Among Tiger Woods' failures was his inability to live up to standards set by others
Cult of Personality, or Master of Deceit?
"I've committed adultery in my heart many times. I've looked on a lot of women with lust," -- Jimmy Carter
Obviously, when it comes to women, had Tiger Woods mimicked the style of another man who carried the unforgiving burden of a saintly persona -- former President Jimmy Carter -- and simply committed adultery in his heart, the public reaction to Woods' "transgressions" would have been vastly less sanctimonious. Of course, we now know that the outwardly collected and seemingly well-centered Woods went ahead and tapped into his prodigious libido both before and during his marriage, an action that more closely mimicked the style of another former president -- Bill Clinton.
As a result of this revelation, occurring in this era of a web-connected universe, in the tweet of a Twitter, Woods morphed from likable living legend to lecherous lothario; from squeaky clean to creepy debaucher. In the eyes of many, it was lovable Ned Flanders who woke up next to Elin Woods this past Thanksgiving morning, and loathsome Glenn Quagmire who returned to bed alone that night.
Of course, Woods may have been able to sail through his current conundrum had he preemptively lowered expectations about his behavior by cultivating the persona of the prototypical overpaid 21st Century superstar athlete.
He could have staged a poseur's rebellion against a solid, two-parent upbringing by adopting the profile of a "new jack" golfer; a cocky, ostentatious mega-talent who swaggers -- completely blinged out-- into tournaments crew-thick, rocking gold chains, unlaced Timberlands, do-rags and sagged-out baggy jeans. Surely by now he'd have picked up a minor drug bust or two, and probably as well a reputation as a boisterous strip club rainmaker who always leaves with a hottie on each arm and concealing the obligatory unregistered 9-milli strap to compliment the designer bullet-proof vest.
The point is that for many of his high-minded critics, the fact that Woods chose the to avoid that obnoxious lifestyle and instead get married, become a provider to his family and offer a composed public profile while generally living as a law-abiding citizen, seems the primary justification for the type of harsh reaction that has emerged about Woods since the hypersexual nature of his otherwise apparently exemplary conduct was revealed this past Thanksgiving Day.
Standard deviant
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