Paula Deen, What's the real Story?

After hearing the accusations made against Paula Deen, I began to ask the questions, who accused her, for what, when did the incident happen, and why is she coming forward now? Anytime someone is accused of something, it's best to go to the source and research before making a complete and definite decision. In this case, I began to look at the articles and found several interesting tid-bits of information.

First, Lisa T. Jackson, a white woman, filed a complaint in March of 2012 in state court in Savannah, George. Jackson was a former manager at Uncle Bubba's Oyster House, one of five restaurants in Deen's group. The Savannah-based oyster house is co-owned by Deen and her brother, Earl W. “Bubba” Hiers. Jackson was actually an employee up until August 2010 when she left the Oyster House, but she failed to bring anything to light until two years later.

Second, the woman worked in Deen's restaurant for five years, and she made claims that over the course of five years, she made “numerous and frequent” complaints of racial and sexual harassment and other abusive treatment to Deen and others in her restaurant group’s upper management, but they declined to act, even though the conduct was “universally known.” Supposedly, in 2007, Jackson claims that she was in charge of the food for Hiers’ wedding and asked Deen what look the wedding should have. Why would you work for five years in that type of environment? Could she be a disgruntled employee?

Third, if the incidents happened between 2005-2010, why is she just now coming out with these accusations. Several others are now coming out as well with accusations, but again why now. Perhaps Jackson saw dollar signs in her eyes since Paula Deen's rise to stardom which really started in 2011 and up until this point, continues to rise. Perhaps, her attorney, S. Wesley Woolf,  saw a way to make a name for himself, especially in the wake of so many racially motivated events that have evolved over the last couple years.

Why are we just now hearing about this whole thing when the suit was filed in 2012? How many times have we seen someone destroy another individual out of spite or jealousy, or because of their political positions.

I'm not condoning Deen's actions, but I'm defending her on the grounds that everyone makes mistakes. And if using the "N" word was the problem, I know a lot of blacks who should also be reprimanded because just the other day, I heard one call the other by the same negative word. It seems to me we have a double standard here, and no one should use the word. What about the rappers who continually use this word in their lyrics....and even worse. We have all done something we are ashamed of in our past, but it's what we do to repent of that wrong and how we continue to correct those actions in the present and future that counts.  "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone."

Some say Deen should have known what was going on in her restaurants and done something about it, but that's like saying that the President should have known what was going on in his administration and corrected the problems with the IRS when harassment and discrimination against the tea party conservatives was happening. What do you think?

Read the first story, March 5, 2012 in the LA Times