Is Inequality Ever the Right Thing?

"The worst form of inequality is to try to make unequal things equal"
~Aristotle~

I've been reading with slight interest about the firing of Paula Deen for racial slurs she made many years ago.  Full disclosure - I'm not a fan.  I'm sure she's a lovely woman and a fantastic cook but I've never gotten the warm fuzzies from her.  In fact, I've always felt that there's much about her that's phony and unreal.

Having said that, I have to say that I think she's been treated unfairly by her employers.  Was she wrong in using racial slurs?  Oh hell yes!  Do I believe she is being targeted by those employers as a way to make themselves look good?  Again, oh hell yes!  She is absolutely being held up as an example.  It does give me pause when I think about the treatment of Paula and I have to wonder - is she the only person who uses - or has used - racial slurs in those corporations from which she was fired?  My guess would be a resounding "NO!"

I totally get that celebrities have a completely different scale when it comes to what is and isn't acceptable.  Many of our celebrities are role models for our children.  I get that.  What I don't get is why it's not okay for some celebrities to have made a mistake, an error in judgment or even voiced an ignorant opinion years ago but it's perfectly fine for the Lindsey Lohans of the world to consistently and continually make a mockery of our judicial system and use the revolving doors at rehab centers.

I watched Paula Deen on the Ancestry.com sponsored tv-show "Who Do You Think You Are?" when her ancestry was traced.  She had not traced her roots before the tv show but "knew" her ancestors never kept slaves because it was a horrible practice.  And when the truth came out that her ancestors DID in fact own slaves, she was horrified and embarrassed.  Really?  C'mon, Paula - your roots are all in Georgia.  Your ancestors were plantation owners.  Who do you think worked those plantations?

Calling anyone a derogatory name is never acceptable in my opinion.  When that 'derogatory name' becomes a slur - not just racial but ethnic, religious, moral or based on a lifestyle, it's reprehensible. What's worse is when those slurs reflect the true nature of the person using them.

Is Paula Deen a bigot?  I have no idea.  I don't know the woman personally so that's not for me to say.  I will say this, though: if what she has said in defense of herself is true, then she's clearly an idiot.  No slur intended.