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By Lauren | January 31, 2012
This may be the post that brings the world down on my head, but I have to wonder why everyone seems to be madly shoving each other aside for the opportunity to vilify Paula Deen. For those of you who?ve been vacationing on Mars for the last week or two, here?s the short version. Celebrity chef Paula Deen recently revealed that she?s had diabetes for two years or so. During that time, she kept her illness a secret while continuing to teach America?s home cooks how to deep-fry everything from chicken to macaroni and cheese and serving as the celebrity ?spokeschef? for Smithfield Farms, a pork producer that reportedly raises pigs in especially vile conditions. (Check out my November 4, 2011 post for the details.) And - surprise, surprise - Ms. Deen only revealed her medical condition after agreeing to become the face of a new diabetes treatment.
Am I a little disappointed? You bet. Paula Deen has long been a favorite of mine, an apparently delightful lady whom I?d love to have move in next door. Her Smithfield Farms relationship was tough for me because cruelty to helpless animals strikes me as especially appalling, but it seemed entirely possible that Ms. Deen really didn?t know what Smithfield was up to when she signed on to hock their hams, as it were. As far as her diabetes goes, I don?t really consider her illness to be any of my business. Suddenly springing her it on the world as part of a pharmaceutical promotion deal strikes me as tacky but, to my knowledge, Ms. Deen has never pretended to be especially holier than thou.
And it?s not as though we didn?t know that many of Paula Deen?s recipes are loaded with salt, sugar and fat. Yes, if you rummage around on the Food Network site you can find her recipe for poached salmon, but you have to page past a whole lot of fried stuff first. Much of the reason we?ve enjoyed watching Paula Deen has been that her show gives us an opportunity to stop thinking of food for its ?nutritional value? (ugh) and focus instead on how it tastes. She?s been the queen of guilty pleasures and we?ve applauded her for it, but anyone who imagined for one second that anybody could eat those recipes day in and day out without any ill effect had their head stuck in a bucket of her deep-fried chicken. She?s a celebrity because we made her one. It?s hypocritical as all get out to blame her for dishing up precisely what America ordered.
So maybe that?s why I?m taken aback by how vicious her critics are being. For example, Larry Kahaner of the William G. McGowan Charitable Fund recently invited me to read his blog post titled, ?Is Paula Deen the Worst, Most Dangerous and Unethical Person in America?? (In fairness, Mr. Kahaner was paraphrasing celebrity superchef Anthony Bourdain, who?s probably green as a well-aged roquefort cheese with envy over the amount of publicity Ms. Deen is getting.) I have to wonder where people left their sense of perspective. Bernie Madoff bankrupted little old ladies and charitable foundations. Wall Street financiers tanked the global economy selling subprime mortages to unsuspecting buyers and went on to claim million-dollar bonuses. There?s a serial killer who?s reportedly murdering homeless people in Anaheim. In Bridgeport, Connecticut, Edgardo Sensi was sentenced to an 85-year prison term today for producing child pornography. How does a television chef even come close to being more dangerous and evil than any of them?
If people persist in calling tacky behavior, short-sightedness and minor self-dealing ?evil,? the word loses meaning and truly evil behavior flourishes. Paula Deen may not be your favorite, but she?s hardly the most dangerous person in America. If nothing else, she?s certainly paid the price for her excesses by succumbing to a life-threatening illness. Let?s stop beating up a sick woman and focus our outrage instead on someone who really deserves it.
To read Mr. Kahaner?s post, click here.
Topics: Business Ethics, Social Ethics, business communications, customer relations, ethics |
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Source: http://www.thebusinessethicsblog.com/whats-the-big-deal-about-paula-deen
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