Wil's Rant

By this point everyone knows about Mike's racist tirade following heckling he took during a recent stand-up routine. A lot has come out about it including Richards' own statement to the effect that he is not a racist. I don't know the extent of his racism but I can say that I doubt he is not a racist. Fact is, I doubt that there are very many people at all who are not racists in one form or another. The reason is simple, we are all the result of how we have lived and are raised. Racism takes many forms. Some are much more severe and damaging than others. The kind of more moderate racism is simply a matter of the acceptance of stereotypes that we are exposed to through culture and media. Many of these stereotypes take the form of humorous routines by stand-ups themselves. All have an effect. We all recognize the more serious types which may involve physical attacks or other forms of persecution. Many of us fail to recognize the more moderate. It is for this reason that there are so few of us who can factually state that they are not guilty of racism in any form or degree. It is also for this reason that we all must constantly look at our stereotypes and ideas and seek out their sources and question their validity. When we can interact with peoples of all races and colors without any preconceived ideas about their quality of personality, only then will we be truly free of racism. Our society is still a long way from that point.