Is anyone else a little troubled by Randi Rhodes' discussion of Richards' racist rant?

[journalist3072]

For anyone else who may have heard Randi discuss Michael Richards' racial rant at the Laugh Factory, are you troubled by what Randi said?

It seemed to me that she was almost being an apologist for him. She said she doesn't believe that he is racist.

And then she talked about anger. She wondered what do people do sometimes, with all the anger they might be carrying.

It just seemed to me that she was almost being an apologist for him.

What in the world does Michael Richards have to be angry about?

Some people in the audience did not find his routine very funny. That does NOT justify him going off on a racial tirade against those people who did not find his act funny.

[DURHAM D]

1. To me - he appeared to be coming down.

He was at that point where one can go uncontrollably nuts if something sets them off. Needs to go to rehab.

[ComerPerro]

26. that's an intersting take on it

[AnnInLa]

30. Occurred to me too, Durham

I've seen it too many times like that.

[Mist]

2. That's her take on it, and her opinion. She used the whole Richards rant as a

springboard for discussing racial fears that many people have. It was a pretty good show, I thought. Though I don't know how she can categorically state that Richards isn't a racist.

[roseBudd]

3. Yeah, I heard her. I like how people will claim to know that so and so is not a racist

For instance Kathleen Parker wrote that George Allen is not a racist. How could she possibly know that. Only a lie detector or a hypnotist would truly know.

[ecstatic]

4. I found Keith Olbermann to be quite apologetic as well

It was disappointing but I will try to give him the benefit of the doubt.

[journalist3072]

5. Really? I have not heard Keith's commentary on it. What did he say? eom

[ecstatic]

9. In short, it was the 'accidental overreaction to heckling' meme

That seemed to be playing out.

http://video.msn.com/v/us/msnbc.htm?g=84e6fcdb-79d2-4b80-afaf-5e4244ca0d0b&f=00&fg=copy

[musette_sf]

16. did you watch the same Countdown I did?

the discussion was more towards the fact that Richards clearly has very little background or experience in stand-up. Harry Shearer was somewhat incredulous that Richards assumes to take the stage to do stand-up, and be regarded as a "professional", but he doesn't even have a set of standard lines to shut a heckler down.

if anything was said about an "accidental overreaction" i missed that part.

Richards is not a stand-up comic, though he may think that by his association with Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David that he's somehow now qualified to be one. in my opinion, it's an insult to your audience to take the stage unprepared. in Richards' Letterman/Seinfeld mea culpa, he basically admitted that he hasn't done the work; he was rambling on with some nonsense about how he doesn't plan his "set" (such as it is), it's different every night, he doesn't know what's gonna happen, etc etc etc.

EVERY stand-up comedian has material that s/he has worked long and hard over. the audience and the ambiance will dictate what s/he uses or doesn't use in that night's set. but Richards IMHO is a lazy, mean @sshole, trading on his past glory, who hasn't put in his time actually working. suggest he should maybe head north to try an open mike night at the Whitefish Chuckle Hut, if you know what i mean.

on edit: from viewing the video of the rant, and now hearing about previous rants of his in his "routine", i've gotta say: Adderall and Jack Daniel's don't mix. Richards was belligerent, aggressive, and talking a mile a minute. i could be wrong, but just sayin'.

[liberalEd]

6. anger may actually be his problem

Look at other posts here on DU; he's attacked Jews and at least one woman in similar tirades. I guess this is the one that got on video.

So maybe Randi is right. He may not be a racist, just an angry jerk. Not much of an excuse really. Someone letting his anger get the better of him repeatedly is not good. One episode can be forgiven; three, not so much.

What in the world does he have to be angry about? Heck, I'm trying to figure out why he's working. Shouldn't he be spending the rest of his life sipping colorful drinks in Tahiti? I know he made a big bundle of cash on Seinfeld.

[senseandsensibility]

7. I agree

He doesn't seem to have anything to be angry about, but that is the mystery of the human condition, I suppose. He may have nothing to be angry about from a rational person's point of view. But who says he's rational?

[wryter2000]

17. Welcome to DU

:hi:

You're right that it's an anger problem, but how he expressed it didn't have to be racist. He could have told the guy he had a pea-sized brain and penis to match or that he does unhealthy things with his mother or his dog.

Hatred of African Americans very often goes along with hatred of Jews and women. The fact that he hates those other groups doesn't mean he's not a racist.

I think Randi was waxing philosophical. Some of it was right on. Some of it was out in orbit.

[ComerPerro]

28. I was wondering that myself.

[originalpckelly]

8. Oh no, everyone shouts racist crap when they get angry at someone...

of another race. I know I do it all the time.

:eyes:

[shoopnyc]

10. I like the woman who talked about being called the C word...

...and how a man might use it but not hate all women. As a black person, the show helped me deal with some of the latent recism I may or may not have.

