Black People and Michael Richards?

Question

By now everyone has heard about the Michael Richards and the ****** word. Just to let you now that i am black before i start. Ok the heckler was wrong in the first place but at the same Richards kind of went to far. I am listening to the radio and black people ( no i am not a black person who thinks they are white. I live on 93rd in cleveland a very bad part of the city) are going crazy and cursing and talking about how they want to kill him. Some a$$hole even said he should go to jail. My race acts like they have been done the worst out of everybody. Black had a hard time in slavery but in my view the Jews had it way worse. Their race was a slaughtered by Hitler, but they rebuilt. What Richards did was wrong but at the same time black people are way to sensitive . I can't even lie when I watch it I laughed ( not the lynching part). I mean we laughed at Borat and most people loved it and its not being made a big deal like this was. What i really want to know what do you think about it?

I am not saying thats it is alright to a white person to say ****** but as black people we make it worst on ourselves my saying the word. I say it alot also but i am also saying some whites may look at it like Richards. Some think that if that say it to each other why can't we say it? Its like if you don't respect yourself other people won't. I don't think us as black people ( speaking to black people of course) do not respect ourselves and i am not saying Richards thinks that. All I am saying is that alot of other races get offended in movies and on TV and its now big deal but if a black person gets offended its a big deal like this. If a black person got on stage and called a white person a cracker over and over again, their would not be and yahoo answer debates like this one, it would be nothing. And maybe Richards is a racist. Maybe when he said he was sorry he ment it or maybe Seinfeld made him say it so Seinfeld Season DVD sales would not plunge. Who knows?

I SAID: "I DO NOT THINK BLACK PEOPLE DO NOT RESPECT THEMSELVES" or I think black have respect for themselves or I do not think black people lack respect to themselves. I would never say black people don't respect themselves.

And Michael Richards is not a REAL stand up comic. He is just a improve comic.

I ment improv

Answer 1

See my question on the subject and tell me what you think?

I agree with you whole heartedly and your question adresses the very reasons why I feel the way I do.

I come from an interracial family so I am the farthest thing from a bigot in any way! But... An intelligent well rounded person would neither heckle someone or respond to that heckle in the way he did. but it was a mistake... not a crime that should be punishable by the demise of an entire career.

The response is just as ignorant as the deed... It was very childish and that being said... the two black men started it and they should have been removed from the room before it ever got that far! I have been to the movies in a black neighborhood with black people... they heckle... mindlessly and without social conscience or respect! It is a fact! Maybe they should have thought about what they were doing as much as Richards should have thought about his response!

But at the end of the day... No punches were thrown, no violence was reported so what is the big deal? If richards punched one of them in the face or threw a bottle or something I would be far more insulted than because of words... spoken in haste from a place of defense.

No... you're right, he had no right to insult a race of people over the stupidity of two members of a race or culture. But all of the people that are making a big deal out of this have and probably will again fly off the handle and say something they don't mean when goaded and insulted. Everyone is guilty of it!

He apologized! These people threatening him with violence should get over it and try exersizing the Christian values they all profess and call on when they need them...

It is an ignorant person that would take it to violence as a result!

Answer 2

To be perfectly honest with you, its a bit wrong to say black people do not respect themselves. I definitely respect myself as well as any other race. And I know a lot of other black people that are in the same position. The thing is, is that everyone, wether they accept it or not is racist. Im not saying full blown racist but everyone has a little racism in them. You or anyone else may shake their head no but honestly, when was the last time you said something racist and somewhat meant it out of anger? I forgive Michael Richards for his outburst because he was saying what he felt at the moment. If you were pissed off and said what was on your mind at the time, Im sure 70% of the time, what was said had to be truthful of how you felt right? As far as Dave Chapelle and other comedians go for making fun of white people and other races. Everyone should do a little research and see what was broadcasted about every race back then. This is definitely nothing new. Every race has been talked about for decades. From performances in the era of slavery to cartoons around World War II that are considered banned sometime after the war ended. Therefore, yes, Michael Richards should apologize but realize that he has been out of the game for quite some time. And Im sure has gotten hardly any laughs since Seinfeld (in which I did watch) way back when. That probably stressed him out quite a bit. So when he gets heckled, which Im sure he was not ready for it, he said what was on his mind that would make him feel like a better man. Definitely poor choice of words/ideas. I grew up in the ghetto also and Im college educated so, as long as he apologizes for it its all good with me. Everyone is slightly racist. You just have to accept that you are.
Racism is still around and people want to believe that it is not. So to those that do not live in reality, this outburst will shock them more than it shocked the people that really know racism still around.
Oh yeah and I agree, black people are way too sensitive. Might just be the ghetto people because I always have ammunition (aka "come-back" jokes) for jokes like that, that get thrown my way.

