BETAMAXNOMATES

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I suppose this is the natural, albeit thoroughly unpleasant, conclusion to 'ironic' racism: actual racist racism. Is this Michael Richards' pathetic idea of 'pushing the envelope' - calling a black man a 'nigger' to his face? Or is he just a bigoted fuckhead? What if this had been filmed as part of an episode of Extras or Curb Your Enthusiasm, and included the obligatory 'squirmy' reaction shots - would that make it acceptable? Comedy 'genius' maybe? Maybe Richards was attempting, however cack-handedly, some kind of 'social satire' on the insidious nature of racism and how we're all a bit racist really and how he's just articulating what we're all secretly thinking. Is he, like Borat, using racist language in order to make a point about racism itself? But does the fact that he's a washed-up sitcom refugee make one less inclined to embrace his 'comedy' (if, indeed, that's what it is) than if it had come from someone 'edgier' like Gervais or Baron-Cohen? Do any of these questions matter? What do you think?