Michael Richards - Kramer

[Frankie]

Michael Richards, the guy who played Kramer on Seinfeld, said some rasist remarks during one of his comedy acts recently. If you hadn't already heard about this here's the link:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15816126/

Just wanted to know what people think about this.

Personally it frustrates me to insanity the kind of double standards Black people have. They can call whites, orientals, and brown's, anything they want. But as soon as someone says "nigger", they demand apologies, reparations, and respect that they already lost (heckling Michael Richards). They got this guy on his hands and knees begging for forgivness, like he owes them something. It makes me sick. They're over a hundred years past anyone of their ancestors might have been a slave. Any black man can stand on stage and call me a cracker, and there's absolutely nothing I can do about it. And personally, I don't care. I don't know why these guys give a shit. But since they do, it has to go both ways, otherwise, they're hypocrite's.

And even more personally, when black people make cracks at me for "enslaving" them, doesn't make sense. When I wasn't even born in the 1800's, and my grandparents came here from Italy about 50 years ago. And on top on that, a while back, Africans invaded the southern region of Italy and enslaved it for 500 years where my ancestors lived. So technically, I'm the slave! But they don't teach you that in highschool history class.

The piont of all this is, Michael Richards got pissed off at some black people in the audience for heckling him, poor babies. Happens all the time. No apology needed.

[Charles Anthony]

I think using racist slurs at any time is foul.

I believe a performing artist (dancer, musician, comedian, whatever) should ALWAYS be able to keep his cool.

A performing artist who can not handle hecklers belongs in the same pile of art as painting-by-numbers.

The modern culture of stand-up comedy is exceedingly wimpy. The general protocol in stand-up comedy is that the ONLY response acceptable from the audience is laughter and applause. Absolutely no other interaction is acceptable. Members of the audience are often ejected from the room for non-compliance. In my opinion, that is very wimpy and very poor performing art.

It is a real treat to experience a stand-up comedian who can spontaneously manage hecklers in real time and incorporate the distractions into a performance. Those are the ONLY artists among stand-up comedy. The ability to bounce off hecklers should be the way to judge the talent of a comedian.

Having said that, I insist that Michael Richards was the only humorous actor on the "Seinfeld" show. Each and every other actor was complete and intolerable dreck.

[GostHacked]

Political correctness has gone way to far. You cannot say much without offending SOMEONE. Who cares. grow a pair and just ignore it. Best way to bring attention to this is to keep on talking about it. I saw the clip and laughed my ass off. It's comedy! And some people play off the crowd.

And I agree there is a total double standard in this aspect. Comics like Richard Pryor (R.I.P) Eddie Murphy and even Chris Rock use 'nigger' quite a bit. Don't see anyone attacking them for saying it during their sets. Actually the more wrong it is, the more funny I find it. Why? Well if you get offended, then turn it off or do something else. Why sit through the pain and suffering if you are offended. Sodomizing yourself with it all. How many times have black commedians used 'cracker' to describe a white person? Lots, and you know what? I find it right freakin hilarious.

Best thing for those guys in the crowd would have been to just get up, walk out and demand money back for the show. Creating a scene will get Richards more exposure (this post is 100% proof), and he will be more popular because of it.

Get a grip people, comedy is comedy and there are all different flavours of it. Some find it hilarious, and some are offended. Laugh at yourself before you can laugh at others. Also growing up with a German background, I can tell you that I have been called a 'Jew Killing Nazi' on more than a few occasions. Those are the ones I laugh at the most. Ignorance can be bliss, right?

Actually one guy I worked with said that to me often. He was from Checezslovakia. 'You asses, killing all the jews in WWII, ect ect ect' I let it slide for some time. Then he said it again one day and with a little more seriousness. I told him we were sorry, we thought they were Checzs. He never bothered me again.

[Charles Anthony]

Telling the same joke twice is up there with painting-by-numbers too...

I know, I know.... it is a bit trollish....

[RB]

i saw parts of the comedy clips on TV, he needed the punchline, kept waiting for it ... otherwise it is bad taste if you can't articulate charm even at the racist jokes....i mean if folks felt insulted it really was not comic relief i guarantee

[Ladyjen]

Richards was pissed off at himself because his show was bombing and he knew it. He turned his anger at himself outwards in a vicious manner. The man was out of control and the whole scene was ugly. The "N" word represents violence and KKK. This would not be my idea of a fun time. Frankly, I found him to be the only one on Seinfeld that I didn't like. The Kramer character was childish. This is a good example of the idea that every successful actor inserts a part of his own character into the role he plays.

[geoffrey]

It's not like the heckler didn't continue to provoke him, over and over again.

When you heckle someone, and egg them on, you should expect a little grief.

