Posted on 12/01/2006 10:40:31 AM PST by Chi-townChief
If you've only read about the Michael Richards rant, you don't know just how bad it was. Check out the full and unedited on Youtube (www.youtube.com) and then get back to me.
It really was a "racist tirade." And it wasn't so much his use of the "n" word, as it was the depth of the historical ideas and images Richards invoked.
After being heckled by audience members (who happened to be black) during a stand up performance, Michael Richards (who played the character of Kramer on the show Seinfeld) started spewing racist epithets. Then he dejectedly walked offstage as if he'd been the one insulted. The only thing that could have made it all in any way funny was if, after making his offensive comments, he'd slipped on a banana peel and fallen off the stage.
Stand up comedy is often freestyled in a way that is similar to hip-hop.
The comedian comes up with funny clever thoughtful things off the top of his or her head. This is what makes these kinds of entertainers so talented.
The sort of spontaneity is achieved by the performer reaching into his or her subconscious and mining material. That said, there were obviously some racist ideas swimming about in Richards' subconscious, whether he was aware of it or not. All it took was Richards being angry and frustrated onstage for these ideas to come forth. I listened to his comments several times, they cut really deep. He was indirectly referencing slavery, lynching, and Jim Crow, and he did it was such rage. He wasn't joking.
The Internet is going to eat him up like last week's Thanksgiving turkey. Only two days after the footage was posted on Youtube, it had already been viewed 738,864 times and there were over 5,000 comments posted about it. On Richards' Wikipedia page, an entry titled "Laugh Factory incident" has been added, objectively detailing the incident. And he is the hottest topic on many online groups. It's unlikely that Richards will live this down.
The Internet was built on the idea of free speech. There are plenty of hate group Web sites out there in cyberland. Hate speech is constitutionally protected, as it should be. Nevertheless, one of the best ways to fight hate speech is with good speech. Richards will pay for his words most dearly online (and in film and television contracts, I hope).
Richards has since publicly apologized for his outburst. He cited the spontaneity of stand-up comedy and the fact that he was angry as reasons for what happened. Yeah, yeah, yeah, not good enough. People are often most honest when angry. Apparently, Richards even made a call to the Rev. Al Sharpton and Sharpton reflected and opinion similar to mine.
"I (told Richards) you need to sit down and deal with this," Sharpton told CNN. "This is not about accepting an apology, this is about starting a process to really deal with the continual problem of racism in this country."
Another way to fight hate speech is to refuse to listen to it, as many of the audience members did during Richards' performance. I'm very proud of those individuals for taking a stand, no pun intended. As someone commented on YouTube: "If you think what he said is OK, get a white hood."
"Nnedi Okorafor-Mbachu"
Why would he?
National Lampoon did a nice cut and paste, here:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=6dXBC6R_rxk
"People are often most honest when angry."
BS. It's the opposite.
Then every teenager ever hates their parents and I really do want lots of people to literally "go screw themselves", if that's even possible.
Richards, a liberal, is going to get off rather easily. Sharpton, Jackson, the MSM is accepting his apology rather uneventfully. The contreversy died down quickly. The media can keep a minor story alive if they want to. Just reference Natalie Holloway or Abu Grahib.
Being racist and liberal is okay. If a conservative had said half of want Richards did, you'd hear about it over and over and over again.
Clueless author alert. Comedians, professional ones anyway, have every word, every nuance, tuned and practiced for timing and effect. Nothing is "off the top" of their heads. NOThing. Not that there's anything wrong with that!
Oh, almost forgot to include that yes, Kramer was way off base and was wrong.
At some point, artistic people dredge down into their souls and come up with some ugly stuff.
What shocks me is the shock.
They took DeVito's drunken tirade off of YouTube. If you're a liberal you can do and say anything you want...except insult certain minorities.
I have not seen the entire video, but it is my understanding that the audience turned on him first by yelling cracker at him, which is just as offensive. Ever get around african-americans and hear how often they use the N word? Quite frankly, I did not see his remarks any more offensive than what that black late night show host (I forget his name at the moment) did years ago. Time to lighten up folks.
And Happened to use racial slurs against Richards FIRST. LoL
"Richards, a liberal"
I've seen that a few times, do we really know if he is a liberal? Do you have a link to his political views?
...this dude needs to buy a real name, and in a hurry.
If you check out his apology on Letterman, he blames - get ready for it - BUSH! (via Katrina).
Who give a diddly squat??? If you or I said it...no
problem...but anyone else with a fat wallet...beware
as Jesse and Al always on the prowl...they have some
obvious tendencies themselves..ifUknowwhatI mean..Jake
Did anyone find the above song...
1. More offensive than most rap music
2. More racist than most rap music
3. Less musical than most rap music
4. Less catchy than most rap music
See? Popular culture is so casually obscene these days that material attacking racists is indistinguishable from the material that purports it.
Thats Hilarious!
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