Where Pigs Feed

Michael Richards.

Mel Gibson.

It's all been talked out and analyzed half to death, really. Problem is, nobody has told you why they really did what they did.

I'm here today to rectify that.

What has been said?

That's what they really believe.

It's who they really are.

They're just dirty racists who've finally gotten caught.

It was in there, just waiting to come out.

Finally! Got one right. Damn right it was in there, you know why?

Because it's in all of us. You see, the rant isn't really about racism. It's about verbal warfare. It's about humiliation and anger.

When a person goes into verbal battle, they are no longer looking for dialogue. They are looking to psychologically wound and damage.

If the combatants know each other well, there will be an entire arsenal available to them. We open up to those we care about and in that trust we expose ourselves and all of our faults. These become weaponry when the conversation ends and the battle begins.

When it begins, we look for the closest weapon at hand, preferably the one that will hurt the most. Then we wail away.

But what about when you don't know someone? What if you get into a verbal battle (one that you should never put yourself in, but hey, there you are) and you look for a weapon. You don't know that person at all, except by what you can see.

The weapon at hand.

If the person has huge ears, you'll call them fuckin' dumbo and tell them to get out of your face.

If the person is rotund, you'll call them a fat fuck and tell them to shove it.

If the person has a big nose, you might go for a stereotype...

If the person is black...

You go for the first thing that you know will hurt.

Whoa, just for a second. I don't condone it. There is no excuse for using racist language, especially as a weapon in verbal warfare. None. I cannot condone what Michael Richards did. He should be apologizing, and all over the place.

Then when it's done, it's done. Maybe he does need some anger management counseling. I can think of a lot of people who could use a little of that.

I would be one of them.

What is bothering me about this whole episode is the hypocritical, self-righteous whinging from the likes of Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, and the other self-appointed spokespeople for the great black community in America.

Michael was a guest on Jesse's radio show. Regarding the interview, Jesse remarked that, "...Richards's rant [was] "hate speech" as well as "sick" and "deep-seated."

Sick and deep seated? Here's what Michael said: the tirade was "fueled by anger, not bigotry."

He is telling the exact truth. You see, nobody is immune from some level of racial prejudice. We all view people in light of their appearance, whatever that may be. A black man is a black man in a white man's eyes, and vice versa. That is the first thing noticed in casual interracial contact. Doubtless somebody will comment here and deny it, but it's so much horsecrap to do so.

If Michael's rant was "sick" and "deep-seated," what does that make Jesse's "Hymietown" comment?

Jesse gave an interview following his with Michael, and commented that Mr. Richards needed to go away somewhere to "get well." Perhaps Jesse could recommend the place he went to to get well after the Hymietown fiasco.

Michael and Mel ought to be taken to task for their comments. Someone needs to simply say to them, publicly and loud, "Dudes, you guys acted like DICKS!"

Then they need to apologize. Then we (collective, all 300 million of every race and kind we) need to get OVER it.

They aren't racists. They are poor fighters and they are weak human beings. How dare any one of these people presume that they would never stoop to such a tirade. Face the humiliation first, then come back and tell me how you fared.

After all, look how Jesse "Hymietown" Jackson fared.

Peace out.