[jefferiah]

I liked Kramer alot on the show. I liked them all actually. Kramer and George being my favourites. I think George was under-appreciated by many fans. Alot of great plots and story lines were based around his quirkiness. And lets not forget J Peterman, the soup nazi, Morty and Helen Seinfeld, Frank and Estelle, Uncle Leo.

[kimmy]

A video of the meltdown that got Richards in trouble (caution, contains coarse language and repeated use of the N-word.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3RjiVcIlhY

I don't watch much standup comedy... but I thought standup comedians were supposed to deal with hecklers by using witty put-downs. Richards just yells the n-word at the guy over and over. More like a kid having a temper tantrum than a standup comic. Not exactly demonstrating quick wits, to say the least.

-k

[theloniusfleabag]

Dear kimmy,

but I thought standup comedians were supposed to deal with hecklers by using witty put-downs. Richards just yells the n-word at the guy over and over. More like a kid having a temper tantrum than a standup comic. Not exactly demonstrating quick wits, to say the least.

I was under the same impression, and it is true, they used to be good at that. Mind you, a long time ago, 'entertainers' had to have not only good looks, but the ability to sing, dance, wit and grace/charm. Nowadays, you don't need any of them.

Bear in mind that Richards is an 'actor', most jokes for those television shows are written for them, they don't need to be funny, they just have to pretend they are, and deliver the lines. A friend of mine used to watch an 'improv' show called "Whose line is it anyway", and some guy named Drew Carey was on it. (He had his own comedy TV show at the time) Carey was terrible, no improvisational ability or wit whatsoever. He was a fish out of water, likely because he didn't have a team of writers telling him what to say. Red Skelton and Lou Costello were true 'masters of the improv'.

[kimmy]

Bear in mind that Richards is an 'actor', most jokes for those television shows are written for them, they don't need to be funny, they just have to pretend they are, and deliver the lines. A friend of mine used to watch an 'improv' show called "Whose line is it anyway", and some guy named Drew Carey was on it. (He had his own comedy TV show at the time) Carey was terrible, no improvisational ability or wit whatsoever. He was a fish out of water, likely because he didn't have a team of writers telling him what to say. Red Skelton and Lou Costello were true 'masters of the improv'.

Your contempt for any mode of entertainment devised since Al Jolson was in his prime is once again apparent, fleabag.

I will point out that Drew Carey was a standup comic long before he had his own TV program. He must have been pretty successful at standup comedy, because his first TV appearance was when he was invited to perform standup on the Johnny Carson show.

As well, Michael Richards was in standup and live improv long before he appeared in TV and movies.

-k

[Black Dog]

Your contempt for any mode of entertainment devised since Al Jolson was in his prime is once again apparent, fleabag.

Even Jolson went to shit once he started in the talkies.

[Rue]

"I saw the clip and laughed my ass off. It's comedy!"

Uh hello. Anyone there. When Richards said what he said he was not engaging in comedy, it was not part of his routine, and he was not trying to improvise. You laughed your ass off? You think its hilarious calling someone a n..gger in a burst of anger? I guess you find burning crosses a laugh riot as well? Get real.

As for the original poster and you, I disagree with your contention that he was responding to racist comments with racist comments to make a point or be funny. He was not and said he was not. Interesting how you and the original poster give Richards motives for what he has clearly indicated were not what were his intentions or motives.

As for the comment that there hasn't been slavery for a long time so what's the big deal, will someone try get the original poster to read and find out what is going on in the world today-assuming he can read.

And why is it I think the original poster or you the guy laughing his head off at the ngger word-would be the first to lose it and attack someone if they called you a racist name. Double standard> Yah right. You two just let the insults bounce off you no problem. Yuk yuk. You just laugh it off. Give me a break.

[ft.niagara]

Personally it frustrates me to insanity the kind of double standards Black people have. They can call whites, orientals, and brown's, anything they want. But as soon as someone says "nigger", they demand apologies, reparations, and respect that they already lost (heckling Michael Richards). They got this guy on his hands and knees begging for forgivness, like he owes them something. It makes me sick. They're over a hundred years past anyone of their ancestors might have been a slave. Any black man can stand on stage and call me a cracker, and there's absolutely nothing I can do about it. And personally, I don't care. I don't know why these guys give a shit. But since they do, it has to go both ways, otherwise, they're hypocrite's.

Well said. The Jacksons and Sharptons are just waiting to jump on these things to inflate themselves. They are available for confessions, repentance, and restoration to humanity. In the mean time the house is burning meaning it is hip for negros to use the n word.

[Leafless]

Races are not meant to live with each other, that being the entire problem.

Maybe the answer to all this is separate White clubs and separate Black clubs.

