Michael Richards racist or jerk?

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That is a hard one for me. I only know him as Kramer and Jerry Sienfeld's friend. I hate to call him a racist. I think he was just really angry and maybe drunk.

While I think the guys that started to abuse him are jerks he should know better, if you go on stage or put yourself in the entertainment arena you are going to get that but for the most part the entertainers just get on with thier act. He probably is not a racist just a fool. He should have kept his mouth shut got on with his act and waited for the two guys in the car park.

I think anyone that spits out anything like he did has some issues with racism...people who dont harbor feelings of racism dont just yell that crap out.

I said he was all the above since I was not given the choice of picking the first two...

The anger issue I dont know about....but I feel that he is a jerk and a racist for the reasons stated above.

I agree with Mystic, only someone who is a racist on some level spouts that kind of crap!

I find it interesting that lodgebo mentions that the guys who "abused" him were jerks. I'm sorry but comedians get heckled all the time, there's a way to handle it and a way not to. Richards went with the latter to an extreme!

Niwrad read my post again I did day that Richards should have kept his mouth shut didn't I?

No actually I never said THEY should have known I said that HE should have known better. Also is there such a thing as inappropriate heckling ore is that just old fashioned rudeness?

Sorry, misread that. Still, he didn't need to fire off back at them spewing racial hatred. No matter what he says.. that he was only joking. You don't spread racial slurs and think that they won't have backfiring effects.

Here's an example... at a Barbra Streistand concert (a couple months ago) she was doing her usual, and spewing her political crap between songs. Some guy yelled out that he wanted her to sing. And I don't blame him, because those tickets were over $2000, per seat (from my understanding), and she yells back for the guy to "Shut the F@ck up" Now, from what I was told, from my aunt (who's a Barbra fan) if you know anything about Barbra, you know that she talks a lot about politics, and her hatred of the republican party, etc... and it's HER concert, and her stage, and her right to do what she wants on the stage. I don't agree with that. You don't spend money to listen to that. You want to hear them sing. Anyway... waaaaaaaaaaaaay off the track here. She didn't need to respond back to him in that way. And it upset a lot of people.

Okay... so, Richards didn't have to respond the way he did. But, he did, and now he needs to face the fact that people are ticked, and view him differently. I've never heckled a comedian, and I wouldn't. And I've been to a number of comedy shows. I've heard people heckle, and it's funny... and they comedians usually respond in fun. Richards didn't. He responded with hateful words.

Like no one here has never, ever made a racial comment. Come on now. The only reason it's so huge is because he's a B-list celebrity and it was on video. Is he a racist? Who the hell knows. We don't know him. You cannot judge a person based on a few statements. I can quote some nice excerpts from Hitler, does that make him a daisy? Think about it...

-HECK!

Wait a minute, Heck... I'm not judging him. I'm merely stating that it was inappropriate to use racial comments to repond back. We should never do that... for any reason. I don't give a flying flip about this guy. He's no one to me. But, what I do care about is how his comments effect other people. When someone makes flippant comments about gays, it effects me, Heck. Because it hurts. So, to many black people, I'm sure that his comments hurt, and pissed them off. I don't agree with using the "N" word... for anyone (including black people using it as a regular word in greeting, or whatever, to each other).

Sure, the racial comments weren't necessary. But from where I sit, unless someone says something about me directly, to me, then I will handle it. But you get Gloria Alred involved? Geez.

If that comment affects other people, well, that's on them. Richards made a comment to those men. That's all. Everything else is a poor me story.

-HECK!

Well, that's where we differ, Heck. For you, unless it's something said directly at you, or about you, it doesn't matter. And that's fine. There are a lot of people like that.

But, for me, and others... we do take offense to it. I'm not black, and I find it absolutely in poor taste. It affects me because no matter how you slice it, what he said was racist. And racial comments are hatful. It spreads hatred, and breeds more talk. It causes people to lash out, and then it because a cycle of anger -> abuse -> hatred. Where does it stop?

Also, if things like this become "okay" to say... whats to stop other hateful comments from being spewed, publically? The more something negative is said, the more it stirs up a hornets nest. People will join in with those things, because they believe in/feel them too. Where does that end? I don't like seeing things like this happen because eventually, someone will take it too far, and until you've been on the receiving end of a "hate crime" you have no idea what it feels like. I've been there, and it's so painful, because you did nothing to deserve this. Other than someone decided that you would be their target because they didn't like the color of your skin, or your religion, or the country you're from, or your sexuality, etc... It's a scary place to be.

Poor taste, sure. Absolutely. It wasn't cool that he said it. Hate speech is never good.

But there are only two people in this world that have a valid claim at being offended: the guys on the receiving end of the remarks. That's it.

If someone stands up on a mic and says to some guy in the audience, "I hate all cracker ass whities with red shirts and ties with brown hair!" Woah, that describes me and he was using a word to degrade my race. Three letters: BFD.

Even if Richards got on a mic and in front of the whole universe proclaimed his absolute hatred of all races... so what?

People are waaaaaaaay to quick to get offended in this overly politically correct, poor-me-what-can-I-get-for-free society.

Kramer said the 'N' word... I want to get on a rooftop and shout, "who gives a F" as loud as I can.

To be perfectly honest anyone offended by this other than the two gentlemen in the audience that night really should buy a helmet.

-HECK!