Michael Richards Racist Rant

[ParanoiA]

Since we've got the 'White Scholarship' discussion going, I thought this might be a good one to compliment it.

 

Personally, I see this whole thing blown out of proportion and this "apology" as an empty, hollow act on the part of Richards, Jesse Jackson, Sharpton and etc..

 

And of course, they're using the good ole buzz words and phrases - "healing", "injury", "psychiatric help" and blah blah blah. Does anyone else see this whole thing as a shallow, phoney act on the part of all involved?

 

I hear cracker used all the time but I don't feel injured or in need of "healing". I realize that I nor my ancestors have been through the oppression and the dehumanization suffered by african americans, but how can you allow a word to hurt someone? I think they're letting themselves be bothered by it for no good reason.

 

Richards is a jerk and is true feelings came out, so boycott him and allow his career to plumet and let him suffer for it. Why accept an apology? Why pretend like him saying the same word most of the black youth says, somehow "injures" and requires "healing"? That's ridiculous and just feeds the victimologists.

 

I know a racist when I see and hear one and they come in all colors and I don't accept an apology from any of them. I also don't let it bother me since everyone in the world is judgemental and prejudice of someone, of some race, or some minority, or some majority, or some class of citizen, or some behavior, or a thousand other things that people use to elevate themselves over others.

[Pangloss]

Are they his true feelings? I don't know the man from Adam, how do I know that? Maybe he's just a complete idiot. What I do know is that this story is typical of the modern press, more interested in politically correct behavior and controversy than in uncovering truth and fact.

 

Al "Tawana Brawley" Sharpton's involvement has no impact on me.

[ParanoiA]

Are they his true feelings? I don't know the man from Adam, how do I know that? Maybe he's just a complete idiot. What I do know is that this story is typical of the modern press, more interested in politically correct behavior and controversy than in uncovering truth and fact.

 

Al "Tawana Brawley" Sharpton's involvement has no impact on me.

 

I don't know if they are his true feelings or not, but why does it matter? He said some offensive words. I hear offensive words everyday. It's like people go out of their way to be offended. They want this to bother them. They want this to matter. The outrage is justified, but this BS injury and healing and therapy is too much.

 

It's just so plastic and shallow. Everything that has happened since the story hit. It's like the liberals favorite moment and reason for being - the chance to demonstrate how racist they are not, by exaggerating the impact, the injury and the healing. It sounds so stupid to even say it out loud, let alone in front of media cameras with a serious look on your face. If I were black, I would be far more offended by the political capitalization of this "event" than anything Richards said.

[Sisyphus]

Of course it's disturbing. We can never watch Seinfeld in quite the same way again, and for that, I demand blood.

[GutZ]

Well the "N" word has a way stronger connotation of hate then "Cracker". I don't think it's approperiate at all, regardless of who says it. The crowd's reaction was perfect in my opinion, just leaving.

 

The media and typically those in show business are all about the political games and such. They over-hype anything that can bring in $$$.

 

What bothered me was the comment Jamie Foxx said (On FOX I think), It just perpuates the divide amoungs white and black people. Saying basically that he didn't know what typreof black people where there but he would of jumped on stage and beat him up. Come on...

[ParanoiA]

Of course it's disturbing. We can never watch Seinfeld in quite the same way again, and for that, I demand blood.

 

I know, that really sucks. I love that show. Kramer was my favorite character too. Now I just see him as a bigot. I want to believe he was in some kind of character when he pulled this crap, but it doesn't appear so. There goes my secret hope of a reunion show...

[GutZ]

Eww lol you guys actually liked Sienfeld? Ok even though I present myself as a hater, it's mostly because of Jerry. George would be my favorite (If I had to pick).

[ParanoiA]

Eww lol you guys actually liked Sienfeld? Ok even though I present myself as a hater, it's mostly because of Jerry. George would be my favorite (If I had to pick).

 

Well it is interesting that all them have tried their own shows or projects since Seinfeld and all have flopped miserably. Although, I'm not sure how Julia's show is doing. In my mind, they're all irreplacable. But Kramer was so good at being a nutcase - a docile nutcase at that.

