Do you think Michael Richards went too far with his racist epithets?

Question

On November 17, 2006, Michael Richards, (better known as Cosmo Kramer on "Seinfeld"), was at the Laugh Factory ( http://www.laughfactory.com ) in West Hollywood, CA and an African American audience member was socializing with another person during Richards' performance. Richards starts going bezerk and calls the African American a ****** and basically Richards rambles on about African Americans very racially.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Richards
http://www.laughfactory.com

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epithet

Answer 1

no they were n!ggers richards was just stating a fact and if the n!ggers can't take being called n!ggers they can go back to detroit!

Answer 2

What this situation is REALLY about most people are missing. It is not about Michael Richard's racism -- is about the double standard that blacks expect in America. If a black comedian uses the word "honky" or "cracker" nobody bats an eye because whites choose to not be offended by those terms. I could not care less if some black comic calls a white person a cracker or a honky. But blacks have chosen to create this taboo aura around the use of the word n i gg e r so that no one EXCEPT BLACKS CAN USE IT. Blacks call one another n i gg e r all day every day and no one is supposed to bat an eye. It is all right if blacks use it. But whites can't. Mexicans can't. Asians can't. Only blacks get to use that word. What if we as whites suddenly said that only WE can use words like, "graduate", "not guilty", "educated" and we said that blacks cannot use those words--only WE can. Blacks would be screaming within five minutes that we were racist. Yet when blacks choose to only get to use the word n i gg e r it is the EXACT same thing. That proves that blacks don't really mean it when they claim they want to be treated equally--they don't. They want SPECIAL treatment. In effect, they are saying, "WE can use this term but no one else can." Translated that means, "We want to have special privileges that others don't enjoy." Therefore in an ironic twist that only O.Henry would truly appreciate, it is the BLACK community that really demonstrates the most racism over this whole Michael Richards episode much more than Michael Richards does. Ironic huh?

Answer 3

He went extremely too far. Comedians get heckled quite a bit in their line of buisness and should be able to handle it more constructively. Many comeback with clever and witty comments, not hateful and hurtful words. His public apology on Letterman was a joke. He is a racist and I would have prefered that he not have given that apology. If someone is a racist, that is just who they are. It is obvious that there are some who have answered this questions that share the views of Michael Richards. For the one who said that blacks use that word, well it is not deragotory when said to one another. It is often used to refer to a friend, boyfriend, of just a word like "man". That was done to take a demeaning term and make it less hurtful when used by other blacks. Whites have always used it for the purpose of demeaning and they always will. To use use the word correctly, I would say that Michael Richards might want to call himself that word. Besides the word, he did make some statesments about hangings. I guess that is no big deal either.

Answer 4

I believe he went to far with his racist epithets and he would have went further if they would have allowed him to because as you see on the tape he kept rambling on and on. If you are a professional comedian you are suppose to reverse any outburst coming from the audience in a comedy type of way not the way he did. The professional comedians I see all the time keep it clean when it comes down to hecklers. Mr Richards should be held accountable for his actions and dealt with accordingly by the law whether it's a lawsuit or whatever!!!!!!!!!!!

Answer 5

Yes he did, however, no one is talking about the bullies who pushed him over the edge. They got him in his most vulnerable spot.

I don't believe that this was a racial issue at all for Michael Richards. It was a mistake that took the form of finding the vulnerable spot in the person who heckled him.

When they brought up the fact that he had no show of his own and accused him of being a failure, I believe it was just more than he could take because those could have been the very things he felt about himself.

We are all humans and when we are backed into a corner, I hope that people will understand it when we defend ourselves the best way we can at the time. Jumping to judgement without putting ourselves into that person's shoes to walk around in their life for a while is just foolish.

Of course we should forgive and forget as we would want to have that happen for us when we say and do things that we regret.

This is just heart wrenching for everyone especially for Richards who has more to lose in this than anyone else.

If it is true that we should all be held responsible for what we say and do, why not hold the bullies responsible as well. Let them apologize for having said those hateful things to Richards.

You will probably say that it isn't the same thing. That is what is wrong with our public schools where the bullies are allowed to pick on others and remain blameless when the people having been picked on retaliate with violence.

Perhaps it could be argued that Richards edgy style of comedy drew these actions out in the hecklers and this is my point. Both Richardss and those men's words and actions were to blame not just Richards alone.

Answer 6

If a joke is not targeting a persons race, religion, weight or some other distinguishing feature of a human being then is simply is not funny. I agree he went way over the line with what he said but it was not completely uncalled for. If you heckel a comic, you had best expect to get humiliated and become the center of attention. These guys pretty much ruined his act long before he went on his "tirade" and deserved a little humiliation. I think he just completely lost it and did not realize what he was saying before it was far too late. The guys were not just socializing, they were heckling him. Check out the tmz.com articles.

Answer 7

I am completely disgusted and sickened by Richard's outburst. I don't care if he was being heckled. I don't care if they yelled and talked during this set. He's getting paid thousands of dollars to stand up on a stage and tell jokes. He's been a comedian for a while so he should know that it comes with the territory (a heckler every now and then). And his racial comments were absolutely unnecessary and uncalled for. And for the record, I was equally disgusted by the heckler who in turn made his own racial slurs toward Richards.

Answer 8

I form of agree, yet you should attain that what we expect of in my opinion isn't comparable to what might nicely be pronounced or customary in front of the full international. i can assure you that if I have been there interior the club i could have thought it substitute into humorous and the hecklers deserved what they have been given from Richards. on the different hand, it extremely is one weird and wonderful subject, and if all and sundry began performing like that we would have chaos and not an exceedingly effective international very rapidly. there are various stuff that are real from all factors of this situtaion, yet Michaels substitute into meant to be the expert. He lost his temper and that on no account seems stable or might nicely be condoned. He has to take what he's given and say he's sorry, and he could be ... he's on television and he's representing all individuals as human beings. on the different hand ... the hecklers are making a great deal approximately it, getting legal experts and whining because of the fact they have been given some exposure. Eveyone of each shade has to undergo damaging circumstances of their existence that are unfair .. and if it extremely is the worst that they ever ought to handle of their lives they must count type themselves fortunate and close up ... and don't heckly human beings or communicate loudly at public events interior the destiny. i'm probable no longer real poltically maximum astounding in this one, sorry.

Answer 9

Well this is sad, I am hispanic and I have been called many names and of course it bothers me. However I on the other hand have called white people peckerwoods and black people mayates, I do not deny that. Big deal! Since when has a person become so sensitive? I hear black people call each ******. Why dont they stop using that word if it offends them that much. Here is a man that uses the words like honkey or white trash and never is asked for an apology. However you have another man using a negative word and everybody goes crazy. Get over it them days are gone..

Answer 10

I sure thought he was a big ugly racist yesterday...but today it's coming out that it's all a big Lampoon. That he and the two guys that heckled him, the club, Seinfeld, Letterman...and the tv judge they are going in front of now...are allllll in on it. It's a Lampoon Andy Kaufmann style...

Don't know what to think now. Those were racist remarks...clearly. If this is all some elaborate lampoon on the American public?...not funny either.

Answer 11

From what I can hear on the video it was an african american that called Michael the racial epithet first. Befor that Michael was just speaking generally not singling anyone out particular.