The Backlash Against Paula Deen

I am breaking out of my blogging hiatus to discuss one of the bigger hot topic items that has been in the news lately.  It is regarding the Paula Deen situation, where she admitted that in her past, she has used the n-word. First and foremost, I will say that I do not condone the use of the word.  It's a derogatory word that is not used in a positive light in the African American community.  However let me say this; aren't we being rather harsh on Paula Deen?  I agree that it was wrong of her to say the word, yet it was in her past and she apologized for doing so.  When is it that an apology just isn't enough anymore?

Everybody's immediate reaction is to fire her and boycott everything that she was involved in.  Can't we all just take a step back and analyze the situation, and then come to a resolution?  I believe that anti-Paula Deen people are out to make an example out of her; that whomever has uttered the n-word in the past must be banished and never see the light of day again.  Deen lived and grew up in the south, where slavery was once a big problem in the early 1900's.  The carryover from that era is around the time when she grew up.  Like all things in life, it's hard to change a stereotype that has existed over many decades.  It's kind of like how gay marriage is becoming ore accepted.  For awhile, saying the n-word was accepted.  Eventually it became to be frowned upon and now, it's just plain wrong to say.  Deen admitted her mistake and she never said she said it recently.  Why can't we just let bygones be bygones?

I will say this, I had heard of Paula Deen before and she most notably made news for her success at losing weight, in addition to her success at making a living preparing wonderful food dishes.  But I just can't believe that all of that could come crashing down, just over an admittance of saying the n-word during her younger years.  Does that mean we should go back to the era when stoning a person, or cutting off their heads in a guillotine are accepted ways of punishing a person for their crimes?  Why is it accepted when African American rappers can used the n-word in their lyrics over and over?  To me, if they get away with saying it, why can't all of the races?  It's just a puzzling issue to me.

Typically I don't comment on hot button topics such as this one, but I felt I had to say something.  I believe that Paula Deen is getting a bum rap here.  Everything that she prided herself on, everything that she has built her success upon is being destroyed and judging from the backlash, she may never recover.  I feel bad for her to be in this situation because she seems to be a nice person.  She said she was sorry for her mistakes, why can't that be good enough?  What more can Paula Deen do to improve her public image?  Like I asked before and I'll say it again; why did it become that an apology just isn't good enough anymore?