[mr d]

Hello

 

I come from a time before everything was PC (Politically Correct) in how we try to act in public at least. And at times wonder if all it is is a shield for racism to hide behind, and I find many people more bigotted today than I did back then.

 

And every once in a while we just get to glimpse at how people really think, if they can't PC themselves quick enough.

 

Such ideas of racisim did not go away, we just do a better job of hiding them behind false fronts.

 

Most of the time...

 

Mr D

[Pangloss]

I don't know if they are his true feelings or not, but why does it matter? He said some offensive words. I hear offensive words everyday. It's like people go out of their way to be offended. They want this to bother them. They want this to matter. The outrage is justified, but this BS injury and healing and therapy is too much.

 

It's just so plastic and shallow. Everything that has happened since the story hit. It's like the liberals favorite moment and reason for being - the chance to demonstrate how racist they are not, by exaggerating the impact, the injury and the healing. It sounds so stupid to even say it out loud, let alone in front of media cameras with a serious look on your face. If I were black, I would be far more offended by the political capitalization of this "event" than anything Richards said.

 

 

You're missing something really important. It's plastic and shallow alright, but it's plastic and shallow for TWO reasons.

 

Many black people may indeed be offended by that kind of apology. They may also be offended by the fact that his use of the N word became a media event. But you'll never hear about it from the mainstream media. THOSE offended people are simply are not on the agenda. Jesse and Al are well aware of it, though, and believe me, it is the one thing that keeps them up at night -- the people whom they ostensibly "represent", but who don't behave as they're told.

 

Make no mistake about it, they're not just giving him "a chance to apologize to the community" -- they're demonstrating and flexing their power and authority over that alleged community.

[Dak]

tbh, when i saw the footage, i thought that he was making a point... i thought he was going to end up saying something like 'see, was that acceptable? no? then dont be a racist shit to me, either'.

 

then it went on a liiiiiiiiiiiittle too long, and the point never came. about half way thru, it stopped looking like it was leading to a point, and just looked mental.

 

i'm torn between thinking that he was intending to make a point then got carried away and forgot what he was doing, or that he went bannanas, or is a racist shit.

[ecoli]

for those of you who haven't seen it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3RjiVcIlhY

[Dak]

apparently, just before that started, he'd been heckled and called something like a 'white-ass cracker honkey-boy' (hence why i thought he might have been trying to make a point).

 

a few things i find odd:

 

i understand holding people in the public eye to a higher standard than normal people, but why is the fact that the black guy was also being racist -- and was racist first -- being overlooked?

 

why did the audience initially laugh?

[ecoli]

why did the audience initially laugh?

 

I'm assuming they thought he was still in 'joke mode'... it's not uncommon for people to laugh at unfunny things at a stand up comedy event. I think the psychologists even have a label for this phenomenon.

[Sisyphus]

OR racism is funny, until you're not kidding anymore. Or it still is, sometimes, just then you're not laughing at the racism, you're laughing at the racist.

[ParanoiA]

apparently, just before that started, he'd been heckled and called something like a 'white-ass cracker honkey-boy' (hence why i thought he might have been trying to make a point).

 

a few things i find odd:

 

i understand holding people in the public eye to a higher standard than normal people, but why is the fact that the black guy was also being racist -- and was racist first -- being overlooked?

 

why did the audience initially laugh?

 

I have not heard any of this. I do know some things happened before the camera phone captured the rest, but it was said that there were more racist comments by Richards. This came straight from the mouth of one of the hecklers on fox news. If they were being racist first, then it's hard to be so pissed at Richards, but since when has two wrongs made a right? You only get a positive from two negatives when multiplying, not adding...(ok that was stupid, sorry)

[CPL.Luke]

keep in mind he's a comedian, maybe he was trying to be nutcase like kramer was and bombed, you never know

[hotcommodity]

for those of you who haven't seen it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3RjiVcIlhY

 

It's a shame to see a grown man act out in that manner. The racial slurs were stupid to begin with, but using "motherf**ker" for every other word proved his intelligence level.

