Tiger, back to the woods

To err is human. So, why such an outrageous hue and cry when the human who errs (or is it an error at all?) is Tiger Woods. Primarily, because he had been given a pedestal of ‘Superhuman’ by the very media, who now attacks him.

Just because Tiger Woods is a golfer of the highest order, does not mean he has to be a paragon of morality as well. Moreover, how do we set a scale for such a morality? Why should a sports person, who has been much of a responsible fellow at his game, be back lashed so vehemently when he demonstrated irresponsibility (according to the ‘traditional’ pundits of morality) in his personal life.

I just fail to understand why are people so thrilled (excited, may be the right word) with he being possibly having affair(s) with someone outside his marriage. He is just like one of us, free to make whatever choices which may or may-not turn up perfectly.

If we go into the books of psychology, it has been convincingly proved that the human species is polygamous in nature. So why wouldn’t Tiger Woods, surrounded by a huge tirade of women for obvious reasons, be left to himself, when he shows this polygamous side of his. Oh, yes I remember, he is (has to be) the superhuman.

People should know him for the great golfer that he is and how he had changed the way the world has perceived the game. They should (ideally) be least interested in all-the-unfaithful-ness in his personal life until he remains faithful to his game.

I am not saying what Tiger Woods did is right but it isn’t wrong either, it is a part of “who” he is and I can’t (and neither can you), be a judge. All I’ m saying is that such a lavish public crucifixion of his is totally uncalled for.

Once again, it reflects the compulsive nature of the public to thrive on gossip about which they may know nothing and which, certainly pricks the target in a way that they can’t even begin to understand.

This compulsion is more serious than it meets the eye. It’s synonymous with an infection which catches the fancy of this consumerist world. The provider is no other but our “informed” media. I wouldn’t go into how-media-buffed-up again, (because that is their job after all, to buff-err up things), it’s we who are at fault as we would rather turn up to the sports page (first thing in the morning), instead of turning that geyser off (global warming is lesser news today, dude!)

The damage however has been done now. The way he had been ripped to shreds highlights the destructive power of paparazzi culture in our society. His fall from grace also has a significant effect on the racial politics in America. Tiger Woods who was once seen as ‘black hope’ to a sport largely dominated by the white race, has undone (as projected by the media) his efforts for the formation of a racially integrated society.

Media, then, is no different from the so-rampantly-criticised soap operas, as it successfully provides a drama to our boring lives. The tiger has been forced to go back to the woods from which he had emerged with such a struggle.