When the whole media apocalypse first descended on Tiger Woods' family after the silly Thanksgiving car accident, it was hard for me to understand how any of the subsequent speculation about (later confirmed) extra-marital affairs had anything to do with information. It did make for lowly entertainment news, appealed to the vilest gossipy bone we all have and should have stayed confined to that muddy territory. Having the low-standard news outlets demand for the golfer's explanations and their exigence for Woods and wife Elin Nordegren to speak out [or else...] was offensive enough. It was even more disappointing to be hammered by the news agencies boasting a far more noble journalistic integrity, you know those you would most likely count on to put out quality information over trifles?
The media backlash caused by the famous couple's silence seems to me like the biggest insult to our intelligence. It seems to be taunting a message to the Woods that would read like this:
"Look at what we're able to dig! We can get all these porn actresses to expose your sex life! That should teach you and serve you right for refusing to dish out on those conjugal problems when we gave you the chance!"
So is that the fury the media will unleash at public figures for bending some of the rules and refusing to divulge things that they deem private?
Immediately after news of the Thanksgiving crash broke, there was this sense of entitlement from the media that Tiger Woods and his family should speak out beyond what was requested from the County's Sheriff to close a case of damage to public property. Reading through the comment section of popular blogs (yahoo, huffington post, gawker) I was somewhat relieved to see that Americans of all ages, were not that concerned about getting further info of that gossipy nature. The majority of the comments seemed to agree that what Tiger Woods and his wife were dealing with should just remain between the two of them to sort out. Others pointed out that the admiration one could have for the golfer's sportsmanship had to do with his exceptional skills on the greens.
Should we be dubious and uncomfortable at lessons doled out by tabloids about taking down celebrities who don't live up to some righteous role-model responsibility?
Absolutely!
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