Why is it OK for black hecklers to heckle Michael Richards. Then he is chastised for retaliating.?

Question

That is my initial question. Soon as a caucasion retaliates, he is chastised. This is descrimination is reverse. Are we suppose to walk around with our tails between our legs?? The United States is going to hell in a hand basket and a civil war is looming on the horizon. The entire situation regarding Richards is idiotic. We (caucasians) are being abused daily and all we do is say, that feels good, keep abusing us. What happened to freedom of speech. Other colors get away with slurs about whites. Lets face it folks, descrimination is alive and well and will NEVER go away.

Answer 1

a. I agree with you. The answer to this has to do with political correctness.
b. A lot of people are going to say "He made racist comments." Now, I ask these people this question: How many blacks, black actors, black comedians, etc. refer to other blacks by using the word "n!gga"? People say that calling a
White person a cracker is nothing like calling a black person a n!gger, but last I checked we didn't take an ethnic slur and turn it into a synonym for "friend."
c. I want to know what the hecklers were saying to him that made him so..... angry. I read in one article that they were half-drunk, constantly talking loud, basically trying to take over the show with interruptions, etc. (And this fits those videos.) Heckling is considered making one or two witty comments, and if that article was correct, they were not heckling: They were just being rude. Also, were they calling him any ethnic slurs? All of those videos showed the Kramer exploding but did not show the other side. Also, was Kramer just out for shock value? He got it, and the noisy men got up and left.....
d. The United States might seem bad, but it's the media and their brainwashed followers that are turning that incident into a huge issue. (This time, it is not necessarily the government, although our government sometimes handles issues dealing with race in unfair ways, too.) I feel bad for the various countries that have "hate speech laws."
e. It's interesting that you bring up a civil war. In the prison systems and in the majority of high schools, there are what I guess you can call race wars. Currently, I've seen a lot of fights between blacks and Hispanics. I personally think that- especially during our current immigration crisis- protests similar to the ones that happened during the 60s and 70s have a chance of starting again. When King got shot, for example, a lot of the blacks started violently rioting here in Chicago. Many also started torching various buildings, etc. (My uncle was a firefighter when this was happening. Some rioters were even firing guns at him.) Will these start up again? Time will tell.

Answer 2

It isn't about black and white in this situation. As a celebrity, you have to realize that people are going to do that type of thing - heckle you, talk shi*, say things that aren't true in the tabloids, etc. It just comes with the territory. Those guys wouldn't have just approached some random white guy on the street and heckled him. And if they did, the guy could heckle right back, and nobody would hear about it because the news wouldn't be all over it. Also, do you KNOW for certain that the hecklers were talking in a derogatory way about white people? I believe it was Michael Richards who brought up ethnicity. I'm sure they were talking shi*, but he could have talked shi* back without bringing up the n word.

It isn't like he's facing criminal charges for what he said, it is more that he shouldn't have said it if he wants to have a career.

I'm white, and I don't feel that I'm being abused daily.

Answer 3

On the grounds that some fast talking lawyer who heard about the case on the news convinced them that they a, should sue and b, had a chance of winning. Hecklers are something every performer has to deal with from time to time. If they can't handle it then maybe they should be in a different business. I'm not trying to excuse what Richards did but I didn't hear his whole act. It could be that his performance before his outburst really sucked and he deserved to be heckled.

Answer 4

I think you missed the point somewhere. It is about history. Black people have been denigrated and abused for hundreds of years and the n word is a word charged with all the feelings of hatred and abuse that black people have had to deal and live with. It is not just about slavery or about civil rights or lynchings or profiling and so on...it is about the whole experience of being black in America. Last time I checked white people had not been "abused" by anybody. The reality is, black people may be able to say some WORDS but who really has the power?

Answer 5

Hecklers are part of the stand up comedy thing (I've seen quite a few agile comics deal with that wonderfully)...what he said was disgraceful and terrible, but he basically seemed to break from the pressure...its good he's seeking help though...I don't think racism (or racist remarks) is ok for any reason. Discrimination is actually a modern invention, and its time will eventually pass. We can all do our part NOT to tolerate it.

Answer 6

You're an idiot. No civil war is looming and give examples of the daily discrimination you face. This guy went too far okay, especially since he was at a comedy club. People didn't pay to hear him rant about sticking forks in African Americans A s s e s okay. He is free to speak but just like everyone else if people don't like what they hear they are free to speak their mind about it. And it's discrimination retard.

Answer 7

From what I heard, from two of the men in the group of African-Americans, all they did was arrive during the set and Richards started making some racial (not necessarily racist) remarks. When one of the group shouted to the comedian, "Hey, you're not funny!", then Richards went off on his tirade using the N-word and referring to lynching.

I'd call this an overreaction. It's not as if those men had heckled and heckled him until he could no longer stand it. Richards' temper was on hair-trigger.

But yes, Richards should do some soul-searching and we should forgive (not excuse) him.

Answer 8

ok im gettin PISSED.....U say you got freedom of Speech (TRUE) u do but when u Slip out some Speech that u Know shouldnt Be said Dont say nothing WHen u Get ur @ss Kicked......

Richards was wrong for Calling them people out of there names
we dont like being called(n!ggers)
Do u know what a (n!igger) is a Ignorant Person and Right now Thats YOU

Answer 9

who said heckling is okay? it was richards who decided to flip out and bring race into the whole thing...it shows me two main things-he's a crappy comic who has no clue how to handle hecklers like the pros do, and he's an insecure punk who can't deal with blacks in a stressful or confrontational situation without resorting to a racist tirade...remember, richards wasn't yelling 'he's a heckler! he's a heckler!' he called out what he saw...and revealed what he is...

Answer 10

when someone dares to mess with me. I might call them all kinds of names,and may hit them repeatedly I don't really mean,the words after I am done with them.there words of anger.there not really what I mean. just something to say to hurt or get them angry enough to fight, but he as a professional should know better.white or black, doesn't matter.If your a professional you don't do that, I have gone door to door sales for 20 years, I have gotten angry three times, 90.000 or so sales.and that's only when they say something personal. like calling me an s.o.b. then I call them outside, to fight, I have been rude to by many many people..But .people get angry sometimes, we should all try to forgive. I try to.and I hope people forgive me.