An Imitation of An Imitation of Life: The Tiger Woods Fiasco and Racial Identity

[photo credit: cablinasian like me]

I am not one to deal in idle gossip, and I know you all are probably so done with the whole Tiger Woods saga, but even as the story appears to die out and the media seems to want to move on, new details emerge.

For instance, the total number of women with possible romantic ties to Tiger has grown to nine, possibly ten. And if that was not enough, two of the women stated that he did not like to use condoms, so he put not only himself but his wife and other partners in danger as well. Had enough yet? But there’s more.

It was also reported that one of the women involved is offering nude pictures taken from his cell phone for sale to the highest bidder, and additionally, the allegations that some of the trysts took place in his Florida home he shared with his wife and children have caused his wife to move out.

Admittedly, I have no idea how much of this is true and how much is simply rumor and innuendo, but I do know that if you repeat a lie often enough, it sometimes takes on the guise of truth.

And in speaking to others about Tiger’s future and according to experts, the general consensus was that this incident would have not bearing on his career or his many endorsement deals. However, that was before the other women started coming out of the woodwork, and the other potentially damaging information came to light. Now, Tiger’s character is really called into question, and his future seems up in the air.

But the question I have is, if things really begin to go downhill for him, if the whole situation begins to spiral completely out of control, as it appears it is doing, and he stands to lose everything—the support of his sponsors and the concomitant lucrative endorsement deals—what will his posture be toward his ethic background then?

If you remember, when Tiger won the Master’s Tournament at age twenty-one, he made the infamous comment to Oprah that he did not identify as Black but as Cablinasian, a combination of Caucasian, Black, Indian, and Asian. He went even further in stating that it troubled him to be identified as Black.

However, if you look at recent history, many who did not identify as Black, or who seemingly had cut their ties to the Black community, came rushing back when the chips were down.

Do you remember the case of one Orenthal James (O.J.) Simpson? Before his 1995 trial for the death of his wife Nicole Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman, Simpson seemed wholly disconnected from the African American community. However, following his acquittal by a practically all-Black jury, Simpson became ultra-Black. Suddenly, he was being photographed all up in Watts and Compton with Uncle Al Sharpton, eating soul food and offering praise and worship to Black Jesus in Black congregations.

It seems that facing a prison term of life without parole helps a man finally make up his mind in matters of race and religion.

And what about Michael Jackson? People were questioning both his commitment to the Black community as well as his desire to even remain Black when his legal troubles convinced him that “It Doesn’t Matter If You Are Black or White,” the long arm of the law will come after you. And then after his album “Invincible” tanked, he too sought out Uncle Al Sharpton to shepherd him back into Blackness.

The Black community welcomed both men back with open arms. Adoring crowds even greeted Simpson in Watts as if he were some kind of conquering hero. But both these men shared a pre-fame affinity with Black folks. O.J. grew up in a predominately Black, inner-city neighborhood and shared a similar narrative with Black folk. And though fame came to Michael Jackson when he was yet very young, most Black folk of a certain age still remembered a pre-plastic surgery Michael with the negroid nose and clung tenaciously to this image.

Additionally, both men engaged in an activity that Black folk readily identified with and participated in, football and music, whereas until Tiger came along, not many Black folk had anything to do with golf.

But Tiger does not have any of these advantages; though we have claimed him and embraced him, we have never really known him, and he has never expressed any pressing need to get to know us. I wonder if Uncle Al Sharpton would be available for a back to Black tour for him?

However, in the final analysis, this is how the ball bounces. Despite his malfeasance, I feel a sense of pity for him. Deviant behavior does not just occur out of nowhere; usually it can be traced back to some root cause.

And I do not claim to be some kind of psychologist, but I seem to sense in Tiger a lost, lonely child. Just like Michael Jackson, he has been a prodigy for most of his life. He has had people continually telling him how great he is, how wonderful he is, and stroking his ego. Until now, I do not ever recall him receiving any bad press.

Now, suddenly, he has been put right squarely on front street. Now all those women who he thought really loved him—because after all, he is Tiger Woods—are requiring a check for their silence.

Also, if his wife has really left him, and she has every reason to do so, I am sure he is feeling really alone right about now. He is perhaps bewildered and confused by this whole turn of events. Not too long ago, everyone seemed to be singing his praises; he was the golden boy, and his character went unquestioned. Today he is a punch line in an SNL spoof.

