I follow ‘golfgossip’ on Twitter, so I heard about Tiger Woods’ car accident almost the moment it happened. The first tweet simply described his condition as ‘serious.’
Then the tweets really hit the fan.
Next thing you know, wife Elin is standing over Tiger’s semi-conscious body holding a golf club. Then the story is they were arguing, Elin chasing his car down the driveway. The next tweet supplied the motive — a rumored affair between Tiger and a nightclub hostess.
Thanks to the Internet, Tiger’s front yard fender bender has grown like gangbusters. But in typical fashion, the Tiger camp has maintained its silence, posting only a short statement on tigerwoods.com Sunday afternoon. In it, Tiger maintains he is ‘the only person responsible for the crash’ and that ‘the many false, unfounded and malicious rumors that are currently circulating about my family and me are irresponsible.’ (Notice he didn’t say ‘untrue’…just ‘irresponsible.’)
The situation reminds me so much of the movie “The American President,” starring Michael Douglas and Annette Bening.
In this Aaron Sorkin classic, President Andrew Shepherd, a widower, gets romantically involved with Sidney Ellen Wade, a lobbyist. The press — and Shepherd’s Republican opponent for re-election — make a big issue of the relationship. But Shepherd stubbornly refuses to comment, and his approval rating spirals downward.
Only when the President openly confronts the lies and innuendo in the press does he win back the confidence of the American voting public…and the love of Sidney Ellen Wade. [I probably should have said SPOILER ALERT, but if you haven't seen this 1995 movie yet, it's kinda your own fault.]
Personally, I think Tiger Woods could learn something by popping “The American President” into the ol’ DVD player.
The night of the accident may not be the proudest in his career or personal life, but saying ‘no comment’ won’t stop the spread of hurtful rumors that have already begun. When you’re a sports legend like Tiger Woods, there will always be people eager to jump on any opportunity to knock you down.
So say something, Tiger. Hiding from the police and the press does not hold up to your past behavior or your future success.
I object
Why do I have to be wrong for you to be right?
I’ll tell you why. At our core, we are all judgers. That’s judgers, judgers, judgers.
From the first moment we see someone — whether in person, in a photo, or in a Youtube video — we dissect their looks, voice, dress and actions, and in a matter of seconds, decide whether they are worthy of our time.
It’s a wonder we have any friends at all.
Now, obviously, there are some people who pass our test. The men featured in the 2009 Sexiest Man Alive issue of People magazine were judged exceptionally attractive by a national panel of editors. There has also been an obsessive frenzy surrounding the stars of the “Twilight” movie franchise. Those actors have been judged worthy of their fans’ time, attention and somewhat scary mania.
But probably most fascinating to me is how quick people are to judge other people who like something that they don’t.
The “Twilight” movies are a great example. The fans of this franchise have been practically demonized by those who haven’t read the books or seen the movies. The Comments page of this week’s New York magazine was brutal. One reader said of the Twilight moms: “Their poor children, and their poor husbands! I wish they’d get some perspective and see how sad they really look.”
Wow. There’s some judging going on there.
Why can’t people just be different? Or think differently? Or, god forbid, like different things?
Why do they have to be inherently wrong?
We say ‘live and let live,’ but as a society, we don’t practice what we preach. What we really mean to say is, ‘let me live the way I want, and you live my way, too…’cause if you live or think differently or enjoy different things, that’s wrong.’
Now, “Twilight” isn’t the most important issue in the world — believe me, I know. But it’s also not the most deadly, god-awful, dangerous book ever written. Teenage girls and their families are exposed to more controversial things on episodes of “Gossip Girl” — can you say three-way? — so I find it interesting that people are trash-talking a very old-fashioned romance with vampires.
If you don’t like the series, that’s fine. That’s your choice. But other people liking it isn’t wrong…it’s simply their choice.
So, stop your judging. That’s right. I’m looking at you. Judger.
That’s judger, judger, judger.
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Posted in Books & Mags, Humor, Internet, Movies, Television
Tagged books, judges, judging, magazines, movie vampires, Movies, New York magazine, New York magazine Comments, People magazine, People's Sexiest Man Alive, Television, Twilight movie, Twilight Saga: New Moon, vampires, Youtube