Tiger's Travails: It's Still the Same Old Story

Dear Judy,

I don't disagree (necessarily) with your post, but I think you may be taking Tiger's tacky travails too seriously. Not that I'm endorsing adultery, but I think that for famous, wealthy men, it's become part of the shtick, almost de rigueur, accompanied by a solemn (and sullen) victimized wife, and followed by a deeply felt apology and tabloid covers galore.

By now, we the public are so jaded by the drama that we are not shocked by the transgression but are still titillated by lurid tales of adultery, almost always with shady females. We don't believe the apology, but we forgive anyway if he's famous and wealthy and handsome enough. We don't expect the humiliated wife to pack up and go, but cheer her on to do so, especially for the kids. And we gobble up the tabloid stories (tabloid journalism these days includes just about all the media, old and new).

I don't feel sorry for Tiger. He had to know if he played in trash, he'd get dirty. What did he expect? He will come off tainted and embarrassed, his image bruised, but hardly a figure of pity. That he seemed squeaky clean was not the big draw. We admired his golf -- we didn't worship his morals.

Was anyone really surprised that he was fooling around?

Come on!