(no subject)

[snapes_mistress]

Those of you in the US probably already know about this, but I just found out about it now.

"Kramer" from Seinfeld, Micheal Richards, went apeshit on stage recently and started going off with these really racist remarks... it's terrible.

It's not like it was one badly timed joke, or a slip of the tongue. He keeps going ON AND ON.

He made an apology on Letterman.

I still don't buy his apology. There is no excuse for that shit.

If you are interested, watch these now, I have a feeling they'll be taken down soon... well the Letterman one at least.

Comments

[snapes-mistress.livejournal.com]

It's not the word itself, it's the nature of the tone behind the word, and all the other shit he said, and how blatenly violent he seemed as he spit it out. Plus, words used against white people, such as "cracker," "honkey," and whatnot do not have the same connotation as the n-word, and everyone knows that. Comparing them is ridiculous. And as far as blacks using it themselves... well, it's the same principle... it's not the word itself, it's the tone and connotation behind it. Two black people calling each other "my nigga" in a friendly manner, and a man angrily calling a black person a "nigger" is NOT the same thing.

All those other comedians, as far as I know, have never been rageful (is that a word?) like that in their comedy. Even Richard Pryor at his most frantic has never affected people like Richards managed to do. Plenty of comedians, black, white, and every other color, poke fun at whites AND blacks. There is a difference between satire/comedy/social commentary and blatent, uncalled for racist remarks. And I think Richards stepped waaaaay over that line.

[ebeda.livejournal.com]

It's not the word itself, it's the nature of the tone behind the word, and all the other shit he said, and how blatenly violent he seemed as he spit it out.

I think you hit the nail on the head here. Although that word is volatile in and of itself, it's how you say something just as much as what you say. It was quite clear he meant what he was saying, and not in a remotely satirical sense.

[snapes-mistress.livejournal.com]

Exactly.