Bigots do not roam the street. They remain seated in front of their keyboards, endlessly searching the internet, seeking a forum for their hatred. It’s amazing. I cannot help but be a tad addicted to roaming internet sites myself, reading the posts of your every day American concerning the Michael Richards incident. I posted an entry with this yesterday, but feel compelled to write another. This time, I will explain a bit more about this event before delving into the main purpose of the entry.
Michael Richards is better known as Kramer to Seinfeld fans all over the world (of which I am one, loosely). Like most of the American populace, I had no idea what happened to him since the end of Seinfeld, but he made a grand reappearance. At a comedy show, he was constantly being interrupted by hecklers. Some people allege that the hecklers were making racist comments at him, but most (including people who were at the incident) stated that the hecklers were basically shouting “you’re not funny.”
Kramer responded by shouting:
"Fifty years ago we'd have you upside down with a fucking fork up your ass. You can talk, you can talk, you're brave now motherfucker. Throw his ass out. He's a nigger! He's a nigger! He's a nigger! A nigger, look, there's a nigger!"
And then later:
"They're going to arrest me for calling a black man a nigger."
Honestly, I was a bit startled that a celebrity would be so blatant in his… anger in 2006 (Really, Tiragem? Mel Gibson, Jess Jackson with his “Hymy Town” comment… Okay, maybe not). But I was far more disturbed by what was being said in the forums.
“He could apoligize all he wants. It won't be sincere. I'm sick of everyone being so PC. Everyone has an opinion. Voice it when necessary, but don't apoligize for being who you are. Everyone has racist tendencies, it's inherent.”
That’s right. We’re all racist. Here’s what any time you guys have a problem with what I’m saying, call me a nigger, and then tell me that you wish you could have lynched me like your father used to do back in the good old 40’s. It’s okay. We’re all racist. And I’d much prefer to hear how much you could have killed me without any fear of consequence 50 years ago than if you were “politically correct” and just moved on with your stand-up comedy show.
For the 'AAm' comments posted: You're the biggest hypocrites on the planet when it comes to this nonsense. You write and release songs filled with the 'n' word, make movies calling each other the 'n' word, greet each other in sarcastic, playful speech calling each other the 'n' word, and then get all bent out of shape when you hear it from the lips of someone who isn't your skin color. How can anyone take you seriously when you and those of your race are the chiefs among society using the 'n' word. You encourage it then boo-hoo when you hear it repeated. Shut up your whining. PS: Have a nice day
This one, I hear all the time. It sounds like the kind of theory that was formulated on pharmaceuticals. People seem to concentrate more on the word “nigger” than on its use. And if they do, at all, think of its use, they only seem to think that it can be used to mean one thing. If the word “nigger” were used to mean any other thing that its original meaning, it effectively negates the original meaning of the word. Basically:
“Yeah, sure. The word nigger was racist 60 years ago, but now you niggers use it all the time. So it’s not racist any more. So when a White guy is angry at Black guy, he can call him a nigger and it will not mean that he’s racist one bit.”
I repeat. It is not the WORD nigger it is HOW the word is used. Why is it that every time the word “nigger” is to be used, it is only supposed to mean one thing? Why that word. There are millions of words in the English language, and the vast majority of them have several meanings. An example.
I can call the person who made the statement in bold above:
“Quite blunt.”
I may mean that he is direct, straightforward, and speaking quite blatantly.
On the other hand, I could mean that he is dull, stupid, and an idiot.
This is because the word “blunt” has more than one meaning, and can be easily attributed to either of the above.
Upon hearing my response to his statement, that person would interpret what I say (given he knows that blunt has been assigned both meanings by the Oxford dictionary – Webster, for you Americans), based on 2 things:
1. The situation which is currently prevailing, or context.
2. My obvious intentions.
So when I say (and I do, to both my Black and non-Black friends): “What’s up mah, Nigger?” What do you think I mean?
The situation – I’m hanging out with my friends, laughing and enjoying myself.
My obvious intention – I’m asking them how they’re doing – What’s up with them?
Now… when a angry White person yells repeatedly at a couple of (angry) Blacks the word “nigger”, given the:
1. Situation.
2. Intentions of the White guy
Do you think he’s calling his friends over to join him stage? No. He is obviously using it in its original derogatory sense – you are black ergo unruly, jobless, prone to criminal activity, lazy, stupid, and all of the other stereotypes originally associated with the word. And if you had any confusion about his intention, he started off his “nigger” rant by referring to an era, 50 years ago, where being killed because of your skin colour was the norm. Are there any misunderstandings here?
This person said that we Blacks use the word all the time, yet when a non-Black says it, we get angry. This is, for the most part, NOT TRUE.
