Michael Richards Court Speech-Comments Please
Just recieved this by email:-
Michael Richards Court Speech
Makes one stop and think after reading this:
Michael Richards is better known as Kramer from tv's Seinfeld series.
This was his defence speech in court after making racial comments in his comedy act.
He makes some very interesting points. He said :
I'm proud To Be White
Someone finally said it.
How many are actually paying attention to this ?
There are African Americans, Mexican Americans,
Asian Americans, Arab Americans, etc.
And then there are just Americans.
You pass me on the street and sneer in my direction.
You Call me 'White boy,' 'Cracker,' 'Honkey,'
'Whitey,' 'Caveman' ... and that's OK.
But when I call you, Nigger, Kike, Towel head, Sand-nigger, Camel Jockey, Beaner , Gook, or Chink .
You call me a racist.
You say that whites commit a lot of violence against you,
so why are the ghettos the most dangerous places to live ?
You have the United Negro College Fund.
You have Martin Luther King Day.
You have Black History Month.
You have Cesar Chavez Day.
You have Yom Hashoah.
You have Ma'uled Al-Nabi.
You have the NAACP.
You have BET.
If we had WET (White Entertainment Television) we'd be racists.
If we had a White Pride Day, you would call us racists.
If we had White History Month , we'd be racists.
If we had any organization for only whites to 'advance'
OUR lives we'd be racists.
We have a Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, a Black Chamber of Commerce, and then we just have the plain Chamber of Commerce.
Wonder who pays for that ?
A white woman could not be in the Miss Black American pageant,
but any color can be in the Miss America pageant. If we had a college fund that only gave white students scholarships you know we'd be racists. There are over 60 openly proclaimed Black Colleges in the US . Yet if there were 'White colleges' THAT would be a racist college.
In the Million Man March, you believed that you were marching for your race and rights. If we marched for our race and rights,
0Ayou would call us racists. You are proud to be black, brown, yellow and orange, and you're not afraid to announce it.
But when we announce our white pride, you call us racists.
You rob us, carjack us, and shoot at us.
But , when a white police officer shoots a black gang member or
beats up a black drug-dealer running from the law and posing a
threat to society, you call him a racist.
I am proud.
But you call me a racist.
Why is it that only whites can be racists ?
There is nothing improper about this e-mail.
Let's see which of you are proud enough to send it on
I realize this is fake so this may be a moot point, but while the statement is true that doesn't make anyone less of a racist for hating someone based solely on their skin color.
Is it unfair to have a United Negro College Fund and not be allowed to have a United WASP College Fund? Yes, it is unfair. Does that give me a "right" to hate all black people now? Of course not, that would make me a racist.
Michael Richards is clearly a racist, the fact that society allows preferential treatment to some people based solely on race doesn't change the fact he is full of hatred.
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What difference does it make to the dead whether the mad destruction is wrought under the name of totalitarianism or democracy?
-Gandhi
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1Opinion, did you miss the point that this is a hoax and that Michael Richards never said these things?
Mandi
Michael Richards has a point when he says he has suffered racial abuse. Racism is racism whether it comes from a white person, an African or an Indian. But just because someone is racist to him does not give him the right to be racist to others in his comedy.
When it comes to Special Rights for minorities, he completely misses the point. He forgets the legacy of Colonialism and Slavery that made Europe and the USA rich at the expense of the Third World.
With respect to him, he may have suffered racism from kids on the street, but does he know what it's like to be viewed with suspicion by the police and the Authorities just for the colour of his skin or the fact he is a Muslim? If you are black, you are still more likely to live in a ghetto or prison. Is this fair? This is not because black people are inherently more violent. It is because they are often born into the poorest parts of society with the least prospects from childhood onwards. This is what Special Privileges are trying to rectify.
Good comedy can and does explore issues of race, if it does this from a viewpoint that celebrates difference. Look at the stand up of Woody Allen, Richard Pryor, Bill Cosby, Omid Djalili or Crissy Rock! These people celebrate their ethnic background and help others to understand it without fear.
On the other hand, the comedy of hate seeks to laugh at other races or religions or sexes. It seeks to keep 'us' and 'them' apart. It doesn't increase understanding, it increases fear and hatred and suspicion.
Oh come off it, don't look too much into it...its bloody true! End of!
lol nfh!
Thanks for your explanation Mandi. I still think the "speech" raises some interesting points, regardless of the authors motives.
What do I think, tallg? I think the writer is angry, whiney and petulant. He (or she) sounds like a small boy who stamps his foot and shouts, "It's not fair!" at his mother, or a little girl who complains that she is bored in a room full of toys. I really have a hard time believing that he or she gives a rodent's behind about what the Chamber of Commerce is called in a small American town. If I had such a resentment list (and mine is probably just as long) I would take pleasure in burning it. The author is obviously bright and educated, but I am sorry he or she is using those attributes and an agenda to spread division and to lie about its source. I thank God every day that I had the privilege of being brought up and educated FOR FREE in the US. I hope to pay back that debt to society throughout my life. I am certainly aware of the problems in the US but I certainly hope I don't waste my criticism on cheap shots. I instead focus on what I can do to help provide constructive social change, insha'allah.
Mandi
tallg, where were you? I'm surprised you didn't catch that! You're slippin, man.
First line of the post is enough to raise suspicions-
"Just recieved this by email"
Thought you would have been making a visit to snopes right off the bat.
:-P
Get some rest this weekend :-D
I don't think there's anything of any value in this speech at all, besides pointing out how far we really have to go. All any of those organizations listed are doing is trying to give back all that the whites have taken from these people in the last few hundred years.
Omigosh, I googled it and didn't catch that! It didn't sound like him (and yes, I have met him, but not recently) Thanks, Smelly!
Mandi
well regardless of what it is, it does have a resounding point to make
nice catch S_I_C
Michael Richards never made that Speech: http://www.snopes.com/politics/soapbox/proudwhite.asp
Apparently, even a fool like him has better sense than to spout such uninformed drivel.
JIGGERBOOS!
Yippee, Yippeee, its GORDONS gin for me!
WINNER Gordons Gin Personal Consumption Award 2008 Hic!
He's not calling for there to be "white" societies etc, he's just making the point that if there were it would be called racism.
I agree his racist outburst was completely wrong, as he has admitted. I was commenting on this speech alone though.
The reason American whites don't get their own societies, scholarships and music awards is that they kept the blacks as slaves for 250 years.
To most people with any sort of decorum, arguments of the sort listed above are equivalent to a cry for segregation. They're the kinds of arguments that you'd expect from a white-power group, and if you have a look at this YouTube clip, you'll realise Michael Richards was completely out of control when he started calling the audience niggers.
Here is where he apologises later.
yeah yeah...I was waiting for someone to bring up the white supremacist bollocks when people actually agreed! We do have an opinion ffs!
Think she's making a 'point'......
His status is irrelevant Mandi, but if it helps let's assume it's an un-famous poor boy. What do you think about what he said?
The UK's the same.....too bloody PC!
Poor little famous rich boy.
Mandi
well if he's white he's a victim in the USA.....period...
There are few things less unpleasant than listening to a person of privilege try to claim victim status.
Mandi
Nice!
And they have the MOBO awards!! Why don't we have the MOWO awards? Nah...that'd be racist!
Good points, well put.
I must agree with his point!
Agreed!
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"Every adult of sound mind, should be able to choose to do whatever they want, as long as they cause no harm to others".
LOVE IT! I've been saying this for years! Its so true! Well done that man!!!
He does have a point, I never looked at it from this point of view. There's always a new prospective for every thing