Nice Colored Boy
Hmmm, now the Michael Richards thing has gotten out of hand. Although in this litigious society that we live in called America, I should have expected this. The two victims of Kramer's racist rant are now threatening to sue him. They are represented by Gloria Allred...you know, Amber Frey's lawyer, the attorney who accused Arnold Schwarzenegger of being a Nazi sympathizer, the one who feels that if you are not a feminist you are a bigot. Yeah, that Gloria Allred!Okay, I'm not a big fan of lawyers...
Now, I'm not defending what Richards did in the Laugh Factory in Los Angeles. What he screamed at the two patrons was horrible and for a person in the limelight he deserves what he is getting. His use of the N-word was to hurt another person, that is unacceptable. There was no joke behind it, although that would not make it right, there was no punch line, just sheer hatred.What Richards did was find the most hurtful, mean-spirited verbiage he could and hurled it at those two guys.
"Now Neil," you say, "the title of this post is Nice Colored Boy?!...Isn't that hurtful?"
Well, it could be. However, I am one to always try to understand in what context are the words used. These particular words, "nice colored boy" are in reference to an incident I had in college with this elderly couple. When I reflect back on this moment I always chuckle.
My friend, Ken, who is African-American (By the way, be careful with that one, as not all African-Americans have heritage from Africa. Andrea is not African-American, she hails from the American Virgin Islands!) and I were working at Aaron Brothers. We had this senior citizen couple who were regulars, they happened to be Middle Eastern and English was a second language. Once while asking where Ken was, they referred to him as, "...that nice colored boy..." Now there was not one single ounce of racism in their comment. They were struggling to find the most polite phrase to refer to Ken.
Ken and I would always get a giggle out of this as we knew that they were trying to be kind and respectful. Later they would refer to me as "that nice Chinese boy..." Nice try guys, but I'm Japanese! *Big Laugh!* Once again, they were only trying to be nice.
And this couple was very, VERY, kind...
What I'm trying to say is that in this overly politically correct world, sometimes we need to stop and really try to understand what the words mean. What is the intent? If someone calls me Oriental, are they trying to demean me or is it that they are ignorant that rugs and food are generally classified as Oriental, not humans. (For the record, I have never been that upset over this term. I have very thick skin.)
Yet, I will not allow general stupidity as well. Andy Dick shortly after the Richards incident went on stage at another venue and used the N-word in jest. He later apologized for the phrase. Dumb, dumb, dumb...this is just sheer stupidity.I always find myself trying to take the high road, as life's to short and if I really get upset, I lose.
Regarding Frank McBride and Kyle Doss, the two guys who were on the receiving end of Kramer's tirade, they deserve Michaels to pay for their entry, maybe a dinner or two, but that's about it. C'mon now, it was bad, but that's just another frivolous lawsuit...thanks Gloria...
posted by LoneCactus @ 4:36 AM
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