Social liberalism at the Washington Post extends all the way into the Sports section. Just as sports columnist Sally Jenkins defended the ‘sweetly baked" Michael Phelps, on Thursday Tracee Hamilton told Tiger Woods critics to just shut up:
You're upset about the Tiger Woods scandal, and I'm here to tell you whom to blame for that: Yourself.
Get over it. Seriously. I can't stand the piteous mewling of America when confronted with infidelity among the rich and famous and athletically gifted. How can anyone, in 2009, still be surprised by this type of a behavior?
If you were looking for Tiger Woods to be your mentor, your life coach, your investment banker and the shining light by which you live your life, then boy, were you kidding yourself. Do not look to celebrities for your value system. To paraphrase: Sycophant, heal thyself.
It would be fair to suggest that it might be naive to assume that a sports figure as famous as Tiger Woods would sidestep the parade of potential mistresses that would come his way. But Hamilton goes much further than that in suggesting we should all shut up about Tiger's poor behavior -- like suggesting we should only blame ourselves for being upset over it, and assuming that if we disapprove, we must be pathetic Tiger sycophants. It goes on:
You say that you can't cheer for someone at, say, the Masters after you've learned he cheated on his wife. Really? That's the yardstick you use? Then one assumes that you've cut everyone out of your life who has ever cheated on his or her spouse, right? Your co-workers, your friends, your siblings, your children, even your own parents? No?
Okay, then you're telling me you hold a guy you've never met, whose chief role in your life is essentially that of genial salesman, to a higher standard than the people closest to you, the people you trust with your heart, your children, your secrets, your work.
(And even if you've never experienced infidelity -- or committed it -- firsthand, don't for a minute tell me you've never known anyone who cheated on someone else. That's almost statistically impossible. Either you don't know enough people, or you're kidding yourself. The divorce rate in this country speaks for itself.)
Why is it so easy to forgive friends and family their indiscretions, and so difficult to forgive a total stranger whose acts of betrayal literally have no effect on you? I would posit that the problem is yours, not Woods's. That's not to say he doesn't have problems. He's got plenty. But your offended outrage is not one of them.
He hasn't changed; he hasn't let you down. You didn't know him. You still don't. This is true of most celebrities: We see what they want us to see. We make judgments based on sound bites and talk show interviews. This is perfectly normal; just don't get your moral panties in a bunch when you find out you made a bad call. Admit you were wrong and move on; don't be a hypocrite.
Hamilton's just making wild assumptions here. How on Earth would she know whether Tiger's critics have easily accepted adultery from their friends and family members? Isn't it possible they would be critical of adultery wherever it surfaces?
