Paula Deen and The Tea Party

The title does not mean Paula Deen is a Tea Party supporter.  I have no idea.

But how she got in her current situation is an example of what drives me crazy about this country at this time because of the support hypocrisy and stupidity receive from a significant component of the adult population.

Paule Deen is a 66 year old Food Network celebrity who promotes traditional Southern cooking with an emphasis on foods that in excess make you fat.  She has lived in Georgia her whole life. She was fired by the Food Network for using traditional disrespectful language and phases when discussing African Americans.  This has raised a viral firestorm amongst her fans.

I have been trying to ignore this story and was inclined to say she was sincere when she apologized.  However, a column by Frank Bruni brought it together for me.  She is a cynical business person who just wants to keep her lofty income as high as possible.

She has either no ability or no desire to be reflective about how her words and actions affect others.  All of us probably fail the test of thinking about what we say or write once in a while.  But to fail consistently reflects badly on a person and she has failed consistently.  This was far from a one off situation as she herself admitted.

It turns out she also has Type 2 diabetes which is a national scourge and one of the primary drivers of the increase in Medicare expenses.  She is fat and her food makes you fat, but she keeps promoting her style of cooking without any effort to educate her viewers that moderation might be a good idea.

It also turns out that she promotes her son's show on the Food Network.  He at least illustrates healthy (i.e. less fattening) foods.  Also, she is now a spokesperson for a new Diabetes drug.

Now, there is nothing wrong with any of this per se.  It is capitalism at its best.  However, a little bit of reflection about the incongruence of promoting fattening food consumption and Type 2 Diabetes at the same time might go a long way in educating a part of the population that needs educating.  Paula Deen could perform a public service.

The link to the Tea Party is that I suspect most of her supporters are Tea Party types who abhor Michael  Bloomberg's small efforts to promote portion control in an effort to educate people about the dangers and benefits of controlling what you consume.  The Tea Party makes great fun of him saying they want to live the way they want to.

This is what Paula Deen tried to do.  Live life without reflecting about anything other than how she made herself wealthier.  She panders to and exhibits selfishness of the 1st order.  Her popularity is symptom of what is wrong in this country and how it spills over into our politics.

Oy Vey!