I paralleled this, in my wacky little brain, with the whole taser/cop/student thing.
How far is too far? If you are at a comedy show, heckling, you expect the comedian to react...that is your goal. Did Richards OVERREACT? Absolutely, just as Taser Cop did...only Richards did it with words.
I hate that word. I can't bring myself to say that word. And I am of the belief that a word is just a word. Whoever decided that the combination f-u-c-k was obscene, whereas fornicate is not? It is the underlying meaning behind the word that makes it obscene; it is culture which dictates "good" and "bad" words.
I'm not condoning what Mr Richards did, I condemn those actions. But do I condemn him as a full blown all-out skin-headed racist? No.
I couldn't listen to all of it very well, but I'm glad someone pointed out that he was being called a white boy. How is that any different? Just words, again, but the meaning was clear, the attitude was coercive. There's just not a word that is viewed with the disdain the "n" word gets; honkey doesn't really come close.
Perhaps they should have been tasered?
Perhaps Richards should have been tasered?