brittle diabetics are often quite thin (but not always).

Like we learned in nursing school at length, pretty much all diseases (esp diabetes) is a matter of nature and nurture - in other words, genetics and lifestyle. In the medical world, none of us would ever say it's caused by food bc that's technically and medically incorrect. In layperson's terms, it's correct to say that food can be a *contributor* if abused and/or if the person is vulnerable to getting diabetes (which, btw, most of us don't even know until after the fact).

I would really be interested to know the percentage of people who have diabetes 1 or 2 that doesn't have anything to do with eating fast food or bad for you food. I know that's probably impossible to get that info, but it's really hard for me to believe that people with Type 2 don't have issues with food. Why are so many first to claim genetics and not their decisions.

[BabyGirl Rosie]

Originally Posted by yorkietalkjilly

I wouldn't worry too much about Paula Deen. Society made her a multimillionaire and if she does her due diligence in making amends and her damage control is successful, society at large, though quick to point fingers, also often forgives the truly repentant celebrity fairly quickly and she'll probably get another fat contract to do a show on another network in time.

Boy that's the truth. Lol.

[Lovetodream88]

Originally Posted by Lil Sis

Taylor I find this highly offensive. I am southern... as is/was my family. We and I do not use the "N" word. I will say in my grandma's time she used the word "colored" in the same way I would say "African American or perhaps black"-- with the people I have met as an adult and with travel bigots are not exclusive to the south.


I never liked or disliked Paula deen. I thought she was a bit over the top with the "yall" stuff. I also felt she took the "bad" parts of southern cooking and focused on it. She kinda of reminded me of the show "two fat ladies" -- they were from UK.


As far the "n" word being racist.. I think it is an insulting word. I hear my students use it and I always have a discussion with them. I hear words to white and Hispanic that are just as bad, and I see reverse predijuce all the time. It is an emotional word...

It was not meant to be offensive. My Grandmother grew up in Mississippi and her Aunt who raised her grew up with that word and thinking is was just another word to describe black. She was anything but a terrible person and I am not saying all southern people are like that but I know for a fact a lot where raised not thinking it was a bad word and I am talking like people 90 years old, my Grandmothers aunt was slightly over that when she passed this year. I had asked my Grandmother about the word when I heard her aunt use it once and she said she was raised that way and not thinking it was a terrible word and that her mother and there sister was also raised that way.

[Lovetodream88]

Originally Posted by Wylie's Mom

Geesh, interesting convos and sub-convos ! Truly. Food for thought (wow, no pun intended there ).

Food doesn't cause diabetes, btw. Not in any way, shape, or form. There are many foods that are *bad* for diabetics. Also, being overweight causes diabetes -- and that's also where food comes in. So, we can't blame Paula's food for causing diabetes.

It doesn't bother me that she hid her diabetes, that's her personal and private information. She didn't get diabetes from her food, she got diabetes from those things that cause diabetes. If she was thin and got diabetes, I wonder if people still would try to blame her food, I dunno. I did lose respect for her when she did the drug company deal bc it appeared to me then that she first wanted to hide her diabetes (which is fine) until she could make money from it...then it seemed attractive to make public and it seemed kinda slimy.

As for the N word, it shouldn't be used - we've all been told of how degrading it is; and so, imo, it should not be used by whites, blacks, purples, oranges, whatever. I can't stand that for some, it's okay to use it - but not for others. You can't have it both ways bc it looks hypocritical. Not to mention if one uses it, it just encourages others to use it...why not shoot yourself in the foot instead?

I 100% agree with you!