Tiger Woods’ Fall from Grace: Only in America – Rue 89, France
Dec 22nd, 2009 | 25 responses
With news of the adultery of Tiger Woods, American Puritanism is once again a topic of conversation in Europe. To the average European, his fall from grace is as Shakespearean as it is American.
For France’s Rue 89, Pierre Haski writes in part:
“There is certainly something very American about this psychodrama, in which a private matter brings down from his pedestal an icon who, nonetheless, has done nothing to discredit himself in the domain that made him famous: golf. In just a single blow, a lie to his wife becomes a lie to all of his fans, his public, and his worshipers, who are no longer willing to tolerate the slightest flaw in the perfect statue that had been shaped by the communicators, by the sponsors, by the media.”
“Americans are fascinated by the ease with which, on this side of the Atlantic, we so easily close our eyes to accommodations with established morality – from the ‘two wives’ of Francois Mitterand, both present at his funeral, to the adulterous affairs of the current president. … If Tiger Woods had been a Frenchman, he would have made the headlines of Voici, but would probably not have suspended his golfing career.”
By Pierre Haski*
Translated By Mary Kenney
December 13, 2009
France – Rue 89 – Original Article (French)
It is the fall of an icon, and, more surprising to the French side of the Atlantic, the end of an immense sporting career because of conjugal infidelities (with a capital “I”). It’s Tiger Woods, the ideal Black-American son-in-law before the sudden emergence of Barack Obama, the greatest professional golfer in history and also the richest (he’s the first billionaire in sport, according to Forbes Magazine), who has announced that he’s suspending his career indefinitely, after a cascade of revelations about his personal life.
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25 Responses to “Tiger Woods’ Fall from Grace: Only in America – Rue 89, France”
In racist France, Tiger Woods would probably not be a celebrity at all.
The man was .. anything that moved. Like it or not, it's a story.
Americans at least have some belief that marriage vows mean something.
Mr. Haski wrote : Americans are fascinated by the ease with which ….. on the other side of the Atlantic …
He should have written 'disgusted', and with 'on the other side of the Atlantic' he must have meant France, for there's not as much sympathy for immoral behavior in the rest of Europe as there is tolerance in France for naked first ladies and boy-sex-crazy members of the government. It seems to me that Mr. Haski enjoys throwing trivial tabloid comments on the internet and considers himself important enough to cast judgement upon the whole world.
Maybe Mr. Haski cares to explain why the talented French swimmer Manaudou quit her career.
Could it have been because of the porn-pictures posted on the internet?
Is this more US-bashing and US-envy and -resentment, classic Euro-trash stuff? Is it just decadence? Is it a combination of both on the older, inform (including morally?) side of the Atlantic?
Don't despair. You and Tiger can always find a new, different, suitable kind of home in Hollywood.
Why not make it a threesome, with Roman Polanski, whose critics were also the object of anger and derision?
[The man was f**king anything that moved. Like it or not, it's a story]–
Irrelevant. Had he f**ked nobody, his marriage problem would have still been “a story”.
How many he f**ked is always irrelevant…….unless he had been a woman. Then it would be relevant to the story. Or if he'd been f**ked by a priest or a goat, then we would really be talking.
It is this resistance to reality, Freud wrote, that is the downfall of man. The problem is we need magic – all of us do. The magic of beauty, grace, near-invincible athletic power combined with an exciting life such as Tiger has — we all must have some of that even if it is illusory. At moments like these, with the pain of deeply wounded feelings stark and clear, a marriage on the rocks, we will be tempted to conclude that despite our strong wish for something more, “reality” may be our very best friend.
http://www.topnflnews.com/
In France, Tiger Woods would not be a celebrity at all, because golf is at best considered a game for rich people who have to much time on their hands, or a good way to ruin an afternoon walk. On the other hand, these people, Thierry Henry, Zinedine Zidane, Patrick Vieira which are not “Francais de souche” are super stars.
As Tiger yachts off with his buddies, deep down, I bet he'd give anything to be spending Christmas with his wife and two small children. Unfortunately, the couple planned on failing right up front. It's called a pre-nup. Why should his wife give him a second chance when she has five-hundred million economic reasons to pull-the-plug now?
While i can agree with some of the thoughts of the article, it comes to mind that one reason Americans can tear down their idols so quickly is that we can produce plenty and replace any that fall, something France and most other places just can't do.
Ha! Very true.
