IC Forum Archive

Waffen · Posts: 1638

evnvnv wrote:

in one of the 1,000 news pieces about this article, the picture of kramer they decided to show was one of him wearing the magic technicolor pimp coat, which i think is both incredibly hilarious and insanely offensive.

dude, my local news, while advertising their 10 o'clock spot and this story, showed the damn cilp from him strolling down the street in that coat.
haha wtf!

Captain Raeburn · Posts: 10

extralife wrote:

maybe this is why there were no black people in seinfeld

Jackie Chiles.

showka · Posts: 994

GcDiaz wrote:

showka wrote:

The flaw here though is that, at the time, I felt like I had used a dirty trick by exposing some flaw of Latifa's that was simply not PC to say, i.e. that she was overweight. Maybe on some level Kramer felt like he was exposing some flaw in the audience, i.e. that they were black, so traditionally they would be underprivaleged, so how dare they insult such a nice white person as he.

Big difference between being fat and being black, in that you can NOT be fat. In La-pig-ga's case it was more a statement of fact than an insult. You have nothing to apologize for besides hurting her feelings.

And even then, if you meant to do it, then it's tough cookies for her.

I guess I didn't state that clearly enough, but yeah, I already knew that. The "flaw", i.e. the hint of racism in Kramer, is that he somehow thought that being black was some weakness he was exposing by using the n-word, like I thought I was really fighting dirty by calling a fat girl a pig.

The big difference between Kramer and I is that even though I'd rather not call people the n-word or a pig, I don't see how calling someone the n-word does anything to show the insultee in a negative light. So what I was saying is that even in the best case scenario, Kramer probably has some racism in him if he pulled for that to piss the guy off in the heat of the moment.

Mr. Mechanical · Posts: 1890

showka wrote:

Kramer probably has some racism in him if he pulled for that to piss the guy off in the heat of the moment.

Or, you know, he figured that black people usually get really pissed off when white people call them niggers.

Pijaibros · Posts: 968

I was watching the Today show this morning and I was delighted to see that the two gentlemen that Kramer's insults were directed too were being interviewed.

Even more awesome, their white lawyer friend immediately flew into a rant about how Kramer has to compensate them for what he did. Sure, Kramer is a jerk for not being able to turn what he did into an edgy joke and instead just screamed and let it fall flat on its face, but this is just gonna make them two men seem like jerk offs attempting to cash-in.

The lawyer didn't even ask for an apology, just started demanding payment to his clients.

Classy!

DeusJester · Posts: 1388

Pijaibros wrote:

but this is just gonna make them two men seem like jerk offs attempting to cash-in

It's a pretty safe bet they were jerkoffs to begin with. As shocking as it was that Michael Richards did what he did, they were still two drunk assholes heckling the guy.

showka · Posts: 994

Guys I really don't want to think of Kramer as a racist. Lets build a time machine so we can prevent this horrible event.

I thought his apology on Letterman looked really sincere, and he seemed like he really felt sick about it and thought it was horrible.
Compare this to Mel Gibson's apology. First he delayed giving a real apology by issuing some BS (something like, "I'm sorry to anyone who interpretted my comments in a bad way") and then blamed being drunk. Although handling an apology for a racist tirade better than Mel Gibson isn't a big accomplishment.

brainiac · Posts: 941

Pijaibros wrote:

Even more awesome, their white lawyer friend immediately flew into a rant about how Kramer has to compensate them for what he did.

dude, i don't think that's how the law works. somebody should tell their lawyer that isn't how the law works. you don't get free money just for being called a mean name.

oh

their lawyer is gloria allred. lawls.

Diplocephalus · Posts: 863

i must admit i find it slightly ironic how the black men deemed richards' antics unnecessary while they flung back racial terms

still nigger has worse connotations

showka · Posts: 994

Cracker is really the weakest racial slur ever, just because it sounds so funny. You're calling someone a delightful salty wheat snack.

I think white people would feel worse if they were called by some made up, mysterious word, the purpose of which could only be something hateful.

Toto · Posts: 498

Guys why are you justifying the racist behaviour of someone?
If you voice these concerns it shows the issue is something that you carry with you. These things don't go away with an apology. It's not like spilt milk.
What you say to someone who is antagonising you is an indicator of what you think will insult them, and Altman brought it back to race.
It's not even a direct insult; it was someone reminding those guys at the club that they are inferior, which is thereby insulting.
I think it's disgusting.

James · Posts: 1735

Diplocephalus wrote:

i must admit i find it slightly ironic how the black men deemed richards' antics unnecessary while they flung back racial terms

still nigger has worse connotations

If he'd used "heeb" or "kike" or some vulgar shit like that he'd have been fighting bigotry with bigotry, but cracker is so generic and toothless - black society does not and has not restricted the development of white society as a whole in the states, whereas "nigger" is potent because it used to be backed up by lynchings and putative dismemberment. Some black people are in a position to give white people a hard time, but that still exists within a predominantly white culture.

SP_86 · Posts: 31

God. When I saw the footage I was laughing out loud. It's so easy to say "he's racist" but really, he was just pissed. Heckler or no, you don't mess with a man that has a microphone. Especially if he's a different color than you. That makes it a hate crime.

Poor Richards, just trying to say a few jokes and "HEY DO THE KRAMER VOICE HEY DO THE KRAMER DANCE YOU SUCK KRAMER C'MON DO KRAMER" which... might piss off anyone after the first three minutes.

This is just like the Clinton interview a few months/weeks back. He didn't explode, go insane, become hostile or even smadk the guy and storm off. Dude's a former president, and unlike the current one, can form coherrant sentances and speak his mind without a press squad filtering and limiting his opinions.

Richard's is still cool to me. So are niggers.

brainiac · Posts: 941

Toto wrote:

and Altman brought it back to race.

wait, robert altman is a racist too???

Toto · Posts: 498

brainiac wrote:

Toto wrote:

and Altman brought it back to race.

wait, robert altman is a racist too???

I got the name wrong. :(
I don't even know Kramer's real name.

winkerwanker · Posts: 2414

stotelheim · Posts: 414

winkerwanker wrote:

Reported as offensive.

brainiac · Posts: 941

i was looking for a picture of that scene to post in this thread, the other day. winkowanko is a rotten good for nothing idea-stealer i . t . t . >:|

Boo · Posts: 47

Ok, first of all it's not "Kramer". The real guy has a real name: Michael Richards. And trying to understand his reaction by making connections with an old tv show isn't gonna help either. I think he got mad because people in the audience were talking. And talking during a comedian's act is one of the most unrespectful thing to do. Richards couldn't believe people were talking over him.

Kramer wrote:

You guys have been talkin' and talkin' and talkin'. I don't know, I don't know, I don't know.

The video seems to have two parts. One part when he insulted the "nigger" and then when the same person tried to leave the room. It's still surreal to ... "see" Kramer again after so much time.

Kramer wrote:

You see ? You see there's still those words, those words, those words.

A rare and delightful moment.

108 · Posts: 2600

stotelheim wrote:

winkerwanker wrote:

Reported as offensive.

i don't see a hwhite boy
i see a damn fool