Answer 3

Dude you are completely ignorant. The man said that " 50 years ago you would be hanging from a tree upside down with a fork stuck up your bottom." How in the world is someone not supposed to take offense to that.

For you as a black person to laugh at a man who feels the need to bring up your darkest moment in order to hurt you is incomprehensible. What is even more unbelievable to me is the fact that Richard is Jewish. How can a Jewish man, knowing what his people have gone through because of racism and hatred , say the things he said.

People this has very little to do with the N word. I would not be very offended if all he had done was use the N word. His speech was hateful and unforgivable. Shame on you Richards. If anyone, I would expect a Jew to know what hatred can lead to.

Answer 4

Okay this goes far beyond sensitive and who's race has it the worse. If is his job!!!!! People heckle, get over it! If some says Borat is a bad movie is the Actor going to say ****** ****** ******! He didn't only say the n-word he went on about how that's what happens when black people interrupt white men! He should be at least fined just like those basketball players who hit fans! The man even lied and said he would say sorry before his performance on Saturday at the Laugh Factory and instead he said nothing and did his set! He says he's not a racist on Lettermen but I'm not a racist, therefore, if someone of a different race makes me angry, especially at work, I may attack there character but never there history or race! He's a racist and a has been and anyone who allows that type of behavior from anyone is just as bad as him! You go to some websites and bulletins and people are saying, "I'm glad he set those ******* straight" and "black people are sensitive, they need to be told their place"! he is someone people look up to he shouldn't have allowed this type of hate to be shown, he let other crazy disgustiing people like him think it's okay! I refuse to just let it go, he decieves to be spit at and embarassed and degraded! He open the flood gates for hate, now he needs to take it.....

Answer 5

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 6

You seem like a very intelligent and level headed person and I agree with you. I didn't like what Michael Richards did, but, I also don't like when Chris Rock or Dave Chappell picks on white people either, some think it is funny so they have the right to listen to it if they want to. I wish everyone would get along. I know where 93rd St is in Cleveland, I grew up on the West side, you should move out of that neighborhood. Every group has been treated badly by another group since time began, hopefully someday all of that will change.

Answer 7

First of all, I don't think its fair to say that one side is more sensitive than the other without acknowledging that we have never had a real honest and frank discussion about race.

The thing about white privilege is that no one other than blacks can truly understand the black experience. The fact that some blacks on here actually agree with many whites about blacks being "too sensitive" should prove that African-Americans are not, contrary to popular opinion, monolithic.

What Richards said was unfortunate, but lets not get into the mea culpa act if that is how he really feels. What he said on that stage was frank and honest--what he said later on Letterman didn't sound genuine or real, but that is my opinion.

Also, I'm not sure that him being Jewish gives him a free pass, nor do I think that Whites saying that they have black friends exempts them from being racist.

I hope that we can use this incident to continue being open and honest about race instead of being in denial like this country has been in for centuries.

Answer 8

I think what he did was VERY wrong. I do however think that people are taking it too seriously. Many black comedians call white people honkies and say the N-word all the time during their routines. It is like the only people that can say anything about a race are the people in that race. I for one do not like the word but at the same time I have met people from ALL races that could be called that. I know racism is a big deal but if we don't take care of each other and respect each other were screwed anyway as the human race.

