I thought I'd name this post "In Defense Of Michael Richards" to garner some attention and to juxtapose some thoughts that would kind of defend him personally while at the same time accounting for the gravity of the words he used during a rant at The Laugh Factory last week.

However, I don't really have a defense for his actions although it's in my nature to defend whoever is in society's crosshairs.

Best I could tell from the video, somebody in the audience was doing something during Richards' routine, such as talking or heckling. I don't know that we know for sure what the folks in the audience were doing.

Richards took exception to it and went nuts. I'm not going to even link to the video or review what he said -- not because I condone suppressing any form of speech but because my thoughts on the matter go way beyond the words Richards used.

Kramer (and I think that's how most of us know him) faces a different situation than Mel Gibson. See, Gibson has power because his films are both critically acclaimed and widely watched. On the other hand, Richards was never able to capitalize on the biggest sitcom of a generation, "Seinfeld."

I hope I'm wrong, but I think it's quite possible Richards is turning into Bob Denver. Denver became a bitter, bitter old man after he was unable to capitalize on the success of Gilligan's Island.

My point about all this is two-fold:

First, in Richards' apology that he gave on Monday night's Late Show with David Letterman, he noted that his comedic routines often revolve around free association. Truth is, modern comedy is often centered around humor that is in bad taste socially without it being this random.

White comics, black comics, Hispanic comics all utilize race as a part of their routines. Some of it is damned funny. Some of it is true, and a lot of it falls into a category I'd call unnecessary. For example (and it's merely one of many examples), comedy where the black comedienne stands up and talks about the general worthlessness of the "black man," while it might speak to the core audience attending a show, is just as offensive to me as Richards' tirade this weekend.

To me, there is no "pass" for using racist concepts in a public environment that makes it any less offensive when one group uses it over another. On the other hand, I don't know jack about comedy, so I don't profess to understand their craft, the history of their art -- although I'll admit to loving some profane comedy.

I likes it when they work blue. Cussing, to me, is funny. Rudeness can be funny.

Richards went too far because his "free association," in this instance was mean.

Now, that leads us into a discussion of the comedian/enne who uses race as something that speaks toward larger concepts. Or sex. I always thought "Dice" could have been that type of guy by utilizing his silly character to show how stupid it was to hold centuries-old sexist ideals.

But, Andrew Clay was never terribly cerebral.

Lenny Bruce, definitely. Richard Pryor, definitely.

Dice --- uh, no.

What's at work here though is one person's reaction to another person. What happened here is that Richards subconsciously let out a giant ball of hate against some other dude who deigned to interrupt his routine, probably by talking to his wife or his buddy.

I know it sounds like some Zig Ziglar inspirational, motivational palaver, but it's true: Each of us chooses how to react to the next person.

I could cite to you instances in which I've held racist thoughts and probably acted in a racist manner toward somebody else. We're human, and we live in a society that constructed us the way we are. On the other hand, I could also cite some very specific instances in which the same was done to me.

What we can hope for as individuals is to approach our relationships with other people, our conversations with other people, whatever interaction we might have with other humans with respect. Go into a situation respecting the voice and the opinion of the other person -- whether you really do or not -- and you will win that relationship.

I should note: I fail at this about half the time.

However, I always try to take note of that habit while under stressful circumstances so that I don't unnecessarily lash out at somebody else just for being within the sound of my voice. THAT is what I suspect happened here with Richards.

While nothing that those audience members might have done was worth Richards' tirade, I promise you that human nature dictates that he was probably an emotional time-bomb going into his routine that night. The real crime, from a comedic perspective, is that he was unable to handle his hecklers better.

From what little I do know about comedy, THAT is an art unto itself.