I’ve seen a lot of stand up comedy in my life. I would. A stand up comedy special is my favourite kind of TV show. I’ve seen a wide variety of comics of different races. A few within each race would make fun of EVERYBODY. EVERYBODY. I’ve seen, increasingly, White comics who make fun of everybody, including Black people. I’ll always remember one particular White guy who made me laugh until I cried. He wondered aloud what would each race of people taste like... Immediately he started:
“Black people would taste like chicken… That’s right. I’m going to do everybody in this room… Latinos would be spicy… You eat a Chinese person, half an hour later you’re hungry for more… But you don’t eat White people. Hey, I don’t make the rules… Oh I just did that to make the White people uncomfortable in a room full of Black people. ‘I only laughed because he said he was going to do everybody!’”
I was on the floor with laughter, and if I remember correctly, they gave him a standing ovation at the end.
But I digress. We’re discussing the average Black person’s reception of the word Nigger when used by a non-Black.
So let’s move from Comedy Central to Showtime, with this really good show – White Boyz in the Hood. The concept is all White comedians performing in front of an almost all Black crowd. That’s tough. Now I’ve seen White comics get up in front of there and make fun of everybody, including, if not especially, Blacks. And this is Showtime. Not Comedy Central, so the material is more risqué, and the word “nigger” was used quite frequently by a few of the comics.
Did the almost all-Black crowd “get all bent out of shape” when this-White comedian said Nigger? No. They gave him a standing ovation at the end. This I remember for certain. Because he had balls. And because he was funny.
So I, and most other Black people I am sure, have nothing against Kramer using the word. It is the INTENTION with which he used the word that we have issue with. He could have shouted the word all through his act, once it is used to make me laugh.
“Sure, he says “nigger” an awful lot, but without the entire context of the show, we don’t know what factors led up to Richards’ tirade against the heckler.”
Comedians get heckled a lot. I’ve seen it happen several times. 30% of the time, the Comedian ignores the hecklers completely. The other 70% have these witty comebacks that make the entire audience laugh at the heckler, because they know that they have a microphone in their hands, the attention of the entire audience, and talent to make people laugh. This is what Michael could have done. Instead he resorted to racial slurs.
Some people imply, others explicitly state that it is okay for Mike to call the hecklers niggers if they called him a cracker or a honky first.
Common sense alone says no to this. The hecklers are nobodies. Michael Richards is/was a TV personality. Who do you think will be in deeper shit if they resort to racial epithets?
As my mother says, common sense isn’t so common. Even disregarding common sense then, someone calling you a bad name does not automatically make it okay for you to call them a bad name back. Whatever happened to “being the bigger person”?
Secondly, the derogatory use of the word “nigger” can never equate to the derogatory use of the words “cracker” or “honky”. Nigger, in its worse sense, evokes the message – you are inherently lazy, stupid, prone to crime, jobless because of your race, or to put it “bluntly” you are inherently inferior to my race. Can someone PLEASE tell me what stereotype is evoked by the derogatory use of the word “cracker” or “honky”?
Really. I’m asking. What is the negative stereotype of the White man? Please, tell me. These are the only things I can come up with:
- No rhythm
- White collar crime (e.g. Enron, Worldcom)
- Making pipe bombs (e.g. Colombine)
And these things aren’t even associated with the words “cracker” or “honky”. At least not to my knowledge.
Of course, still, if a Black guy repeatedly calls a White guy a cracker or a honky in anger, he is obviously using racial slurs and being as racist as he can. Honestly though, if I saw this go down, I would not be able to hold back a snicker or two, because the Black guy would be making an idiot of himself. And the White guy would most likely not feel offended by the word, but scared because a riled up Black guy is in front of him.
A comedian pretty much expressed how I felt about this. He explained that some guy called him a nigger, and he wanted to call the White guy something that made the White guy feel the same way he felt being called a Nigger. So he repeatedly started calling him a cracker and a honky but soon felt like an idiot when he realised the White guy was not perturbed, and he was starting to look less imposing and more like George from that 70’s/ 80’s TV show “The Jeffersons”. Wasn’t that what George did? Called White people Honkies and then did that stupid dance (which I swear Axl Rose copied later on!)
Those words just don’t equate.
I know that I am preaching to the converted here, but I cannot help but say something. After reading much further on in these forums, I have no real intention of saying anything there, because when people make comments like these:
The average black IQ is at the threshold of mental retardation.
the niggers had to be kept in check somehow. Now they run rampant stealing the white woman, carjacking, shooting innocents, burning there own cities once every 20 years or so and blaming everybody else for there faults. Take a look at the number of unwed mothers that are black, take a look at the black prison population compared to the percentage of national population. I suppose them doing all this is the white man's fault, right?
Damn it I forgot it was the white man's fault that blacks ended up here in America. Had we not needed slaves they'd still be in Africa, starving, without enough energy to even swat the flies off of themselves. They should be thankful we enjoyed the free labor.
you realise that there's no arguing with bigotry.