Yet More Ado

Well, things are just getting silly now.

Take a look at this link.

Seems now, after a career suicide racist rant, Michael Richards' publicist says the comic is Jewish. It's a good thing he is, because . . .

Last week, crisis-management expert Howard Rubenstein acknowledged that Richards had shouted anti-Semitic remarks in an April standup comedy routine . . .

Before you start think there's a pattern in Richards' behavior developing here, you can rest easy knowing that Rubenstein . . .

. . . defended Richards' language about Jews, saying that the comic "is Jewish. He's not anti-Semitic at all. He was role-playing.

Whew! That was a close call for old Kramer, right?

But wait . . . Stop the presses!

Turns out, Richards wasn't born of Jewish blood. Not only that, but he has not converted to Judaism, and neither of his parents are Jewish.

So can he really be Jewish?

Apparently, Richards was raised by two mentors who had a big influence on his life, and they were Jewish. And he agrees with the doctrines of Judaism, so he considers himself Jewish.

Now, I personally have no problem with this version of conversion, or acceptance, or whatever you want to call it. If you go through an actual conversion, what are you really doing other than saying "I agree with the doctrines and beliefs" anyway. There's a just a formal ceremony and cake afterward. But what I find most interesting is this quote:

"You can't feel Jewish. It's not a matter of feeling. You can convert to Judaism. You can't not convert to Judaism and then be Jewish," said Rabbi Marvin Hier, founder and dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles.

So a little over a week ago, we had blacks, who were offended by Richards' racist remarks, wanting to start the healing by bridging the gap between races. And now we have Jews, who were offended by Richards' racist remarks, insisting on keeping Judaism an exclusive club.

Richards just can't win. And the philosophies of the leaders of the groups he offends are too scattered for us to take them seriously or even care.

Ah, the grand dance of life. Never a dull moment.