Not knowing the "real" michael richards, the audience have no clue how to take him outside of Kramer.
From what I understand, Richards is a rather quiet man off stage.
Seeing him squirm during Letterman made me feel pretty much at a loss of words. He didnt know what to say to fix this and it was apparent he is truely sorry. You get to a point where you start saying things just to be mean and I believe him and Gibson both went the try to be hateful just to be mean but go too far to turn back.
I dont believe he is a racist. I believe he was going into an unrehearsed social point about racist words but sorta lost control of his point as the hecklers yelled back and things went haywire.
I saw Richard's appearance as a last minute attempt to salvage the 'Seinfeld' DVD (7th season?) sales. They go on sale tomorrow.
I also don't believe that he's a racist. As I said when Gibson stepped in it, some folks are what we used to call a "mean drunk." When in that state, they will deliberately try to be as nasty as they can. They will vent their spleen at anyone in range, without the inhibitions they have when sober.
A time or two, but thank God not often, I've gotten blitzed enough in the wrong state of mind to see the world through those lenses, and I'm grateful I had good friends to drag me home and put me to bed before I could risk harm to myself or others.
Now, that in itself is certainly a character flaw. Something they could overcome, with help. It's not a crime, and it's while it's a decent venial sin, it's not a mortal one.