[wryter2000]

19. I'm glad it helped you

Lots of callers made some great points. On the whole, it was very positive. Randi is certainly open to discussing racial issues, and her heart is definitely in the right place.

[LSK]

11. it seemed to me like she wanted to get to the root of the problem

Not just Richards, but she wanted an open discussion on racism in America today. Seems like you missed her point.

[Stu DeBeouf]

12. Yes

Richards must pay for his dirty words, which are, IMHO the equivalent of verbal murder...Randi must pay for her support of a verbal murderer...Randi must immediately quit her job, and Richards, should kill himself. This is the only solution. If you do not agree, you are a racist.
:sarcasm:

[angstlessk]

13. My husband, who is black...says..what do you want him to do? Commit suicide?

My husband is really concerned that Michael Richards might commit suicide. He says people need to LAY off him NOW!..he has expressed his sorrow, and apologized what more do you want the man to do?

[itsrobert]

18. I agree with your husband

I'm hoping that Richards gets the help he needs.

[wryter2000]

20. Your husband sounds like a wonderful man

I'm not sure I'd be so gracious in this situation.

[cboy4]

23. Well, as admirable as your husband's sentiments are, he does not

speak for the many black people I know.

They are not as forgiving, and I can't say I blame them.

If your husband wants to be worried about anything, he should be far more concerned about those black men he embarrassed and chased out of the club that night finding Richards and kicking his ass!

[lumberjack_jeff]

25. What more?

Go to a doctor. I find it counterintuitive that someone could survive in show business while routinely expressing opinions like the one that got him in trouble.

There doesn't appear to be a pattern previously in his career. If I were a family member, I'd be concerned about an organic problem in his brain.

[BringEmOn]

14. I had to turn the channel when she took the call from the Texan...

When the guy said that his mother told him blacks had separate restrooms because blacks are dirty. I almost puked when she said to the guy that his parents were honest. WTF???

[journalist3072]

34. Yep, I heard that exchange too. And I couldn't understand what Randi was getting at

when she said at least his parents were being honest. I'm thinking that maybe she meant at least his parents were being honest about how they felt about Blacks. I don't know.

But I was just really disappointed in how Randi dealt with the entire situation.

[lapfog_1]

15. Drunk or angry.. when that kind of stuff spews out

all it means is that your normal set of social inhibitors are missing or way relaxed. And those thoughts that are running around deep in your conscience can find there way to your tongue.

Yeah, he's a racist, and Mel hates Jews, no matter what they say or how long they spend in rehab.

Will they both remain in that condition forever? No, it's possible to change, but only by spending more than 30 days bonding with those that you hate, and the bonds must run deep (to where you think the people you hate are actually now part of YOUR tribe, your family). To the point that when someone else says Jew or ni***r or whatever, you take offense, even if none of your new tribe is present.

Does one have to do this to NOT a racist? Yes, but you can function perfectly well as a non-racist by simply keeping the inhibitions against racist remarks up. It's the difference between doing something when someone of your own race makes an insensitive remark or simply passively letting it go unchallenged.

[cboy4]

24. I agree with everything you said....especially your first couple of

sentences!

[cboy4]

21. I didn't hear her, so I'm taking your word that she was "almost being

an apologist" for him.

If it is true, it's disappointing because I don't agree with her sentiments at all.

When you're furious with someone of another race, unless you're a bigot or a racist, you don't call a Black person a "nigger," or a Hispanic person a "beaner," or a Jewish person a "kike, or a Chinese person a "chink," etc.

One might even had let N-word from Richards slide as a very unfortunate slip had he used it once.

However, the fact that he shouted that word in crazy anger multiple times, along with the unspeakable line about how the hecklers would have been lynched 50 years ago, is nothing less than ans outrage.

And did you hear Richards during his apology on Letterman, referring to black people as "Afro" Americans?....it's so clear that he knows nothing about African Americans and other black people....a sign he shelters himself from them perhaps deliberately.

Afro American? :wtf:

[Minnesota_Lib]

22. Troubled that she sees it differently than me? Nope, not at all.

[Ksec]

27. Hey, were all different

Lets not pretend were rubberstamps that all think exactly the same. Thats reserved for the other side.

[AZBlue]

29. What does he have to be angry about??

That he's a one-hit wonder and EVERYONE knows it. That he can't even get a few laughs on a stage at a comedy club. That without Seinfeld he's toast.

[FlaGranny]

32. I don't know but I wouldn't call that angry at all

I would call it rage. It was a terrifying rage. That man needs help.

[jumpoffdaplanet]

31. Not as much as Ed Shultz's rasict crap today

He's all for discriminating against peaceful Imam and thinks it's just fine a demented passenger can get people kicked off a plane.

[journalist3072]

33. Wow. Are you serious? I didn't have the chance to listen to his show today.

Did he justify throwing those Muslims (who were returning from a conference) off the plane?

What are we coming to in this country? What exactly did Ed say?

I got into a debate about this a conversative blogger (who posted on my blog) on yesterday evening.