I thought that Michael Richard’s racist eruption at the Laugh Factory was discomforting, but his mea culpa on The Late Show is positively unwatchable.

I’ve never been a fan of the late night couches, but Letterman had my respect for a marked willingness to break from the rapport and well-oiled ease of a guest’s shtick to keep them in check or hold them accountable (see: Pekar, O’Reilly).

So it goes that Jerry Seinfeld invited his former sitcom sidekick onto the show to give the two white men in New York and what was likely a largely white studio audience a peek into his mind. Richards denies that there was a single individual that was the focus of his rage, he sublimates the racism in his outburst, and he informs Jerry and Dave - who respond with complicit silence - that he is not a racist.

Well, I’m glad we got that one sorted out.

Richards is unable to examine the unique way he forms a reaction when his role as powerful, important entertainer is challenged by a person of color and Dave and Jerry aren’t going to make him. Sinbad was there that night and sagely suggests Richards head back up to the stage of the Apollo on Sunday: black comedy night.

But when you’re not a racist, when you just go off because a n**** has the gall to talk to his cheapass motherf****r colored friend during your act, the last place your going is a room full of them. He doesn’t hate them, they just ought to know their place. So you talk to affluent white folk on late night TV about it, hoping to garner some sympathy and support, and - surprise - you do.

I’m not shocked that the interview turned out the way it did, and I certainly wasn’t surprised to see Richards fly off in that manner, but sometimes I hope for a little more.

BONUS: And why shouldn’t we be surprised? Well, as White House Press Secretary-to-be Tony Snow told audiences in 2003, racism is just “an ugly memory” (that’s a link to a moderately hard to find video clip of the sound bite). And then there’s this fascinating (if heavy-handed) piece on the racialized other on Seinfeld. Post here, video below: