I’m sorry to swim against the somewhat self-righteous tide seen here so far, but I grew up in the segregated South at roughly the same time Paula Deen did, and I can say from my entire long experience from then to now that there is virtually no white person of our generation who did not, when younger, use racist language, including the N word. We were taught the language and the mindset from the cradle. So when Deen admits to having used such language in the past, she is simply telling the truth, not only about herself but about a great many people. Many of us, not enough by any means but still many, learned better and saw more clearly as we experienced both the wider world and the narrowness of the one into which we came as children. I know I did, and I think Deen probably did too. I see no reason, other than sheer moral self-congratulation, for hounding her as some embodiment of evil for admitting to using language, in the past, that was all but universal in the culture in which she was born and raised.

Plus, if you follow her recipes, the food tastes really good.