Michael Richards, better known as Kramer from
TV’s Seinfeld, makes an interesting point about racism.
This was his defence speech in court after
making racial comments in his comedy act:
There are African Americans, Mexican Americans, Asian Americans, Arab Americans, etc. And then there are just Americans.
You pass me on the street and sneer in my direction. You call me “White boy”, “Cracker”, “Honkey”, “Whitey”, “Caveman” ... and that's okay.
But when I call you, Ni**er, Coon, Towel head, Camel Jockey, Beaner, Gook, or Chink … you call me a racist.
You say that whites commit a lot of violence against you ... so why are the ghettos the most dangerous places to live?
You have the United Negro College Fund. You have Martin Luther King Day. You have Black History Month. You have Cesar Chavez Day. You have Yom Hashoah. You have Ma'uled Al-Nabi. You have the NAACP. You have BET...
If we had WET (White Entertainment Television), we'd be racists. If we had a White Pride Day, you would call us racists. If we had White History Month, we'd be racists. If we had any organisation for only whites to “advance” OUR lives, we'd be racists.
We have a Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, a Black Chamber of Commerce, and then we just have the plain Chamber of Commerce. Wonder who pays for that?
A white woman could not be in the Miss Black American pageant, but any colour can be in the Miss America pageant.
If we had a college fund that only gave white students scholarships ... You know we'd be racists.
There are over 60 openly proclaimed Black Colleges in the US, yet if there were “White Colleges” that would be a racist college.
In the Million Man March, you believed that you were marching for your race and rights. If we marched for our race and rights, you would call us racists.
You are proud to be black, brown, yellow and orange, and you're not afraid to announce it. But when we announce our white pride, you call us racists.
You rob us, carjack us, and shoot at us. But, when a white police officer shoots a black gang member or beats up a black drug dealer running from the law and posing a threat to society, you call him a racist.
I am proud ... but you call me a racist.
Why is it that only whites can be racists?
There are African Americans, Mexican Americans, Asian Americans, Arab Americans, etc. And then there are just Americans.
You pass me on the street and sneer in my direction. You call me “White boy”, “Cracker”, “Honkey”, “Whitey”, “Caveman” ... and that's okay.
But when I call you, Ni**er, Coon, Towel head, Camel Jockey, Beaner, Gook, or Chink … you call me a racist.
You say that whites commit a lot of violence against you ... so why are the ghettos the most dangerous places to live?
You have the United Negro College Fund. You have Martin Luther King Day. You have Black History Month. You have Cesar Chavez Day. You have Yom Hashoah. You have Ma'uled Al-Nabi. You have the NAACP. You have BET...
If we had WET (White Entertainment Television), we'd be racists. If we had a White Pride Day, you would call us racists. If we had White History Month, we'd be racists. If we had any organisation for only whites to “advance” OUR lives, we'd be racists.
We have a Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, a Black Chamber of Commerce, and then we just have the plain Chamber of Commerce. Wonder who pays for that?
A white woman could not be in the Miss Black American pageant, but any colour can be in the Miss America pageant.
If we had a college fund that only gave white students scholarships ... You know we'd be racists.
There are over 60 openly proclaimed Black Colleges in the US, yet if there were “White Colleges” that would be a racist college.
In the Million Man March, you believed that you were marching for your race and rights. If we marched for our race and rights, you would call us racists.
You are proud to be black, brown, yellow and orange, and you're not afraid to announce it. But when we announce our white pride, you call us racists.
You rob us, carjack us, and shoot at us. But, when a white police officer shoots a black gang member or beats up a black drug dealer running from the law and posing a threat to society, you call him a racist.
I am proud ... but you call me a racist.
Why is it that only whites can be racists?
Comments: Though this racist rant has been widely disseminated online and seems especially popular on Neo-Nazi and "white power" websites, it dates from well before Michael Richards' infamous onstage tirade against African-American audience members at the L.A. Laugh Factory on November 17, 2006. He did not write it, nor could it have constituted his "defense speech in court," given that there were no charges filed and no court trial ever took place.
ReplyDeleteIt is also at odds with Richards' stated apology after the videotaped incident, in which he said he was "deeply, deeply sorry" for shouting racial epithets at two black men who had heckled him during his performance at the comedy club.
The true author of the text is unknown.