Racism. As American as apple pie. My weigh in on the Paul Deen issue.

Alright people. I must first disclaim that I am not 'plugged in' if you will to most of what's happening around the world. I don't have tv, I don't read the newspaper, I don't have a million news apps on my phone. Most of what I know about what's going on outside of my Whitney bubble is through Social Media or conversation with those who do know. Judge me if you must but though it may label me 'clueless' and 'unengaged' I like spending my moments and energy focusing on those around me and how I might possibly impact their lives as opposed to 'keeping up'.

That being said, here is my 'off the cuff', mostly uninformed response to the Paula Deen issue.

My first interpretation of the 'Paula Deen' issue was that she used a derogatory racial slur 30 years ago, ONE TIME and because someone just happened to find out about it and leak it to the media, she's now being dropped from the Food Network, Wal-mart is taking her products off the shelves (as IF Wal-Mart is the beacon of ethical behavior), etc. etc. Of course, at first glance, this seems unreasonable and I understood where the 'all people should be forgiven', 'she was young and from Mississipi', rhetoric was coming from. However, thirty years ago would have put her somewhere in her 30's yes? Let me check. YES. It would have made her 36 to be exact. I'm not an expert on the stages of development, but I do know this. I'm from the south and there are even members of my family that have used racial slurs in the past and I'm pretty sure that by the time I could speak I knew that I had the choice to refrain from joining in on their hatred. So I would imagine that if Paula Deen used the 'n' word at 36, she probably meant it, no matter how few times she said it, or rather how few times she was actually caught saying it.

Unfortunately for her, it was not one time and it was not 30 years ago. In looking into the issue I came across the actual deposition from the formal complaint placed by Ms. Jackson, a GM for one of their restaurants on behalf of a majority of their staff, against the Paula Deen Corp. for YEARS of incorrigible behavior by both she and her brother Bobby Heir. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND that you read this legal document yourself before you 'like' anymore 'Support Paula Deen' posts on FB, because what was actually said, I will not repeat. And neither should you.

http://www.scribd.com/doc/148781831/Jackson-v-Deen-Et-Al-Complaint

Matthew 12:34 says "You snakes! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks. I think we're missing the point here people. Stories like this show us two things in my opinion.

1) We have SO MUCH MORE WORK TO DO! We need to open our eyes to the fact that not all people are treated equal in our society and that has got to change. And even if you feel like you're not part of that larger story because you're unplugged like me, it doesn't make it any less your responsibility. It starts in your home. It starts in your community. By not standing up to hatred and bullying you are actually promoting those things. This is not ok. Get busy people.

2) We will never get it done by ourselves. As long as we exist in this plane, we will be surrounded by evil and the hatred and decay that comes with it. Without depending on the grace and mercy of a Savior, we will never be able to promote enough change in our society to fight back against that evil. So again, get busy people.

As for you Paula. My heart breaks for you. Not being able to avoide the natural consequences of bad choices and a heart that's marred by pride and arrogance is a painful experience. I'm excited for the changes that I hope this experience brings about in your family. This could be a game changer.  On behalf of every person who has ever mistreated or misspoken of another, you have a choice. 66 is not too old to change. For real.

As for those countless hearts who have been bullied into fear and acceptance of bigotry by another or a group of people because of their percieved power over them, STAND UP and keep standing up until someone listens. Those of us who listen might just be in the suburbs baking apple pies, but we won't be using Paula Deen recipes. Of that we can assure you.

Welcome to Life, Unfiltered!

So I have been considering getting back into blogging for some time now. My first inclination that it might be a good idea was that 9 out of 10 of my Facebook posts had a 'continue reading' link. Now I realize why I have had a hard time getting into Twitter and Instagram. Because I'm ONLY allowed 25 characters. If you know me at all, you know that this is not.near.enough. for even a partially complete thought in my world. Which might explain all of the 'You should start a BLOG!' comments from people. I feigned humility when secretly I thought, 'I always KNEW I was awesome, but now OTHERS are starting to clue in too! I SHOULD start a blog!' When in reality it's probably that they were sick of their news feed beign clogged up by my long-winded posts. Feel free NOT to comment and let me know the truth about this because the deed is done, I have STARTED A BLOG. If it's a dismal failure I'll know you all were lying. Thanks in advance.

So, come to find out, or come to remember actually, I have SEVERAL blogs! You might think to yourself, 'Wow. She obviously is so passionate or so knowledgable about a myriad of subjects that they couldn't all be contained in ONE BLOG' when in reality, it is simply that I....SQUIRREL! which is probably another indication that this will be a dismal failure. I doubt FOUR blogs will be any more successful than THREE blogs, but I digress. So, back in 2009 I started Blog #3 called Reality is Funnier with the following post. The post in itself is certainly still applicable (which is why I'm including it) but with this addendum. Real life CAN be funnier. It can also be sadder, more frightening, more beautiful, kinder, meaner, more chaotic and more organized, more ridiculous and more boring for sure...you get the point. In all ways, real life is more, period. And I have spent WAY too much of it pretending I'm someone I'm not. Insert filtered instagram picture here. I just did a search of bible verses on the subject of pretending to be someone you're not and this is what I found:

Matthew 23:27-"Woe to you Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside they are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean."

You know I'm not a theology major but I think what Jesus was trying to say here was, "Be your dang self." I'm sure he had other issues with these dudes but from what I can tell what irritated him most was the fake awesomeness they were trying to portray. It's only when we are able to admit who we truly are that we realize our desire to be different, to be more. Without that realization, there is no room for Jesus in us. And I don't know about you but I'd much rather be filled with Jesus than with dead man's bones. For real.

Welcome to the REAL ME! (Post from 2009)

Tonight I had an epiphany. I stumbled across the question, "I WONDER what would happen if I just started BEING ME and enjoying it?" A world of possibility suddenly unfolded before my very eyes; I felt like Dennis the Menace witnessing the 'titan arum' blooming for a split second; but an intense and wonderfully liberating second it was!

Side bar: Did anyone know that the flower on Dennis the Menace, the titan aram actually means 'corpse flower' in English and the reason for that is that it's the color and smell of rotting flesh, meant to attract animals?! WEIRD.

Back to me. So, I realized that I've been coming up short lately; in happiness, in health, in accomplishment, in satisfaction on all accounts but it must be said that I've actually accomplished quite a bit this year. So, why the defeat and disappointment you ask? Well, I think I've got a bad case of the 'unrealistic virus'. It's eaten up my rationality, my sanity, my reality and in it's place, pretend ideas have creeped in and gotten way to comfortable. (Who knew my brain created Pinterest BEFORE there was Pinterest.) Like the idea that I should be skinnier, or funnier, or have better skin or whiter teeth or cook gourmet meals, or be able to master yoga positions that by law should require two spotters, or be friendly to everyone, or run 13.1 miles without stopping or have a clean house all of time time or be everything to everyone or journal everyday or NEVER DRINK A SODA! These unrealistic ideas of who I should be are slowly killing me and what's worse is that they are unattainable because they are pretend.

So, my new thing is to BE ME, EVERYDAY, in EVERY WAY in all my irritating and anxiety ridden, nail biting, gas-passing, wogging, psychotic, cry-baby glory. To be HAPPY with that me, not because it's a perfect me, but because it's the REAL ME.

So, stay tuned for real snap shots of the real me living my real life.