I agree, in fact I said that Richards was 'spewing garbage.' I cannot see how that would be considered excusatory of Richards' comments.
My problem is this: Racism is too often solely attributed to white people in this country. Over and over, African-Americans are given a pass when it comes to their racist comments. There has been more attention given to the Gibson and Richards actions individually than was given to the comments of Jackson, Sharpton, Louis Farrakhan, Kanye West et al. cumulatively. Why were Trent Lott and George Allen crucified for their comments (which were benign) and those mentioned above were left alone? My feeling is it is because many people think that only white people can be racists and African-Americans are incapable of racism. That, in itself, is racist.
I would agree. Larry Elder discusses some of these themes in "The Ten Things You Can't Say in America." It's a pretty good read.