Nor does anyone else enjoy it as much as we do.
Is'nt Henry the guy shaming his image, his country and his sport by becoming a super-cheater?
Is'nt Zidane the very guy doing the very same thing by aggressively attacking an opponent?
And who the heck might Vieira be?
And what the heck is a Francais de souche?
If you are born in France, you are legally French, to be a “Francais de Souche” is to be legally and “ethnically” French, and I use the term “ethnically” very loosely… If you are of European descent and have been intermarried with French people for more than a couple of generations, you would be considered to be “Francais de Souche”.
Francais de souche sounds like some pre-historic, tribal kind of thinking that turns the famous French 'egalite' into a myth and opens all doors to discrimination. Some are more equal than others. One could expect finding degrading thoughts like this within some primitive cultures, but not in within the minds of civilized people who appointed themselves to be the champions of human rights. It even turns the French idea of human rights into a myth and hands out free prescriptions for racism.
Justifying one paradox by another paradox must create a lot of confusion amongst citizens not being of 'de souche' and promotes others to be the 'sons of God.' Agreeing with Churchill on “common sense is not very common,” France is almost forcing the world into believing that 'Logic does no longer seems to be a French virtue.'
Are all Americans equal in front of the law? Or are White Americans a little more equal and White wealthy Americans even more equal?
That 's pretty hilarious coming from an American, a citizen of a country that had an official Apartheid policy until the mid-60's and a political party that is based on the resentment of the repeal of said Apartheid policies.
Prejudice and presumption seem to be fingers on the same hand with which you're culturally obliged to jump to the defense of your glorious country, even when you agree with the accusations. Any critique is perceived as an attack and must be revenged with blood and sword. I wish you could understand that America is not very much into Europe any more and certainly not into France. What France is to America is about what Luxembourg is to France. Not a very big deal.
By the way Don, nobody ever told you that I'm an American. That was your 'logical' deduction.
France just loves to hate, and that's what also worries a lot of Europeans.
I'm one of them.
Being a 'superstar' in France means being a 'local hero' to the rest of the world.
One of them? European? French? American?
WTF??? And that would be different from Russia, England, Italy, Japan, Germany or the USA in which way?
How does that differ from anywhere else? Other than a handful of Hollywood stars, or rock stars, who is anything other than a local hero? How many Non-Americans could tell you who Derek Jeter is? I am sure that there are Bollywood Stars that are seen by millions of people every day and are every day name (the equivalent of Britney Spears) in India which are unknown outside of India, the same is likely true in China…
If that was the case the US Congress wouldn't go renaming French Toast & French Fries Freedom Toast & Freedom Fries…
Dear Don Quixotic, your request for sending you my CV has been denied. Having chosen for the freedom of anonymity yourself, knowing the color of my sister's thong wouldn't help you much to comment on some simple matters.
'France just loves to hate.' Five words and your juke box blows a fuse. You're also calling in the help from about half of the world as if to say: Everybody is a criminal, so my crime should be forgiven. The kettle is calling the pot to be even blacker? Yes, my statement 'France just loves to hate' is still standing, and you couldn't be the man to disagree.
What you call a handful of stars could in fact be a list of a zillion names known, admired and adored from the darkest corners of Afghanistan to the smallest islands of Brazil. They are not the Johnny Hallydays or the Derek Jeters of today, nor the local heros of tomorrow. They are the ones who forced countries (like France) to take absurd protective measures in order to prevent their own culture from being blown away like dust in the wind. Anglo-Saxon cuisine is popping up like crazy, fashion seems to be finding its inspiration in the New York slums and Haute Couture can't survive without Hollywood. And this is just the beginning.
Hundreds of thousands of Frenchmen are now addicted to country line dancing, McDonald's burgers and the most famous champagne in the world: Coca Cola. As I said, it has only just begun.
Even you my dear Don could consider one day to give credit where credit is due instead of trying to lift yourself up by putting the other one down.
An elephant doesn't hate hornets, only the one that has been stinging him.
America as an immigrant country has been influenced by almost every country on this planet. Giving credit where credit is due, they've got Belgian waffles, Brussels endive, Frankfurters, Danish, Dutch booze, burritos, and yes, French fries, which are actually a Belgium invention, but, who cares. In the back streets of Boston you'll find German charcuterie shops that would have made Hitler love America. Just get off Main Street and you'll find it all. As there seem to be just a few French immigrants in the US, France's influence in very limited. Living there, maybe once or twice a year the name is mentioned on the news, but everybody still wishes to visit the Old World. Paris has still got some appeal to but it is rapidly fading because Parisians behave like hornets. France is seen as a Disney World with real castles – “I gotto go see this s**t. Like I said before, not really a big deal. Just a couple of days visit before moving on to Barcelona.
