Journal Notes: On Tiger's Mess

3 Dec. 2009: Journal notes
The chickens have come home to roost. All the stories about Tiger and other women have forced him to fess up, at least within certain parameters. One magazine published a story about some gal who said she had an 18 month relationship with Tiger and some voicemail has surfaced that had Tiger asking a gal to lie for him to cover his ass with his wife. The Huffington Post had a photo of the ‘mistress,’ as well as pictures of two other gals, one current, the other someone he knew before marriage to Elin. Pushed into a corner by what he termed “tabloid scrutiny,” he put out a 350 word statement yesterday, his longest and most revealing so far, that said, yes, he was guilty of some marital “transgressions,” (more than one?) and he had betrayed his values and he was sorry with all his heart. But he gave no names and no details and followed the admissions with another passionate appeal for his right of privacy. He said there should not be a need for “public confessions”; that the parties should be able to solve their problems behind closed doors.
However, once the Media gets a foot in the door it is very difficult to shut it again. They can be relentless when they smell blood, especially with such a high profile sex scandal—a story made in Heaven (or is it hell?) There is an overwhelming momentum to stories like this one, when a billionaire golfer becomes the hottest news item of the week. It is a major figure/celebrity taking a tumble. Given half a chance, the Media can eat him alive and toss the bones in the trash. For example, SPORTS CENTER open last evening with Tiger admits transgressions BUT IS IT ENOUGH? Yes, it should be and some groups have agreed to lie low and give him the time and the privacy he and his family need. But the Media is a hungry beast that is never satisfied until another equally big sucker comes along (like Obama caught with his pants down with Alicia Keys.) Sometimes I think the PGA is in cahoots with the Media to take Tiger down so Jack Nicklaus can remain the all-time king of professional golf, a white man, which is the way it ought to be in America.
A couple of days ago I saw a comment by John Daly. He said Tiger’s was “The Man” in professional golf and it was essential that he be out there playing and winning, and if he wasn’t participating like he used to the PGA Tour would be in trouble. All one has to do is look at what has happened to the LPGA without Annika Sorenstam out there doing her thing. The women pros are down to 23 tournaments next year. Two years ago it was something like 32 events. Of course the economy isn’t helping one bit.
In the latest addition of the Buddhist magazine TRICYCLE there is an article by Joan Duncan Oliver about a show of mandalas at the Rubin Museum of Art in NYC. Oliver calls them “maps of enlightenment” and defines them differently than Jung did. She said the word mandala comes from two Sanskirt words, manda, which means “essence” and la which means “container.” I like that just as well as Jung’s translation of “magic circle.” (The name of the show in NY is “The Perfect Circle.”)
The catalog of the show is 264 pages; in hardcover it cost $80. But it sounds like a gold mine of Manadals The reproductions in the magazine show they can be quite different that we normally see.