> Richards just hired publicist Howard Rubenstein
Wow. I guess he's got the money, from all those Seinfeld residuals. That Letterman interview was painful to watch - I had to stop halfway though; I've never seen anyone who looked so destroyed.
Doug
^^^^ CB: Actually, I ain't mad at him. I got this feeling that _maybe_ he was sort of over identifying with Black people/Gangster rappers or something. So he thought it was ok for him to use the N-word. He couldn't be _that_ racist. I mean what he said was so extreme it actually was sort of funny. And it wasn't a lie, but the truth about 50 years ago that they could have been lynched.
On the other hand, there is a backlash anger building up in lots of white people's minds, working class white people. It exploded here in Michigan with a 58% majority voting to for a constitutional (!) ban on affirmative action in the election. So, Richards is sort of reflecting/exposing a big social reality out there today, and I'm glad he let it out. They even called it "white backlash" in the 70's.
Also, with that actually existing ,hidden anti-Black racist mentality, the argument _for_ affirmative actinon is, "hey, we don't need affirmative action just because of what happened 100 years ago. We need it because racism is rampant, but quiet _today_? "
It is complex and different from racism 100 years ago, because Black people are not quite as utterly victimized as then, and there is _some_, minor Black "power" and "wealth" compared with then. There are more Black people in the "middle class" ( stat trend here). But there's a dichotomizing/polarizing , no ? (stat trend here). More Black people really poor too. Oh,here come a bunch into my office with no money.
Anyway, the false appearance of C. Rice -Colin Powell-Mayor Kilpatrick- Oprah Winfrey-sports millionaires are just what the Klan needed. And it has been the Klan who have been emphasizing anti-affirmative action for 20 years, because it's a good hook to catch white workers on, especially with economic recession in Michigan. Of course, we have permanent economic depression in Detroit proper, which is racist like a motherfucker.