~ after the first ten (10) times we watched michael richards shouting racist epithets, we wondered how his episode would compare to mel gibson’s. we were curious about how differently the anti-defamation league responded to gibson and whoever would respond to richards; also, depending on the public response, we should see which is more accetable – condemnatoin of jews or that of blacks.
of course, they can’t be compared. michael richards is a former actor who few people can distinguish from one of his roles (‘kramer’); one could say that his career was already ruined, not for calling people at the laugh factory ‘nigger’, but by being so successful at being kramer that he could never work as anything else. mel gibson, on the other hand is not only still rich and powerful, but he actually goes out of his way to make blockbuster films out of his anti-semitic beliefs (‘the passion..’). one is a previously innocuous, potential ‘has-been’; the other is an actively working bigot, working on bigotry.
both made public apologies, or at least videotaped an ‘apology’, and claimed that they had fixed things behind the scenes. although, why does michael richards have to apologize for being a racist in a comedy club, but a passenger on a plane in minneapolis does not have to apologize to the six people whose days and travels were ruined becuase he/she does not want to fly on a plane with muslims? a passenger sees muslims on a plane, then slips a note to the stewardess for them to be removed and questioned by police. is the adl or is kramer going to speak about that?
does a jackass like that talk about it when he sees his friends? ‘guess what doods, there were some islamo-passengers on my plane. they scare me, so i had them removed.‘
he probably does, proudly.
public response: