Tuesday, November 21, 2006
Kramer: "Lewd, lascivious, salacious, outrageous!"
What do recent events tell us about where this country stands on racial issues at a time when we are looking at a seriously viable black candidate entering the 2008 presidential race? It's ironic what's happened when it seemed like we had moved beyond the black/white dynamic of the racial divide with the strong anti-Latino tint to the immigration debate and muslims and arabs almost having become the designated new "n-ggers" in a post-9/11 world. To wit:
Flying still sucks if you're Arab.
As does going to UCLA especially if you forget your ID at the library.
O.J. Simpson: It Ain't Over Til It's Over.
While a BU group offers a white scholarship "to protest race-based scholarships."
Finally, here's a couple views on Michael "Cosmo Kramer" Richards' recent racial meltdown, the first forwarded to me by a friend by email [slightly edited for clarity]:
"People who viewed TMZ.com (company founded by AOL & Telepictures Productions which is a division of Warner Brothers) to see former "Seinfeld" co-star Michael Richards' comments must not be too quick to judge what he said since no one knows exactly what the heckler(s) INITIALLY STATED to provoke such a response by Mr. Richards.
However, a lot of people have those same racial feelings that Mr. Richards expressed but are just too scared to say them. If you do have those feeling regardless of whether you express them verbally or not, you are a BIGOT- Period! If you have the same racial feelings that the heckler(s) stated then you are a BIGOT!
Mr. Richards subsequent apology on David Letterman may have been genuine but the time & place in which he expressed his remorse was Dead WRONG!! Why (you may ask)?? Because
So by having Mr. Richards suddenly apologize on the same show causes a lot of people to question the REAL motives of his apology. Furthermore, there are many BLACK people that NEVER watch the Letterman show. So if he was really looking to apologize to them (which may have not been the case) why would he do it on Letterman?????????"
Dan Charnas says: Are You Really That Surprised?
