Enough Already
Too Much Michael Richards
By D.W.

I previously had no intention of writing about comedian Michael Richards (Kramer of the Seinfeld TV series) and his recent racism debacle but this tabloid story is everywhere and it won’t go away and it is driving me absolutely nuts. Iraq is on the verge of descending into a civil war, Iran and North Korea are proliferating weapons of mass destruction yet the media thinks that this inane trivial story is still newsworthy.

What’s wrong with these media people? Are they just sick or are they merely mentally retarded?

What Michael Richards said and did on stage to two black gentlemen was very inappropriate and he deserves to be chastised for it. He has since apologized profusely for it and is seeking professional help and this should have been more than enough. Mr. Richards may or may not be a racist, but even if he is a bigot it is not newsworthy.

Now if this comedian was using his status as a celebrity to incite race riots then it would be an event worth devoting time and attention to but that is not the case.
 

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In fact, Michael Richards is a private citizen with no public power enabling him to harm minorities by discriminating on the basis of race. If he harbors racist attitudes that is his business alone, America is still a free country.

When the media entertains the private views of a bigot they are only serving to draw unwarranted attention to that idiot and perhaps assist him in spreading his message. Quite simply, we should ignore the rants of a racist unless he is inciting violence and causing physical harm to others.

For example, if the U.S. Treasury Secretary was a racist and if he or she was using his position of power to perpetrate discriminatory practices and policies, then this would be a problem. Such an incident would also be a newsworthy event because a lot of people could seriously be affected by Treasury Department activities.

However, Mr. Richards is not in a position to hold any power over people. All he has done is hurt people’s feeling and offend their sensibilities. This is not right but it is not a serious problem either.

But more importantly, let’s not forget the obvious double standard applied to black comics like Chris Rock and plenty of others who routinely call whites crackers and honkeys. I am personally very offended by that and if he personally called me a honkey I would find it hard not to bust his teeth out. However, the views of that two bit bad taste comic are not newsworthy events either. Chris Rock as with Michael Richards is fully entitled to their personally held racist beliefs.

Some have argued that Mr. Richard’s beliefs represent a large undercurrent of thought and emotion in America that is unspoken. Whether this undercurrent exists or not cannot be accurately determined and it may never be verified. However, political opportunists and racial arsonists would love to exploit this incident to advance their personal interests and their dubious agenda.

And the real problem with these opportunists is that they would have you believe that almost every white person is a closet racist when this is patently absurd.

Whether or not an undercurrent of racism exists in America is a newsworthy topic, but it is not the most important subject. Perhaps the Michael Richards scenario would have been of somewhat importance if it is used anecdotally to discuss this issue. However, this tabloid story is being blown way out of proportion. The talking heads just won’t shut up about this non-story and their morbid attention to it is simply perpetuating and sensationalizing it further.

Let’s just ignore Michael Richards and allow his career to continue withering away as it should.

And in case you haven’t noticed, the president of Iran is openly advocating the destruction of Israel and denies that the holocaust ever happened. If you want a racism story with real impact because it involves genocide, then there it is!

However, the talking heads are doing too little to address the threat that Iran actually poses to the survival of the Jewish race and the security of this nation. Sadly, the media seems to hold the same level of regard for that story as it does for the Richards debacle.

I understand that the mass mind is more enamored with trivial issues and the lives of celebrities than the hard hitting truth and critical issues of our time. And I understand why the media tends to sensationalize trivial nonsense like the Richard’s racist outburst; they are supplying the market with the material it likes.

However, ignoring the important issues and current events to feed the public the mental junk food it craves is ultimately dangerous and counterproductive.

The Richards story had it period in the spotlight and it has been addressed, now let it die out for good.

The man apologized for his outburst and that is all we should realistically expect from him. I have decided to completely turn off the news and talk shows whenever this tabloid story appears because I simply cannot stand commentators droning on and on about him. Enough already!

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