On the John: My buddy the racist

On the John
My buddy the racist
Originally completed August 17, 2009

Last Tuesday night, at 10:20, I received a text from one of my oldest and dearest. This friend—we’ll call him “Davis”—is a poet and an MC, and would be performing a few minutes of a cappella verses at an open mic in Lakeview just before the 11 o’clock hour. It had been a long day’s work and I was planning to just head home, so when he texted I shook off the tired, changed my shirt, hopped in the car.

From November 28, 2006: Michael Richards is a racist son of a bitch, or something

On the John

Michael Richards is a racist son of a bitch, or something

Originally completed November 28, 2006

Jesse Jackson and Michael Richards.

I do not know Michael Richards.

As far as I know, Kyle Doss and Frank McBride don’t know Michael Richards. Nor do Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson.

It’s more than likely that you don’t know Michael Richards either.

Because of that, it will be rather difficult for any of us to draw a definitive conclusion as to the full nature of Michael Richards and what he truly believes about black people. How can we know? How can we ever know? The tirade or the apology? What to believe?

Perhaps both?