Monday, November 20, 2006
Must See TV
Wasn't it Ronald Reagan that said that there was no more racism in America?To hell with him too.
Naturally, Richards has apologized, if that's what you want to call his "I'm not a racist!" statement. It sounds a bit like the guy who says, "Yeah, I had sex with a dozen school-boys, but I'm no child molester!" Some publicist said, "I think it's a career ruiner for him. ... It's going to be a long road back for him, if at all." Ranks right up there along side O.J.'s chances with White women...
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A long way back from where? A washed up career?
He's was an actor trying to be a comedian and failed at both...But he sure let out his honest feelings didn't he?
rather than take this opportunity to curse the dead, i tried to look on the bright side of things: michael richards' rant was rejected by everyone in attendance, including the white majority. on my blog, i wrote:
while we saw a very public, racist rant of unbelievable proportions, the audience pretty much reacted with disgust. that is awesome to see. it gives me confidence in how far our society as a whole has come in race relations [or at least race-consciousness], and that the foundations are laid so that we will never go too far backwards again. the insults richards shouted were treated first with shocked silence [by a mostly white audience, i should note]. then the audience abandoned him en masse.
i think our society, at large, now accepts and agrees with the things dr. martin luther king, jr. championed. his concepts of equality and respect are now ingrained in our culture, so much so that it is unacceptable to go off on a rant like richards did. can you imagine how that rant would have been received a half century ago? probably with laughter, maybe applause, perhaps even violence against the black hecklers. today? there is unanimous shock, disgust, and distaste for what richards said.
i think the socially acceptable racism that our grandparents (even our parents) knew is long gone. it's no longer cool to hate. so i strenuously disagree with your main point.
Well he just got some free publicity... who else was talking about the actor formerly known as Kramer?
Smooches!
So why is it that the black people are always the inconsiderate, loud, obnoxious ones at the movie theater?
@ Diva
One thing that I've pointed out is the fact that Richards' words were not offensive; his words revealed that he himself was offensive, and one cannot apologize for who one is. His words revealed his true character and nature, his true thoughts and feelings, and they are quite repugnant. That's who he is.
@ travis
My main point is that racism still exists. Simply because people aren't freely hanging Blacks for whistling at a White woman any more doesn't mean that racism (White Supremacy, specifically) no longer exists. It has changed forms in most instances, certainly, but Richards has given us a reminder that in the minds of certain cretins the old fashioned cross-burning mentality still exists.
@ Kris,
It is free publicity, this is true, but Richards will never get another gig outside of Philadelphia, Mississippi, ever...
@ anon,
It's the same reason why Black folk talk back to the preacher during Worship Service - we're active participants, not passive observers, and that clashes with the cultural norms of the society at-large.
Richards just displayed to the world what has been bottled up inside for some time. Apologies? He can give them all day long, but at this point it's not going to change people's perception of him.