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Nov. 22, 2006 Well, chalk up another Hollywood production which I can never again enjoy in peace. "Seinfeld," in my opinion remains one of the best television situation comedies of all time. While it didn't always hit its mark, more often than not it was right on target, making fun of all of us in its own little way. It combined irreverent slapstick with a certain tongue in cheek humor which often flirted with the edge of political correctness while apologizing even as it continued the joke. One particular episode which cast Jerry Seinfeld and George Costanza as homosexual lovers had various characters repeating the line, "Not that there's anything wrong with that," whenever the topic of homosexuality came up. "Seinfeld" successfully shed light on the idiosyncrasies of an obsessive compulsive bachelor, while making the audience realize there is a certain point to the madness. When Jerry throws out his new belt because it touched the edge of the urinal while he was using it, we laugh at his compulsion. Then we realize it really isn't such a bad idea to make sure your belt doesn't touch the edge of the urinal. "Seinfeld" was brilliant in its simplicity. Michael Richards, who played Cosmo Kramer, was a significant part of the success of the show. His character provided the slapstick and the perfect counter to the neurosis of Jerry and George. He was the perfect supporting player. Recently, however, Mr. Richards, who now seems fit to call himself a stand-up comedian, experienced a complete and utter meltdown in front of a live audience. In response to being heckled by a couple of members of the audience, Richards responded with one of the most venomous, hate-filled racially charged rants I've ever seen or heard. He spouted the "N word" countless times and told the hecklers, who were black, what would have been done to them "50 years ago" if they would have behaved in a similar manner. It wasn't pretty; the entire episode would have made even a bigot squirm. As is the case with most events in this age, Richards' classless act (apology for the understatement) was indeed captured on camera, with full audio, to be displayed before the masses over the internet. Make no mistake, Michael Richards is not a good stand-up comedian. In fact, a brief viewing of his act (even before the racial tirade) on You-Tube reveals him to be an awful stand-up comic. One has to wonder why a multi-millionaire character actor, who is pushing 60, feels the need to continue in a world which is generally reserved for those attempting to break into show business and hit it big. I can understand why Jerry Seinfeld continues to work in this way; it's what he does, and he's good at it. Richards is not good and I'm guessing it isn't even what he does. A better comedian would certainly know how to more aptly respond to heckling. As it happens, Jerry Seinfeld was already booked on David Letterman just after the now infamous outburst occurred. Seinfeld, who was I'm sure at least partially motivated by the potential impact to his cash flow from syndication rights as well as DVD sales, quickly worked on damage control. He engineered an apology live on the Letterman show. Richards appeared on screen, via satellite, from another location to offer his regrets for the incident. He was obviously somewhat shaken and uncomfortable with the whole endeavor. Let's be clear, Michael Richards is an odd individual. His goofy sitcom character in many ways is more in control than the real-life person. A few minutes listening to this guy reveals that he marches to his own drummer, and that drummer is well out of earshot of just about everyone else on earth. There is also no doubt that Richards is a political leftist, just as most of Hollywood is it seems. This in and of itself is no big issue; I would guess most of the cast of the show probably tilts leftward. It was, though, not very long into Richards' "apology" when he began uttering vague references to Katrina and wars with other countries (I'm assuming Iraq) and how this is at the core of the problem. As I listened to Richards talk, I thought I was hearing things. Did I actually hear this guy essentially blame his meltdown, more or less, on President Bush and his foreign policy? Did he actually try to convey the idea that a natural disaster, and its aftermath, led him to a racial tirade that would embarrass your average Ku Klux Klan member? No, I was not mistaken, not at all. Richards increasingly became more incensed in this broadcast. After a minute or two, he was almost as angry in this so-called apology as he was the night he lost it on the hecklers. Apparently, in his world nothing is entirely his fault. I guess good old George W. Bush made Richards a closet racist and, further, it's Bush's fault that Richards inadvertently "outed" himself from that closet. I guess he feels he has every right to his privacy in this regard and perhaps he's right. That darn President Bush, though. First, he lets a natural disaster hit New Orleans without even trying to stop it, then he doesn't overrule the local leaders of that city and charge in there with the military to force everyone to leave, and then he has the audacity to pledge billions of dollars in federal money to rebuild the city once it was all over. Now he's out there forcing hate-filled half-comics to reveal their deep-seeded anger before they are good and ready. Boy, it's a good thing he's not running for office again. I'd have half a mind to not vote for him for a third time. In the end, though, perhaps Michael Richards is a victim as he proclaims. Unfortunately for him, though, his oppressor is not President Bush, any member of Bush's staff or its foreign policy. No, Richards is a victim of a political ideology which conveys the idea that we are all victims in one way or another. This philosophy teaches people that others are the cause of their problems and shortcomings, and they are not to be blamed. This twisted reality gave Richards what he thought was the perfect opportunity for deflection. Blame it on Bush, nobody likes him anyway. So we get a message like, "Sure I'm a racist, but that doesn't give you a right to go start wars in other countries or ignore victims in New Orleans." In this way, Richards' apologizes for being a hate-monger by pointing a finger at someone he thinks is a bigger hate-monger and saying, "I may be evil, but at least I'm not him." Believe what you want, Mr. Richards. Hopefully, most of the rest of us will stay within shouting range of reality. ------------ About the author: Ed Abraham is a concerned citizen living in flyover country, U.S.A., who happens to be truly disgusted by the loss of common sense in our society and is doing all he can to try to reinstall it. Email: eabra@myway.com Comment on this article here! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com. Please link to this article rather than copying and pasting it onto your site (which would be unauthorized and illegal). |
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