Michael Richard's (Kramer) "racist tirade"

[benkenobi0]

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3RjiVcIlhY">Tirade </a> and <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3l-gRHjUNk">Apology</a>

Anyone else think the press is blowing this out of proportion? I seem to be in the minority around here in saying that his apology was sincere and his "tirade" wasn't that horrible.

Black people can call white people crackers, but white people can't use any names about blacks? I've heard comedians use spics, beaners and wetbacks about Mexicans but have never been that offended... I say, if you heckle, you're open game.

Then, I was watching CNN the other day and they interviewed two of the guys that were in the audience. The interviewer asked if he should give monetary compensation and they said, "He should be punished, yes." Well, whaddya know? Just happens to benefit them, que no? Why not have him serve his punishment by donating to charity or community service?

Now, alright, racial slurs are bad, but... come on, everyone's acting like the guy's a complete racist and I think he just made a bad decision while on stage.

[Caesar]

Notice how the video is clearly clipped. I'd be curious to see what we're missing.

[Dan East]

Personally, I think he was trying to make a fool of the hecklers using his improvisational shock comedy, and it went a bit over the edge. Notice how most of the audience was laughing when he talked about hanging them upside down and sticking a fork up their ass. So he kept pushing his tirade one step further until he called them niggers, which is when most of the audience turned on him (you could still hear some laughing though).

Not justifying what he did, but I can see how one thing led to the next, which is how his type of live comedy goes.

Something else too. The audience didn't know he was going to be there - I think it he was billed as a "special guest" or something of the like. So that is why he had hecklers. If the show would have been billed under his name, then people that like him would attend, and those that don't (the hecklers) would have stayed away. Probably not the smartest thing setting a show up that way.

Dan East