TheBanyanTree: I'm Sorry

[Monique Colver]

Celebrities aren't allowed to have private lives, it goes against the
American love of drama. Americans love celebrity so much that there are
celebrities who gained their celebrity by no other method than becoming a
"celebrity." Woods at least has a reason for his celebrity -- apparently
he's a pretty good golf player. You and I don't care what these celebrities
do, or who they apologize to, but a large percentage of Americans care
deeply. They consider sports celebrities role models, and I'm not suggesting
it's either appropriate or right, but it is what it is. Woods let down his
fans, his sponsors, and the golf industry, which is pretty big to some
people. Those are the people he was apologizing to, not you or me. Those
people do think he's important -- he's known worldwide.

I'm all in favor of public apologies. If Woods can apologize publicly for
the pain he's caused his family, others who have cheated might see that
making amends for the pain they've caused is a necessary part of growing up
and accepting responsibility. The fact is, many people cheat on their
spouses, and then use every excuse imaginable to justify it. The average
spouse-in-the-street who has cheated and is trying to make amends doesn't
need to go on television and apologize to the world because, frankly, no one
cares. But in order to make amends he or she does need to be open and
transparent, and part of transparency is opening his or her life to
examination to someone.

When the scandal first broke and there was talk of Woods' wife physically
abusing him women everywhere were cheering her on, as if physical abuse is
excusable if one (a woman, particularly) has a good reason for it. If the
situation were reversed there wouldn't have been such talk, would there? Not
likely. I found this appalling. Why are we so quick to reward behavior that
we would condemn if the situation were reversed? Woods publicly denied this
happened, and I'll take his word for it.

Celebrities pay a price for being a celebrity, and part of that price is
giving up a private life. If they're going to get the big bucks, it's going
to come with a price because everything in life has a price. Making an ass
of oneself and then publicly apologizing is just part of celebrity. At least
he did it, and he didn't deny that he was the one with the problem. And like
it or  not, he's one of the biggest celebrities around.

I like the idea of kids seeing a public figure apologize publicly. It's a
nice change from seeing behavior justified by any means whatsoever.

Monique

On Sun, Feb 21, 2010 at 11:47 AM, Julie Anna Teague <jateague at indiana.edu>wrote:

> Quoting "Margaret R. Kramer" <margaretkramer at comcast.net>:
>
>  I couldn’t figure out why the networks carried Tiger Woods’ apology
>> yesterday.  He’s not the President of the United States, he’s a pro
>> golfer.
>> He’s done what some men have done before him, cheated on his wife.  Yes,
>> he’s famous and rich, but why the TV apology?  The only person he needs to
>> apologize to is his wife, and how he does it and whether or not she
>> accepts
>> it is none of my business.
>>
>
> Those were my exact words just yesterday.  I don't care if he's sorry.  He
> doesn't need to apologize to me.  He needs to apologize to his wife and his
> kids, in private.  I was talking about this big event, not because I cared,
> but because my 16 year old son came home from school on Friday and said
> they'd got their work done early in Chemistry class, so the teacher had let
> them watch the Tiger Wood's apology.  I said, "You're joking, right?"  Nope,
> they really watched it, and he'd thought it had been newsworthy and
> important.  He could not understand why I thought it was "totally
> inappropriate", because, as son number two told me, it's not like high
> schoolers don't know about sex and what Tiger Woods did.  I assured him that
> that was not the problem, that the whole thing just made me sick because
> it's a private matter.  And with my son's school having just missed four
> days due to snow in the last two weeks, and having had to announce this week
> that they are eliminating school librarians, art and music programs, the
> Bradford Woods outdoor experience program, and slashing teachers due to
> budget cuts, surely, SURELY, they could spend the time they do have doing
> something more constructive than watching some ass who has made a fool of
> himself and his wife with a bunch of basically high paid call girls
> apologize to the American people as if we think he's important.  And worse,
> at the bottom of it, is most likely the desire to rebuild his very lucrative
> public image.
>
> Oh, did I say all that.  Oh my.  I sort of blacked out there for a minute.
>  Bless my heart. ;)
>
> Julie
>
>


-- 
Monique Colver