I wasn’t going to say anything but now I can’t help it. Too many people are judging. I’m talking about Tiger: a person I have no feeling for one way or the other. I know him more from the Swiss-army watch billboards I drive by, than his golfing ability, or his role as a humanitarian and sports icon. I do know that there are many people who call him the greatest golfer of all time and I think that’s cool. Anyone who can be called the greatest anything of all time has my respect, even if I don’t know one single thing about what it is they are great at. That’s me. That’s something I believe. I also believe that public apologies are, for the most part, phony. They are somewhat necessary, I guess, but for the most part: a sham (see any of the S.C. politicians, Chris Brown, Michael J.’s doctor, for example). The apologies that matter are the ones to the person who was wronged. After that, it is the apologetic-wrongdoer's actions that people can look to (if they have nothing better to do) for proof of sincerity.
I heard, I think, most of Tiger’s apology and it struck me as not only sincere but thoughtful in a way that most apologies are not (and it was LONG). But LONGER was the deluge of criticism and judgment that came after: He sounded emotionless someone wrote it for him he’s a big baby he’s a coward he wouldn’t let his wife there he wouldn’t answer reporter’s questions mama's boy the hug with his mom was fake and for the camera. COME ON PEOPLE!! I am always surprised and amazed at how many of us think we are faultless. At how many of us have no listening skills.
Imagine: You are in the car and Tiger's apology happens to be on as you are pulling into your driveway. You sit and listen until you become so incensed at his monotone big babyishness that you leave your car, slamming the door for emphasis and march right inside to the telephone to call the station. You wait on hold for a good long while until finally the guy at the station takes your call and by now you're so worked up you just scream"HE DID NOT MEAN THAT. HIS VOICE SHOWED NO EMOTION. HE DOESN'T CARE ABOUT ANYTHING BUT HIMSELF. HE THINKS HE'S ENTITLED TO DO WHATEVER HE WANTS. HE HAS NO FEELINGS. HE NEEDS TO STRIP HIMSELF BARE AND GET WHIPPED WITH A MEDIEVAL CHAIN. Thank you, my name is Deirdre Lewis and I'm calling from Los Angeles California" and for the 45 minutes it took you to do that you forgot where you were, or who you were, or who other people think you should be, or how tired you are of following rules: just like Tiger felt while he was having sex with those strippers.
It's not fun to kick a person when they are down. Kick them, if you have to, when they are up.
I tried to watch it, but I couldn’t. Too long. I never admitted this, because I thought it was weird, but I’ve dreamt of giving a public apology since I was a child. I used to roll up my socks, set them up on my bed like people of the press and practice apologizing to them for imaginary scandals. Everything from burning down our church on a raging sugar high, to “time crimes” where I traveled through time and hampered with the efforts of evolving fish, and birds. I’m sure it’s a common thing amongst kids these days though. It’s the pinnacle of fame or at least narcissism.
ReplyDelete