WTF?: "Seinfeld"'s Michael 'Kramer' Richards in Weird-o-Rama Onstage Meltdown

Dude is doing his act, and starts getting heckled by a black man. He tries to ignore it, but the guy's persistent, gets to him. Maybe the guy calls him "cracker", and references their respective races in his heckles; maybe he doesn't.

For whatever reason -- too much alcohol, too much coke, mental illness, a bad day, bad judgment, or yes, crypto-racism -- this trips a circuit in Richards's head. He thinks to himself, This guy is fucking with me, going after me no-holds-barred, and he's doing it because he thinks I'm afraid to fire back the same way, because he's black. He can call me whatever he wants, but I have to hold back, I'm supposed to tiptoe. Well, take this, buddy.

And so he calls him a "nigger", makes a left-field reference to lynching him, because he wants that moment when the guy's mouth drops open. He doesn't think about consequences, he just wants to let loose, wants to drop the A-bomb (or, well, the N-bomb). And maybe he realizes what he's done, but he can't backpedal, he has to go with it, try to work it into something that'll tie it together. But he can't, everything he does just makes it worse.

I may be totally wrong on this, but I think it comes from the same place as Elvis Costello's infamous "blind ignorant nigger" comment -- in that I don't think the real driving force is any uncommon degree of racism in this particular person, but rather the desire to say The Thing You're Not Supposed to Say. It's the impulse that makes people in relationships go after their partner's jugular. To drop the bomb, to say "Fuck you, I'm going to deliberately escalate this past the point where either of us can control it."

This doesn't mean it isn't completely fucked-up; this doesn't mean that Richards isn't a racist. But I think the "OMG he's saying what he really thinks" argument is simplistic -- or at least I don't think it's the only explanation for the abhorrent events we saw on tape.

xpost t looks pretty clear kramer was going for some edgy lenny bruce thing and failing horribly yeah OTM

Another King of the Hill connection! He's right, though.

It's true!

Racism is racist, but racism doesn't make someone a racist.

i'm no big expert on race relations, but you seem like you're sort of a shithead.

But, how can that be? I gave you Page's "Lucifer Rising".

Yea, it is. And he is agreeing with me and stet.

xpost geoff we know, it's just funnier this way.

FWIW, It increasingly seems like it is -- and for the record I think the behaviour was outrageous and uncalled-for, whatever his motivations or point he was trying to make. If he was trying to be funny, I've got no time for him at all.

Lurker saying what I wanted to say without being a prick about it.

The bus she takes is always packed. It happens more often than makes me comfortable.

He's reacting to the on-stage comments from former "Seinfeld" co-star Michael Richards over the weekend at a Los Angeles comedy club.

Richards, responding to heckling from two black members of the audience, unleashed a string of racial epithets, taunting the two men with slurs and profanities. Some people in the audience walked out, as Richards repeatedly used the N-word.

Today, Seinfeld issued a statement saying, "I'm sure Michael is also sick over this horrible, horrible mistake." Seinfeld says the comments from Richards were "so extremely offensive." He adds, "I feel terrible for all the people who have been hurt."

As for Richards, best known as Seinfeld neighbor Kramer, he wouldn't comment on camera when reached by C-N-N, but the network reports that he said off-camera that he felt sorry for what happened, and that he had made amends.

i've been called a cracker! there used to be (maybe still is?) an open air drug market at iowa and austin on chicago's wild wild west side. i used to walk home 2 blocks north and one night i was told "if you're not buying, just keep walkin' cracker".

it totally made my night.

Don't worry, that's all I'm saying. But, as several ILXors have noted recently, people love to jump all over me. So, if they can associate you with me in their minds, that's even better for their argument against you.

http://www.globalspot.com/gilbert_gottfried.jpg

Yeah, that doesn't mean anything, either.

people would have been rolling in the aisles. gilbert should teach a class.

Yeah, that's what I was saying. The first few times she told me about this sort of shit, I thought, "Oh, that's not too bad. I'm pretty comfortable with that." But, then, you see, after several times, I said, "Now hey wait a minute. This is starting to make me feel uncomfortable here!" Dummy.