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Man, I disappear for a few weeks only to discover that the stupidity is still here once I return. LOL!! Anyway, my apologies for being MIA - yet again. I was doing some final rewrites of my book for a very important contest I wanted to enter and by the time I was done writing for the night, I simply had no more brain power for my baby, The Sauda Voice. My apologies, everyone. Since we're family, I know you understand.
Okay, back to the stupidity. As if the diabetes fiasco wasn't enough, Lisa Jackson, a former employee of Uncle Bubba's Oyster House, a restaurant owned by Paula Deen and her brother Earl W. “Bubba” Hiers, filed a lawsuit Monday in which she alleges the celebrity cook supported the hostile work environment and sexual harassment prevalent at the restaurant. Sidenote: I know it's not fair, but doesn't the name "Bubba" just scream racist sexual harasser?
The 33-page complaint outlines how Mr. Hiers physically intimidated employees, displayed pornography in the workplace, made sexual advances toward Ms. Jackson and acted in a sexually degradating manner, and repeatedly used racial epithets. In her five years at Bubba's, Ms. Davis alleges she made numerous complaints to management about the persistent racism and sexual harassment, but nothing was ever done.
Although the complaint makes it clear that Mr. Hiers was the biggest perpetrator, it also points to Ms. Deen as being an active participant in the ugliness as well. Perhaps the most charged example provided was that of Mr. Hiers' 2007 wedding in which Ms. Deen allegedly told Ms. Davis she wanted a "true Southern plantation-style wedding." Don't know what that is? According to Ms. Davis, Ms. Deen described it as follows:
“Well what I would really like is a bunch of little ni**ers to wear long-sleeve white shirts, black shorts and black bow ties, you know in the Shirley Temple days, they used to tap dance around...Now, that would be a true Southern wedding wouldn’t it? But we can’t do that because the media would be on me about that.”
Okay, my first thoughts about the above description? The fact that Ms. Deen allegedly wanted the black wait staff to dress in such a cartoonish, buffoonery way makes me believe there may be some truth to the allegation. In my opinion, it is not uncommon for those with racist leanings to see blacks as caricatures, in both dialect and dress. Thus, given the opportunity (with no repercussions), they would absolutely have blacks in their employ act out such foolishness, in dress or otherwise.
Additional allegations include: Mr. Hiers required black staff members to use the back entrance and prohibited them from using the same customer restroom as white staff. He also once violently shook a black male kitchen worker.
My first thoughts on this one? I can't see any black person putting up with this kind of racist BS. Not for long, anyway. But then I got to thinking. The economy is real bad these days and people are putting up with things they otherwise wouldn't just to keep a roof over their heads and food on the table.
Additionally, I got to thinking about my teenage years when I lived in the South. I remember being disgusted when I witnessed some blacks readily accept racially-motivated substandard treatment by whites. It was like being transported back in time. All they had to say was, "Yessa, Massa" and the scene would be complete. So, it IS possible that Bubba's black employees cowtowed to his mistreatment (for whatever reason).
Like most of you, I really hope these allegations are untrue. But, I won't hold my breath.
