Tiger Tiger

I have been thinking about this whole 'Tiger Woods' thing and watching the machinery of the 24 hour news cycle begin to rev up it's engines to full speed. It seems that anyone who is rich and famous and especially professional athletes are the perfect fuel to feed this ravenous beast. Lets all take a step back so we can view this whole thing from a proper perspective.

Before it was reported that a voice mail message was out basically confirming an affair, I was quite happy about the way Tiger was handling his recent car crash. Three times he refused the over-reaction and dog and pony show the police had planned for him. Any other 'regular' person would not be subjected to that kind of police investigatory overkill. I bet everyone in the local police station from the chief on down wanted his own piece of Tiger's hide, not because he did something so terrible but because of who he was. They wanted to attach themselves to this story so they could take a piece of his fame for himself.

I admired him for refusing to play to the cameras and keep the incident private. He has a right to that. He does not have anymore and especially any LESS rights than your average Joe. He plays golf. He is a human being and none of us know what was going on inside his family and in his marriage. If anything this seemed atypical for someone whose image was always squeaky clean. He always brought credit to himself and his sport and was and still is a great role model for children to look up to. He has clearly been hurt and humbled by all this and seems serious in his apology to his family for all the hurt he caused them. He stood up like a man and made himself accountable. There are many people out there who never take personal responsibility for the bad they have done. They hide behind lies to justify their evil and are disingenuous about why they are doing the things they are doing. Just look at the health care debate in the US. Politicians are quite willing to take insurance company money to do what is best for the bottom line and their own political futures but can not and will not do what is best for the people of America who they are suppose to be representing.

Ever since he was young (and I can remember him drilling drives when he was 2 or 3 on the show 'That's Incredible') he has been groomed to play the game of golf. From an early age, everyone wanted their piece of his talent. Everyone wanted to get rich from riding his coattails. That goes for the PGA and the corporate sponsors. It is totally understandable that he would want to protect his privacy at this moment. The pressure of having to be the best all the time and fulfilling every one's expectations of him must have been a nightmare. It makes me crazy to hear the negative press he is getting. He doesn't owe anyone anything but maybe we owe him something.

He has long ago earned my respect for the individual he is and I for one will not see him thrown to the wolves and have his life destroyed. He got into a car accident, he may or may not of been having an affair I could go into the many legitimate reasons why men cheat but it would only spark anger from the 'no tolerance' crowd of hypocrites who all have an opinion when the cameras are pointed at them. It seems to be perfectly acceptable for politicians to lie and commit crimes with impunity and they never get punished. Take President Bush and Dick Chaney for example. They started two wars and sent young men and women to die based on lies. They illegally approved torture and they have blood on their hands. Will they ever be made accountable for their actions? Of course not. However, again, because Tiger got into a car accident after a fight with his wife he deserves to have his whole life destroyed. Where is the justice in that? He should pay his fine, lose points on his licence and be left alone to work things out with his wife without everyone having an opinion about what is the right thing to do.

Mind your own business and stop pointing your accusing fingers at Tiger. The media needs to use its soap box to hold those in power accountable but that hasn't happened since Watergate. The line between legitimate news and tabloid is so blurred right now and stories like these serve no purpose, teach no lessons, or advance the cause of civilization one bit. Stop trying to distract us with your 'bread and circuses' and start to do your job. I am tired of it and I bet I am not alone out there.