Then we'll all be able to laugh once again without being hit with the racist bit.

[Black Dog]

Personally it frustrates me to insanity the kind of double standards Black people have. They can call whites, orientals, and brown's, anything they want. But as soon as someone says "nigger", they demand apologies, reparations, and respect that they already lost (heckling Michael Richards). They got this guy on his hands and knees begging for forgivness, like he owes them something. It makes me sick. They're over a hundred years past anyone of their ancestors might have been a slave. Any black man can stand on stage and call me a cracker, and there's absolutely nothing I can do about it. And personally, I don't care. I don't know why these guys give a shit. But since they do, it has to go both ways, otherwise, they're hypocrite's.

Well, I for one am glad someone has finally gotten around to addressing the whole "black-people-call-each-other-nigger-so-why-can't-we?" issue. Realy, it's a bold new approach, i'm surprised no one has ever thought of it before ever.

[theloniusfleabag]

Dear Leafless,

Races are not meant to live with each other, that being the entire problem.

What's all this then?? [in my best British Bobby voice] What leads you to this absurd belief?

[theloniusfleabag]

Dear kimmy,

from...

http://www.hollywood.com/news/detail/id/3589420

Disgraced comedian Michael Richards has been outed as a possible anti-Semite just days after he hit the headlines for a racist rant onstage in a Los Angeles comedy club.

They are really trying to bury him on this one.

I will point out that Drew Carey was a standup comic long before he had his own TV program. He must have been pretty successful at standup comedy, because his first TV appearance was when he was invited to perform standup on the Johnny Carson show.

As well, Michael Richards was in standup and live improv long before he appeared in TV and movies.

Well, I stand corrected with regards to their pedigree, but that doesn't mean that they had any talent. Look at what the StoneCutters did for Steve Guttenberg! (Yes, I have seen the Simpsons )

[Melanie_]

Races are not meant to live with each other, that being the entire problem.

I have been married for 20 years to someone who is not of my "race" (although I would argue we are both of the human race, skin colour is irrelevent). The "entire problem" is racist bigots who think that somehow their opinion that "races are not meant to live with each other" is meaningful.

[theloniusfleabag]

Dear Melanie,

The "entire problem" is racist bigots who think that somehow their opinion that "races are not meant to live with each other" is meaningful.

Indeed, Leafless had denied being a 'white supremacist' in the past after he posted some information related to it. Now, I would openly declare him a 'white supremacist', though not of the cheesy 'skinhead' variety, more like the 'god-fearin Klan' types.

There was a song by "Johnny Rebel" called "Move them Niggers North" (or something very similar), circa 1960....(I have a downloaded copy). Some of the lyrics...

"Move them niggers North,

Move them niggers North,

If they don't like our Southern Ways,

then move them niggers North

They're trying to start trouble,

by mixing up the races,

they'd be a whole lot better off

By staying in their places..."

Sadly, Johnny Rebel managed to put out several songs like this, and even worse, many people believe what he says.

Just to note, evidently Alberta has a large number of KKK and their ilk, complete with para-military training facilities. It was in the news a number of years ago, but we shouldn't forget that they are in our midst.

[Melanie_]

I think I've had too much wine tonight, letting Leafless get under my skin. I know what to expect from him, and usually ignore it.

[ft.niagara]

Races are not meant to live with each other, that being the entire problem.

I have been married for 20 years to someone who is not of my "race" (although I would argue we are both of the human race, skin colour is irrelevent). The "entire problem" is racist bigots who think that somehow their opinion that "races are not meant to live with each other" is meaningful.

In nature you see different kinds of animals, squirrels, deer, bear, etc. which are the same but different. In nature, they seem to stay with their own. It is not to say they can not live together, but nature, and "meant" are somewhat the same thing. But, you can have a browning of the white, and a lightening of the black to a brown in which case "so what".

It is ok for blacks to call each other ni@@er, but it is not ok for whites to do so. That is unacceptable. In fact I do not understand what is wrong with the term. Does it mean stupid black? Worthless black? Dirty black? Whitie is the comparable white term, but I do not find it offensive. If there was segregation, there would not be the opportunity to be offended.

[ft.niagara]

I think I've had too much wine tonight, letting Leafless get under my skin. I know what to expect from him, and usually ignore it.

You are just too close to the issue.

[Remiel]

If I recall, " honkey " is the comparable white term, not " whitie " , but that is really neither here nor there.

[ft.niagara]

If I recall, " honkey " is the comparable white term, not " whitie " , but that is really neither here nor there.

I do not find that objectionable either. Ni@@er is just a contraction of Negro. It is kind of hard to make a contraction out of Caucasian. How about Cuccan?