Racism: Let the dialogue continue

Comedians often use racism or rascist remarks to make larger comedic and satirical statements that reflect our current society. By now we are almost immune to black comedians who use the n-word, and Jewish comedians who use self-effacing humor to make a point about their culture.

Now the comedian Michael Richards of Seinfeld fame has given us new fodder to discuss the problem of racism in our country and world. The video of Richards' performance where he goes off on some black members of the audience who are heckling him is difficult to watch. His outburst of racial epithets is so disgusting that people are booing him and walking out. It is definitely a low point in Richards' career. It has also been the titilating highlight of Google headlines for weeks.

While this is not an example of a comic behaving well, it is a good place to start talking about racism, racial epithets, and the power of words to hurt. Some may be of the opinion that such things should not be discussed in hopes of promoting a color blind society where race is of no matter. But the reality is that we live in a racist world and a world where others are judged by how they look, dress, and behave. It all needs to be discussed and questioned so that we can conquer racism through education, reflection, and a meaningful dialogue.

Jesse Jackson has suggested that we eliminate the n-word from our vocabulary but perhaps we should consider the strategy of Dick Gregory, the successful African American diet magnate and social satirist, who entitled his biography Nigger in an attempt to take the sting out of the word. He wrote to his mother, "Whenever you hear the word 'Nigger', you'll know they're advertising my book."

While the words of racism are painful the actions of racism are even more so. While only 13 percent of the United States is African American, 50 percent of the prison population is black.

Eliminating racial epithets will not eradicate racism. Only a frank, open dialogue that confesses all of our prejudices and seeks new answers will further racial tolerance and unity. Perhaps the outburst of a heckled comic could be the beginning of a more meaningful dialogue about the nature of racism.

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