Advice to Michael Richards
Michael Richards said the “N” word. Over and over again. It was wrong. It was despicable. He apologized. Several times. He is either sincere, or he isn’t. End of story?
Not quite. Not in the USA in 2006, where for nearly every perceived wrong there is a deep pocket to be tapped to make people feel better. Now, two guys who were in the audience, who were heckling Richards, want money because they and other blacks were the targets of Richards’ rant, and the talk is that Richards is considering paying up. He wants to even up. He wants to, by paying these two guys, essentially say to the world, “Okay, now I’ve atoned. I’ve evened the score. Don’t be mad at me any more.”
Now, everyone who frequents Observations knows that my advice is like gold. It is wise, and it is right. Right? Of course it is. And my advice to Michael Richards is: “Don’t pay a dime.” If you do, you might buy two friends, or maybe a couple of thousand, but you aren’t going to buy what you think you are buying, and you aren’t going to buy what you want.
You screwed up, Michael. You attacked black people, and that just isn’t permissible, and it isn’t forgivable. Better to have done what Danny DiVito did and attack George Bush. Had you done that, you would be in the clear. In America today it is okay to insult the president, especially this president. You would have people taking your side. You would have the media on your side, keeping the dumb things you say low-key.
But you didn’t, and now you must pay the piper, which means that you sacrifice your career, because you focused on the wrong target. And as long as your career is in the toilet, why give away your money, too?
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