My dear Don, do yourself a favor and start working on your 'give-credit-where-credit-is-due-attitude.'
It will enhance your credibility.
Don Quijote, our man from la Mancha, has gone missing in action. What happened? Did he surrender? Is he fighting windmills? He couldn't walk the walk? He couldn't stand the heat? All bark and no bite? All hat and no cattle? All sizzle, no steak?
Anyway, one mister Pierre Harki (Pierre who?) ran out of ink and stooped to vulgar populism in an article in a French magazine Rue 89 (Rue who?) about an American golf player (Tiger who?) who, according to French values, should have gotten a statue on top of the White House for cheating on his wife.
Just maybe, this golf player will flee to France, change his nationality and France will have finally bought herself a world famous athlete. What a victory this would be over those intensely hated Anglo-Saxons who keep on standing in the way of that Divine nation trying to reclaim her rightful place as the inventor of civilization, arts, sadism, terror, groupie first ladies and pedophile politicians! The ultimate pleasure of revenge lies ahead. The euphoria of schadenfreude! The future couldn't look any brighter!
How wonderful life can be!
I was enjoying the holidays with friends and family…
As for the proportion of French in the US: Largest Ethnic / Racial Groups in the U.S.
And that puts the French in the top 10 ethnic groups in the USA…
You can see France which ever way you want to see it…
I see it as a country of 60 odd million people, who have the fifth or sixth largest economy in the world, and a vibrant economy,
, a well trained and productive workforce
. It also has the sixth largest military on the planet, and the third largest Nuclear Arsenal on the planet.
As can be seen from this quick survey, France is a fairly well run country with a highly productive workforce, a vibrant economy, a high standard of living and the military means to protect itself. It's unfortunate that Francophobes such as yourself are unwilling to acknowledge it's successes since it does not follow the AngloSaxon capitalist model…
Since there is nothing I can say that will change your mind, good-bye.
Dear Don,
Merry Christmas to you too.
“As tall as a British beer glass, a Ray-Ban aviator glasses flaunting general McArthur impersonator, wearing Cuban high-heeled Manolos, has been drawing increasing comparisons to a bad soap opera. He has been ruthlessly lampooned on the Internet and portrayed in the media as a sex-crazy monarch and a money-obsessed dilettante with a documented passion for yachts, country estates and travel on private jets — with the tabs typically picked up by tycoon friends. His presidency has been marked by public temper tantrums, a 172 percent pay raise orchestrated by his office, a divorce and marriage four months later to an Italian rock-band-groupie-supermodel-turned-song-whisperer whom he'd known for 80 days. As he steps on an American pine wood stool to reach a forest of Shure microphones, a fired-up rendition of : “Nothing Compared to You” (a Prince written song from the 80's) by the Me First & the Gimme Gimmes is blasting through the hugely oversized JBL PA system. Obviously and impatiently waiting for his Ritalin to kick in and at the limit of demagoguery, he restlessly and impulsively delivers an exhausting speech that would catapult any European of age back into the darker days of the 1940's.”
- “Look at me me, ma. I can also quote freely from all these American sources to make my point! It's so easy and so cheap, it's like a miracle! ” -
Don, my man, you're desperately trying to convince/convert by lecturing me through some high school history class. You also have the eternal and pre-judgmental wisdom to accuse me of Francophobia and being a follower of a certain Anglo-Saxon capitalist model. Paternalistically stereotyping anyone by using worn-out cliches is the same old scratchy record Frenchmen are putting on when they run out of arguments. Of course you could change my mind when you've got the right arguments. You just haven't got them. So, you gave up again. Another French leave.
That's no way to treat a fellow European, we're all good friends remember.
We're all in the same boat (a French boat?) and we all speak with one voice (a French voice?) and we all have the same opinion (the French opinion?) and we all have the same enemy (The French enemy?) to hate: The Anglo-Saxons.
You guys are so mentally backward and so stuck in a seventies rut that it resembles some kind of a sect. Very well conditioned for France but poorly educated for the world.
That is so embarrassing and so scary!
Take care Don.