Michael Richards -- Ughn!

I feel exhausted every time I think about this situation. This morning a few news reports showed highlights from his recent appearance with Jesse Jackson. A small part of me actually feels bad for him. Richards looks like a lost puppy. He really looks like he doesn't understand what has happened. He claims that he is not a racist and he seems to really believe that. Still, he can't account for the words that he so freely spoke on stage and clearly directed at a group of young Black audience members. He looks so stunned that one might wonder if he were momentarily possessed by the spirit of a madman from the deep south 100 years ago. But, superstition aside, he needs to deal with the reality of his words and the consequences.
Consequences. See, I think that's the issue here. He spoke those words freely and with vigor because at that moment he felt safe. He [wrongly] assumed that the crowd would laugh and generally agree with his statements. It is not likely that this is the first time he has spoken in this way. What is likely is that he was never called out on it before. He was always in a place where he was either in the company of like minds or in the company of people who had less power and felt they could not respond appropriately. But, this time was different. He wasn't in his "safe to be racist" zone, although he wrongly assumed he was. He wasn't the most powerful person in the room, although he must have felt he was. Instead, and thankfully, the group he addressed expressed the power to resist such racist comments. We all have this power although many of us do not choose to exercise it.
I take back my original observation that Richards looks like a lost puppy. As I am writing, it is becoming clear what he really looks like. His expression reminds me of a small child who was caught doing something wrong. Just as young children judge "wrongness" by the consequences and not the intent of the actions, Richards is responding to the consequences more than the intent. We must remember though that this is a very immature expression of morality. As we get older, have more experiences, dare I say, "grow up", we learn to reason in a morally advanced way. Richards has not learned to do this yet.