Too Many Apologies?
Thomas Sowell: "Tiger Woods doesn't owe me an apology. Nothing that he has ever done has cost me a dime nor an hour of sleep. Public apologies to people who are not owed any apology have become one of the many signs of the mushy thinking of our times.
So are apologies for things that somebody else did. When somebody who has never owned a slave apologizes for slavery to somebody who has never been a slave, then what began as mushy thinking has degenerated into theatrical absurdity-- or, worse yet, politics."
Warren Meyer: "I saw some news story that Tiger Woods was going to publicly apologize. Why? What did he do to me? I suppose he could apologize to us for letting us down by under-performing his public image, but he has taken a $100 million a year hit for the damage he did to his own image. I am willing to call things square between us."
15 Comments:
Couldn't it be said that the networks that carried the Woods' apology are the ones that really need to apologize for the wasted bandwidth?
Could it be money and future endorsements that are responsible for apologies?
Do you think?
Would you have public apologies if there were no brand image?
Doubt it.
A year or so ago, one of the news networks presented a medley of adulterers apologizing for their behaviors, with the Brenda Lee song "I'm Sorry" in the background (it may have been in response to the Eliot Spitzer apology). It was hilarious in pointing out the hypocrisy and insincerity of the apologizers. Can anyone provide a pointer to the "I'm Sorry" medley; perhaps on YouTube (where I cannot find it)? Time to add Tiger.
He might actually be sorry. The only person who would know this is the man himself.
But the public apology .. Tiger is not apologizing to me and thee. He's not even talking to us. It's not about being sorry, except in a 'I am sorry I got caught' way.
He's talking to the people who buy stuff because he endorsed it, he's talking to the companies that pay him to endorse their krep.
It's about the money, babe. Got to keep the Tiger Woods money machine rolling along.
Don't confuse Tiger Woods the person with Tiger Woods the brand. They are two completely different things. One only owes an apology to his wife and family, and the other one needs to do what his marketing handlers say to do.
When somebody who has never owned a slave apologizes for slavery to somebody who has never been a slave, then what began as mushy thinking has degenerated into theatrical absurdity ...
Now he's attacking the very foundations of the modern American academy. There are a lot of people whose jobs, grants, set asides and self-image rest upon this theatrical absurdity. Without recourse to this narrative of guilt, they are going to have to look for real, productive employment.
I want to appologize for the non-sensical comments I have made over the years.
There, I feel better.
Don't you.
The costs for Tiger Woods include the loss of respect in:
His Family.
His Profession.
His young admirers.
His business associates.
His fellow world citizens.
Outstanding anon @ 2/24/2010 10:40 AM...
Very funny and totally on target!
There are some people who are so invested in these celebrities, they do feel betrayed when their celebrity screws up. Hence, those people expect an apology. Those are the people who religiously read "People" magazine and the tabloids.
Back in the 1960s, when so many foolish ideas flourished simply because they were new, a New York Times columnist tried to make the case that we were all somehow responsible for the assassination of John F. Kennedy.
No need to go back that far to look for this. For over a year media types have been saying "we're all responsible for the housing crisis" in order to absolve those homeowners who are defaulting of any blame. It's how we end up with homeowner bailouts paid for by renters and homeowners who are paying their own mortgage.
He's a PUBLIC figure and should apologize to the PUBLIC, which includes kids for whom he has behaved horribly!
Kevin,
Tiger did not sin against the "public". Therefore, he does not need to apologize to the public.
It's impossible to be certain why Tiger "apologized" to the world. But he didn't need to for any ethical reason. Sowell is right. We live in a day where mushy thinking is the norm.
Tiger Woods apologized for the same reason you or someone else would buy a watch or car because he goes on TV and asks you to. Does Tiger Woods really know more about watches and cars than you?
The media runs wild with a story and won't let up until there's some kind of public appearance like the one Tiger gave. Quite ridiculous.
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