Anne Rice Over Paula Deen
Update Below *
In a new twist surrounding the Paula Deen deal, author Anne Rice has weighed in on the topic with a new brand of criticism that gets into "lynch mob culture."
This is what Rice posted on facebook:
"What's happening with Paula Dean [sic]? Is it fair? I never heard of her until today, and wow, this looks like a crucifixion," Rice wrote, adding: "I may be wrong but aren't we becoming something of a lynch mob culture? Is this a good example of that?"
I guess it's plausible that you can live in the US and not know much about food culture, cookery, or personalities like Paula Deen. But not everyone agrees with me:
Meanwhile, Jeri Milburn quipped: "More shocking than these allegations against Paula is the fact that Anne has never heard of her until today!"
You can read more here. And you can check out Anne Rice's facebook page yourself to see how people are responding. It's a very interesting thread to read.
Suggesting this might be "lynch mob culture" is an interesting choice of words for Rice to use, given the historical significance of lynching in the south many years ago, and given the fact that she is an author and she's aware of how important it is to choose words with care.
I grew up in a household where the N-word was never used. We weren't saints. I often use the word fuck throughout a given day. I even write fuck here sometimes on this blog. I've called a few people chicken-fuckers. I've said worse than that on a bad day. I've written explicit sex scenes in books that would probably shock most people, including one that had a burping dick. I do think we can be too politically correct in the country sometimes. I'm afraid to use the word black, so I use African American or people of African descent so I won't offend anyone. But I don't use the N-word, and I never hear it used in my circles. And on those rare occasions when I hear someone use the N-word it always makes me cringe and I will usually ask him or her not to use it in my presence...or I'll just leave, right after I tell them to go fuck themselves.
As a side note, I grew up in a small southern NJ town in place that's referred to as Sleepy Salem County, at the foot of the Delaware Memorial Bridge. There's a strong southern influence there, and many of the streets are named after southern towns and states. I lived one blog away from Virginia Avenue. The Maryland border is about a half hour away. The Delaware Memorial Bridge is considered the gateway to the south. I'm in my forties, and from what I recall people often used words like "colored," and "negro," and as bad as that sounds now they meant no harm by it. But only the worst of the worst used the actual N-word. I have a true story to tell about this, which I'll post at a later date. It still makes me cringe to think about it.
Update * This is from Rice's facebook page, from the comment thread where she's been replying all afternoon:
Thanks for so many wonderful and thoughtful comments on both sides of the issue. Wish I could read every single one but they're moving too fast for me to cover all. I remain of the same opinion still. This is a public lynching. We live in dangerous times on many levels. Today no one can afford to say the slightest thing that is "politically incorrect." I mean nothing. We all have to be extremely careful. I feel sorry for this woman. ---- I have read the law suit, and if the statements made there by the person suing are accurate or truthful, obviously Paul Dean is a plain spoken woman, somewhat course, somewhat vulgar, and perhaps even what we call ignorant. But I'm not sure a person's career should be destroyed because one is course, or vulgar or ignorant. America has been built by many such people who were hard working and fair minded while being vulgar and course at the same time. I will be thinking about this one for a long time. And I will NOT be watching the Food Network. Don't anyway and won't start. They're a little too "politically correct" for me.
And I hope this is my last update about Rice. I've had just about enough, too.
Tuesday 25 June 2013
Anne Rice Over Paula Deen
Posted on 17:24 by Unknown
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
0 comments:
Post a Comment