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November 22, 2006
Racist Slurs, Strange "Apologies"
By now, you've heard something about the Kramer melt down at the Laugh Factory and his subsequent apology on the Letterman show. I heard teases on t.v. news and until tonight, didn't bother to watch the YouTube clips. Wow.
First of all, I cringed watching the clip from the Laugh Factory. It was so hateful, so full of rage. It was really quite unbelievable. The clip starts with "Shut up! 50 years ago we'd have you upside down with a fucking fork up your ass!" and it degenerates from there. I know, I didn't think anything could degenerate beyond that.
Then, Michael Richards "apologized" on the Letterman show. True, it was unfortunate that the audience laughed at the beginning of his apology. But the thing that really struck me was that he never said straight up, "I used racial epithets; I made racist comments and for that I apologize." No, instead he apologized for getting "enraged" and for not being able to keep his cool.
I'm sorry but that just doesn't cut it for me. Why is it that when white people make racist comments the first thing they say is "I'm not a racist?" Dude, you look like a racist, you act like a racist, and until you do something tangible to change yourself, you'll still be a racist. It's not enough to go on an old white guy's t.v. show and apologize amongst your white friends. You need to figure out why you use such horrific language - you need to gather some insight from some non-white folk, and you need to try to make amends with the specific individuals you insulted and the larger African American community. Until you do that, you'll remain a racist hack in my eyes.
Watch the video from the Laugh Factory at your own risk:
See Richards' "apology" on Letterman:
NYT Explains how Seinfeld got Richards on Letterman
NYT critic accepts Richards' apology
Posted by cj at November 22, 2006 07:00 PM