Seinfeld Poll - most despicable main character?

Whoops, my bad. I'll address it correctly, now.

The short answer: yes. The long answer: it's complicated.

If Richards still made it personal first in your example, and if he were gay, it's possible the guys would have merely been trying to hurt him back as a reaction. It still wouldn't be right of them, but it would a bit more understandable. But by all logic, if Richards were gay, he wouldn't be spouting off racial slurs of any kind, because he himself would already be part of one of a minory and most likely knows how it feels. It would stop him, perhaps. But let's say that did happen . . . even if it would have been as a reaction, anybody who calls someone else a name based on that person's ethnicity, sexual orientation, mental defect, etc. is being a bigot. Of course, they could be joking, but in this situation, they wouldn't be, clearly. 

In the actual case with Richards, it's not complicated at all. We know all the variables and we know exactly what was said and for what reason. Richards was being heckled, so he decided to say something racist and cruel-hearted in return. Apparently he thought that was the appropriate, even-handed response. The first thing he jumped on was the color of their skin, which as far as I can see has nothing to do with how they were behaving. Had they been white hecklers, Richards probably would have still gotten angry, but he would have called them 'idiots' or some other name that is non-race-specific. Why? Because he is white, too. It is painfully clear that Richards said what he did because he is white, and they were black. Their heckling no longer became the issue, and he made it about race. He did. Not them. Why should I assume anything other than what is glaring obvious about this man?

That's all I'm saying. He's  a funny guy, but he did something very disgusting in my eyes. But you know what? He has the right to say or think whatever he wants about what any type of people he wants. And I'll support his right to say racist things, no matter how hurtful they might be. Because they ARE just words, not actions. It's also The Laugh Factory's right to keep him from coming back there if they want. And I think they are right for doing so.