Is Cosmo Kramer a bigot?

I was disturbed while watching this video of Seinfeld's Kramer that was released last week: http://us.video.aol.com/video.index.adp?mode=1&pmmsid=1772645

What a jerk. :nono1: I hope his career is over.
Discuss.

Nope, not a bigot. He apologized and then bashed Bush for Katrina and the Iraq war. Everybody thinks he's cool again.

I sit on the fence on this one. First of all, he should not have used the language he used, especially the racial slur, and I condemn him for this and never would I condone such language from anyone. This is 2006.

However, the two men who set him off should have shut their mouths while the show was on and they should not have heckled him while he was trying to give a performance others paid to see.

I sit on the fence on this one. First of all, he should not have used the language he used, especially the racial slur, and I condemn him for this and never would I condone such language from anyone. This is 2006.

However, the two men who set him off should have shut their mouths while the show was on and they should not have heckled him while he was trying to give a performance others paid to see.

But... every comedy club I've ever attended has ALWAYS had hecklers. It is rude but it still happens - - especially at a comedy club. Now it wouldn't happen at a B. Streisand concert. Oh, wait, it did!

Kramer just completely lost control of his good sense on this one. I doubt he is a bigot - but he was incredibly stupid. He probably thought he was being "funny & edgy."

I think he got a little too pissed and his "inner bigot" came charging out. Yeah, he got heckled. Goes with the job. He should have taken the high road and ignored the hecklers, or played along with them like most comics do.

Any good, self-respecting comic would've made a much better situation out of the heckling. Like Johnrudy said, I've never seen a comedy show that didn't have hecklers; they kind of go hand-in-hand.
Michael Richards needs to take a few lessons from Elvira Kurt on how to handle hecklers.

I am surprised to learn of the hecklers thing. I have been to three comedy shows in my life and didn't notice any. PotatoV, what did Elvira do to some hecklers?

I've never seen him perform outside of Seinfeld, but a good comedian can really take advantage of heckling to their benefit. It's apparent that his comedic skills are limited to script reading. I didn't even like it when Richard Pryor used words like that.

I agree with Jdarg.
Blacks like Pryor began throwing the n-word back in whites' faces back in the 70's, trying to reduce its power--but then Pryor renounced that word after visiting Africa. The n-word still makes me wince.
The word still has a lot of power. Anyone who gets in front of an audience (and I have tremendous respect for those who do) had better be prepared to be a damn good extemporaneous speaker. A comic at an improv place? Deal with it.
The guys who heckled Richards were jerks, but Richards has forever lost my respect. He opened his tirade with a reference to lynching. He blew it big time.
At least he hasn't checked into alcohol rehab.:roll:

edited to agree with Mango: a good comic would neve resort to profanity or anything else: Richards was not exactlly light on his feet with the hecklers

I think Michael Richards is a very marginal stand-up comedian. I also think the white race has enough pent-up guilt to last several more generations.

Well, after all the talk on here, I had to go see it. I also found YouTube - Michael Richards' apology on Letterman. -- Worth the watch.

I remember seeing a long interview with Jerry S one time, and in it, he talked of Richard's antisocial craziness on the set. I wouldn't be surprised to find out that his fits of rage could be attributed to BPD (Borderline Personality Disorder).

Some of you mentioned the racial slur, but what about the remark which Richard's made to the black ma, "fifty years ago, your @ss would be hanging upside down from a tree."? From a normal person, that sounds like a threat. From a comedian who was obviously frustrated that people were heckling him, who knows?

Personally, I say if you are a comedian and you cannot handle hecklers, you may as well turn in your microphone. I truly think the man may have BPD, and that would explain his remorse and the sincerely-sounding apology as well as the rage and anger that came across at the "Laugh In" Comedy Club.

Some of you mentioned the racial slur, but what about the remark which Richard's made to the black ma, "fifty years ago, your @ss would be hanging upside down from a tree."? From a normal person, that sounds like a threat. From a comedian who was obviously frustrated that people were heckling him, who knows?

