There is an old tradition of comedians to go for the jugular when dealing with rude patrons. Some will even prod the audience with attacks (like Don Rickles and Rudy Ray Moore).
Doesn't mean what he was saying was either funny or appropriate. But where do you draw that line? If he had called a noisy woman a "b*t*h" would it have made headlines?
How about treating people as people, not as members of races? If you are heckled by a man, defend yourself the same way no matter whether the heckler is a black, white or Chinese. Don't inject race into a situation where race has nothing to do with it, otherwise you are implying that race DOES have something to do with it--you are saying that it is worse because the heckler is black. He wouldn't tell a white heckler--"Hey stupid white guy, shut up. White, white, white, white!! Stupid M'fin'g White guy." Why does he treat a black heckler that way? It's because he sees the person's race as the most important thing, and his response implies that a black heckler is more nettlesome, less acceptable than a white one would be.
Comedians like to go after hecklers, and I don't have a problem with that. But try to do it in a way that is not tribal, but specific to the heckler. Attack what they said with a rejoinder to what they said, or if you are going to get personal, it should be about their weight, their clothes, their baldness, their wife's looks, their mother, etc. You get that guy as who he is, not as a member of a race.
Someday, it may be uncool to attack fat or bald people, but until that day, there's your line.
I saw an interview with Rosanne once. It had to do with standup comedians and their act/trade, and dealing with hecklers.
The interviewer sequeyed into it by describing an event that happened with Rosanne, where a heckler said something to her telling her she looked and talked like a man, and Rosanne's response was "Well, you can suck my d!ck."
She commented that the heckler is apt to always make a fool out of himself, because the comedian has the mike, and can control the rest of the crowd. Therefore, as a heckler, you put yourself at her mercy.
It looks like though old Krammer lost control somehow. He wasn't going for the jugular...the impression I get from watching the video is he was completely unhinged.
I watched the clip and I think that Richards just went nuts. He also did seem to be drunk or high. He didn't just "give it back" to the hecklers, he became this vicious hate-filled freak. But because he's a good liberal all will be forgiven by the MSM.