Answer 9

Ann A

The use of the word "******" has been discussed numerous times. It's suggested that black people tend to use the word as a means of empowerment.

The use of it in a common, brotherly way allows them to diminish its negative history. Just like two women calling each other whores. It is also a way of saying, "I can say it and you can't. There's nothing you can do about it either."

It's a way for black people to have power over other races. That's all. If whites are chastised for its use, so should blacks. This country is a politically correct mess that allows certain people to empower themselves through twisted applications of political ideas of racial equality.

Black people do in fact have a history of identifying others as being sub-human or second class. ONE example is Rwanda. The Hutus attacked and declared the Tutsis as second class citizens. It was genocide on a major scale. That's one example. There are many more.

Let us not forget that the African Chiefs sold their fellow Africans into slavery. The Dutch may have purchased them, but they were sold.

You wrote your answer with such certainty. You should dig deeper before you make such broad comments. Good scholarship is more than being well written. Instead of leaving you a source, I am challenging you to dig deeper on your own.

Answer 10

The whole situation was handled wrong. Michael Richards should learn how to handle hecklers. Of course the guys shouldn't have been heckling him, but he's supposed to be a standup comic and hecklers come with the territory. (I'm not saying they weren't wrong) Real standup comics know how to deal with stuff like that in a way that's funny and not insulting. I believe some black people over reacted. I was listening to the radio and somebody said, "...they're bringing back slavery". I'm like "what the heck!?! This chick's crazy!" I know there are low-key forms of slavery going on (that I wish I knew how to combat cause no one deserves to go through that) but it will never be like it was way back when. I watched the clip a few times and I didn't get the Borat joke cause I've never seen Borat. (yeah I know, where have I been! lol) Richards saying this showed that he had some surpressed anger. Whether it was because some black kids teased him when he was younger or if he had a bad experience with ONE or A FEW black people doesn't excuse him for doing what he did.

Not everything in a comedy club will be politicly correct. However that ONLY refers to the jokes. This was not a joke. He said what he said to be hurtful. I don't watch Chris Rock, Dave Chapelle, and them. I usually watch ppl who can be funny without it being racially fueled (black, white, and inbetween). Also, there is this white comedian (whos name escapes me) whos whole routine is racially fueled, but she won't say ******. (or I haven't heard her say it.) I saw her show once at 1am and I didn't take offence to it cause they did warn ppl of what was to come, but I'm not sure if I'd see it again for the simple fact that there wasn't a mix of types of jokes...but I digress

One thing I noticed is when ppl say c****** white ppl seem to take it, yet complain about the fact that it's being said. If you feel that strongly about it then say something. Not to the crazy extent some people take it when they are called outside their name, but ppl will do what works until it doesn't work anymore. And right now, for some comedians, saying c****** works. I'm not condoning it. I'm just saying when they see that it won't work anymore they can't say it. (BTW: most of the comedians I've seen in my life time say "white ppl" and not "c******". They don't even say it offensively. They usually use it to set up a joke that ends up cracking on black ppl or the are saying the difference btwn white ppl and black ppl)

One thing people kept bringing up is how black ppl can say ****** and white ppl can't. They were also saying how it's unfair and they don't get why they can't say it. First of all the word shouldn't be said at all by anyone. Second of all when white ppl say there is history behind it. As much as ppl say, "you didn't have anything to do with it" and "it's in the past" all that history still comes up with it. A black person calling another black person a ****** is like this. Lets say there were a group of ppl born w/o thumbs. They could go around saying, "hey no thumb!" But if someone with thumbs says, "hey no thumb" it comes off as offensive. Or you can look at it this way. Lets say me and the person above me were siblings. If we got into an argument and one of us said, "yo mama" that's their mom too. But if we get into an argument with someone who is not our bother or sister and they say "yo mama" then we're pissed cause you're talking about our mom.
I hope this made as much sence to you as it did to me when I was thinking it! LOL!