Racism, Kramer and Why His Apology Meant Nothing To Me
November 21, 2006 | 29 Shawwal 1427
So by now most of you have seen or heard the completely wild and off the cuff remarks that Michael Richards said after he was supposedly heckled and disturbed while performing a stand-up act. What was incredulous to me was not his words. It should not be surprising that there are many in Hollywood that think as Mr. Richards does. Instead, it was the mockery of his apology in that I found completely disingenuous. Seeing Jerrey Seinfeld sit there on Letterman’s show, trying to tell audience members not to laugh (which is itself worthy of discussion) was so fake that I felt I might vomit. The further Seinfeld attempted to defend Richards the worse he made his case. The fact of the matter is, if those people who disturbed Mr. Richard’s performance were white, they would have received some scorn no doubt, but what we witnessed went beyond mere “rage” as Richards put it. Absolute abhoration for Black people would be closer to the mark. Something inside Richards is broken - you can see it as he sat there, attempting to explain his actions, as if they could be put into another context other that what they already are - pure, unadulterated hatred. I do have to agree with Seinfeld - it’s not funny. Why audience members are laughing is beyond me. Instead, it still shows the extent of how Blacks can still be abused publicly and have it still be publicly acceptable. This isn’t to say that some weren’t outraged by his actions (I sure was). But that it has become laughable shows that we still have a long way to go (both Blacks in our journey for equality and Americans as a whole in terms of race relations). In closing I reject Mr. Richards’s apology. I do not believe him to be sincere. The only solace I can take from his inciteful barrage is that another nail has been added to the already rotting coffin that is his career.
