Political Correctness Takes Hold of the Michael Richards Scandal

The Michael Richards scandal has certainly sparked a nationwide ruckus - not to mention a widespread acrimonious debate - over the use of the N-word, a politically-correct euphemism for "nigger," the infamous pejorative viewed by many in the black communities as both a term of endearment and familiarity and a racial epithet. The former applies to many blacks - especially those in the inner-city neighborhoods (i.e. ghettos) and who have a reverence for hip hop music - who use the term in the context of "dude" or "bro." The latter, however, applies to many whites who are historically viewed using the term in a racist and prejudiced manner. Moreover, critics of political correctness - including those who lambaste blacks for praising their ilk for using the slur while excoriating whites for employing the word in a racially demeaning context - have legitimately derided the politically-correct collectivists for utilizing the word (in the form of "nigga") as a double standard.

But that's not really the point (although it is a valid one nonetheless). The point is whether Richards, who played the wacky, zany Cosmo Kramer on Seinfeld, NBC's hit show about nothing, allegedly launched into a "racist tirade" against a party of black hecklers who deliberately and rudely interrupted Richards' comedy act - a disruption that paved the way for the comic to spew his outbursts at the two black men responsible for instigating the incident. How are they responsible, you ask? In order to ascertain whether they are responsible for this incident, let's review how and what ignited this uproar from the get-go.