Yes, as I mentioned before, Richards' *opened* his tirade with the lynching reference. Rather extreme.
I don't know anything about BPD, but the guy certainly is angry, and the anger spilled out in a way that was both ugly and pathetic.
And yes, Bob, there is lots of white guilt. But then it was only in '98 that the most recent lynching occurred.

Well, after all the talk on here, I had to go see it. I also found Richard's apology clip from Letterman Show. -- Worth the watch.

I remember seeing a long interview with Jerry S one time, and in it, he talked of Richard's antisocial craziness on the set. I wouldn't be surprised to find out that his fits of rage could be attributed to BPD (Borderline Personality Disorder).

Some of you mentioned the racial slur, but what about the remark which Richard's made to the black ma, "fifty years ago, your @ss would be hanging upside down from a tree."? From a normal person, that sounds like a threat. From a comedian who was obviously frustrated that people were heckling him, who knows?

Personally, I say if you are a comedian and you cannot handle hecklers, you may as well turn in your microphone. I truly think the man may have BPD, and that would explain his remorse and the sincerely-sounding apology as well as the rage and anger that came across at the "Laugh In" Comedy Club.

You are definitely right about SOME personality disorder.

Regarding the bigot issue....when people have an uncontrollable anger problem and they get "set off", they can say and do things that they deep down don't believe and don't want to do. I've seen it happen. Sure, it comes from somewhere, be it abuse in their past or mental illness, but they can say things that they really don't mean. Once the cycle starts it has to run its course unfortunately. The answer is anger control techniques, which obviously he has not learned or medication, which he definitely needs. After it was all said and done, I felt sorry for him but really hope he gets the help he needs. He did say he had to do some "personal work". Duh!!!

I'm not the one with the anger problem!!

You are definitely right about SOME personality disorder.

Regarding the bigot issue....when people have an uncontrollable anger problem and they get "set off", they can say and do things that they deep down don't believe and don't want to do. I've seen it happen. Sure, it comes from somewhere, be it abuse in their past or mental illness, but they can say things that they really don't mean. Once the cycle starts it has to run its course unfortunately. The answer is anger control techniques, which obviously he has not learned or medication, which he definitely needs. After it was all said and done, I felt sorry for him but really hope he gets the help he needs. He did say he had to do some "personal work". Duh!!!

I'm not the one with the anger problem!!

People with BPD often need therapy for 3-5 years before they are able to control their fits of rage. Once they hit that anger and rage, the only thing they see or know is that thing which set them off. All else is blocked out. Too difficult for me to explain.

SteeleMama, you are correct that he could be digging into language which he learned from his parents when growing up, and that they are not his own thoughts. There is only one thing you can do when a person with BPD is raging, and that is chill out and walk away. If not, it will escalate rapidly and no one comes out looking good.

People with BPD often need therapy for 3-5 years before they are able to control their fits of rage. Once they hit that anger and rage, the only thing they see or know is that thing which set them off. All else is blocked out. Too difficult for me to explain.

SteeleMama, you are correct that he could be digging into language which he learned from his parents when growing up, and that they are not his own thoughts. There is only one thing you can do when a person with BPD is raging, and that is chill out and walk away. If not, it will escalate rapidly and no one comes out looking good.

And all the people said.....AMEN!!!

I am surprised to learn of the hecklers thing. I have been to three comedy shows in my life and didn't notice any. PotatoV, what did Elvira do to some hecklers?

She had just told the crowd that she was a lesbian, and some guy in the audience yelled, "I bet I can fix that!" Without batting an eye, she replied, "No, I don't think so. I can get whatever you've got, in plastic, twice as big." There were no more comments from him for the rest of the night.

She had just told the crowd that she was a lesbian, and some guy in the audience yelled, "I bet I can fix that!" Without batting an eye, she replied, "No, I don't think so. I can get whatever you've got, in plastic, twice as big." There were no more comments from him for the rest of the night.

Whoa, that was a good comeback.

with cases like kerry, faith, mel or michael richards, the excuse that "it was a joke" or "i was drunk" or "i was angry" may be a rationale for the outburst, but it doesn't excuse the content or hurtful remark. now we know how they really feel when the camera's not looking and they aren't sober or aware enough to control what comes out of their mouths. we can tell what's in their hearts.