[bascule]

Sinbad was in the audience and said he had no problem with Richards using "nigger" in his act until he realized that Richards wasn't going anywhere with it as part of his routine, but was just being a racist dick.

 

I think it'd be pretty hard for a white person to get away with using "nigger" in the context of a racially charged routine in the same way someone like Chris Rock or Dave Chappelle can lambaste whites and use it, along with "cracker", "honkey", "whitey", etc. (none of which, of course, carry nearly the negative connotation of "nigger")

 

About the only time I've heard the word successfully used commedically by a white person was Archie Bunker, who succeeds at using it by being the stereotype of all the negative qualities of someone who would think like that. And, of course, George Jefferson fires right back at him when he does it, and it's the exchange between the two of them that makes it funny.

 

If Kramer really wants to pull off a successful apology he needs to be face-to-face with the guy in the audience he insulted, go "I'm a racist, and I'm sorry. I admit I have a problem and I was totally out of line" or something to that effect.

 

Instead, he gave an apology so "sincere" people in the audience were lauging. His apology was, literally, a joke.

[Nemesio]

About the only time I've heard the word successfully used commedically by a white person was Archie Bunker, who succeeds at using it by being the stereotype of all the negative qualities of someone who would think like that. And, of course, George Jefferson fires right back at him when he does it, and it's the exchange between the two of them that makes it funny.

 

I remember the first time I saw the episode in which Jefferson's son (Lionel) was having his engagement party and the woman to whom he was engaged was of biracial parentage. Both Bunker's and Jefferson's racism (towards white and black respectively) is brought out in sharp relief, each one horrified that 'the other' would marry one of 'their own.'

 

A brilliant episode -- well crafted from front to back, a clear but subtle moral, and hysterically funny.

 

Nemesio

[bascule]

Looks like Michael Richards is going to take Sinbad's advice and apologize directly to the people he insulted:

 

http://www.cnn.com/2006/SHOWBIZ/TV/12/01/michaelrichards.ap/index.html?eref=rss_topstories

[ParanoiA]

Looks like Michael Richards is going to take Sinbad's advice and apologize directly to the people he insulted:

 

http://www.cnn.com/2006/SHOWBIZ/TV/12/01/michaelrichards.ap/index.html?eref=rss_topstories

 

Gee...did Sinbad go backstage after his offensive performace and give him this advice? Because, if you would READ, you'd know that Michael Richards claimed to go look for these gentlemen a few minutes later after he cooled down and supposedly realized what he'd done.

 

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,233657,00.html

 

"That's why I'm shattered by it. The way this came through me was like a freight train," Richards said. "After it was over, when I went to look for them, they had gone. And I've tried to meet them, to talk to them, to get some healing."

 

Let me guess...he wasn't looking for them to apologize right? He was probably looking for them so he could hurl more hate speech at them right? But good ole Sinbad came to the rescue...

 

I think I'm starting to get somewhat misanthropic myself. This part makes me sick:

A cash settlement could be part of the resolution, said Howard J. Rubenstein, who represents Richards.

 

Cash settlement for what? Free speech? Does the KKK and the Black Panthers have to make cash settlements to practice free speech? He's perfectly free to be a racist bigot. I'm sure Richards is all cool with it as he just wants to get out of this hole - even if he's selling out our constitutional rights to do it. The money is the real motivator behind Gloria Allred and company.

[Pangloss]

How much does a caught-on-camera, anti-minority flameout run these days anyway?

 

(Also, is it tax-deductible?)

[bascule]

How much does a caught-on-camera, anti-minority flameout run these days anyway?

 

I think this falls under the Hollywood rule of "Any publicity is good publicity". Who even cared about what Michael Richards was up to until this happened?

[GutZ]

I think this falls under the Hollywood rule of "Any publicity is good publicity". Who even cared about what Michael Richards was up to until this happened?

 

True, I didn't even know his real name till this happened, that could be due to ignorance though. I thrive in that area.