In society today, discrimination in any form is looked down upon, no matter which group of people it is targeted at. Two of the most recent cases of public discrimination concern Paula Deen and Phil Robertson. These cases both had vastly different outcomes and demonstrate how racism is dealt with differently based on the circumstance.

Paula Deen is a famous cook, working for eleven years on the Food Network before her racist comment. She had been accused of acting racist toward African American multiple times, with the most current being a lawsuit from a former employee, who said that Deen freely used the N-word. When asked if she had ever used it, Deen responded “Yes, of course,” but corrected herself by saying “it’s been a very long time.” In addition to losing her job at the Food Network, Deen also lost business with QVC, Smithfield Foods, Walmart, Caesars Entertainment, Target, Home Depot, Novo Nordisk, J.C. Penney, Sears, Kmart and Ballantine Books.

In contrast, Phil Robertson, star of the hit television show Duck Dynasty. In an interview with GQ Magazine, he said he missed the happy, carefree days of segregation, explaining that he had never once seen the mistreatment of an African American and that they would be singing and dancing their troubles away in the fields. In addition, he said that he believed that homosexual behavior was sinful, comparing it to greed, drunkenness and adultery. His punishment for these discriminatory opinions lasted little more than a week. Robertson was suspended from the show for nine days and lost merchandise for the show in Cracker Barrel for only one day.

Both Deen and Robertson can be considered discriminatory, but the fact that they were treated drastically differently makes many wonder how to respond to racism and discrimination. In these cases, it seems to revolve around money, as Robertson’s show would have lost its network a good amount of money, while Deen did not seem to have as big of an impact on the Food Network. Regardless, Americans must decide whether they think all discrimination deserves harsh punishment like Paula Deen or that it not of major importance, as in Robertson’s case.