But how far will his descent go? Will things get so bad that he will feel the need to become Black?

Tribute to James Brown featuring Michael Jackson

Speaking of musical icons who have passed on. I know this comes late, but this one is another must see. Tribute to James Brown featuring Michael Jackson. Picked up via Twitter from @Bootsy_Collins.

Let me know whatcha think!

The Birth of a Nation: Notes on the Michael Jackson Memorial Service

Image courtesy of Levar Burton via twitpic.

Just finished watching the Michael Jackson memorial service. I must say that it was most fitting. It hit all the right notes. It was at once both dignified and entertaining. Both sorrowful and inspirational. The memorial more than exceeded my greatest expectations.

And as I watched, I followed the comments and observations of literally hundreds of people via Facebook and TweetDeck. It seems that during those few hours, the entire world was tuned in. Television commentators estimated that one billion viewers watched worldwide. I even read that Al Jezeera was airing the memorial. Several times my Facebook page and TweetDeck froze from the sheer number of responses.

I am reminded of that theoretical axiom which states that nation, community, and family are born and reaffirmed in those spaces created through shared circumstance, ceremony, and spectacle. Of course this restatement is not precise, but I think you get the general message.

But it’s a shame that we must wait for somber occasions like a funeral before we all can come together for one purpose. Not too long ago, I attended my grandmother’s funeral. The church was packed to the point of overflowing. I saw family and friends there that I had not seen in years. And together we held one another and cried even as we celebrated my grandmother’s life. For a brief moment in time, all bad feelings were shoved aside. All internecine feuds were forgotten.

And when it all ended, we embraced and promised that we would not allow that much time to pass before we came together as a family again. But I know that’s a promise that will not be kept. I’ve been through it all before.

Time will pass. The emotion will subside. And the petty bickering and backbiting will resume again. And most of those friends and relatives I will not see again until the next funeral where we will make those same empty promises.

But I still relish those moments in time, those moments of shared circumstance, those ceremonies, those spectacles, even when they are somber, even when we must shed tears, where we can truthfully refer to ourselves as a family, as a community, as a nation, as one world.

Classic Moment in Music History: James Brown, Michael Jackson, and Prince on Stage Together

Michael Jackson Prince James Brown
Uploaded by ramdesham. - Independent web videos.

Had to drop this one off as I cruised on through. I came across it via Twitter. The video quality is not that good, but this is classic—James Brown, Michael Jackson, and Prince all on stage at one time. I’m not sure if this happened any other time. And notice how Prince comes to the stage being carried by his bodyguard. Now that’s gangsta’!

And Then the Vultures Come: On Death and Exploitation

I promise you this will be my last Michael Jackson post for a while. But I just have to say this one thing. I just have to get this out before I can move on to the other things I have planned for this week.

You know, I guess in the back of my mind, I knew it was practically inevitable. I guess I should not have been so surprised. But Michael Jackson’s death was so sudden and unexpected, I was a little off-kilter for a brief moment and let my guard down, all the while forgetting the proclivities of my fellow man. However, by early Friday afternoon, the blinders were beginning to fall away and reality began to set in.

Less than twenty-four hours after the announcement of Michael Jackson’s death, as I drove down Winchester Boulevard in Memphis, Tennessee, I saw the hawkers already out selling boot-leg Michael Jackson “memorial t-shirts.” Less than twenty-four hours! And Womanist Musings notes that merely hours after his death, hawkers were selling t-shirts outside of Ronald Regan Medical Center where he died.

And what about the media? In the last several years, positive news reports about Michael have been few and far between. At times, the media seemed more like a hostile cheering section counting down the seconds to his ultimate demise. They reported each and every incident, each and every setback, each and every peculiarity, with a seemingly unbridled glee. But from Thursday evening on, the same media that lambasted him, that ridiculed him, that treated him with nothing but scorn and derision, led the lovefest that ensued following his death.

But I reserve the very worst of my opprobrium for the opportunists turned “long-time friends and confidantes and Jackson family friends” that populated the airways. There seemed to be no shortage of people “in-the-know.” It seems that a host of people at some time or another saw the harm Michael was doing to himself and to his career with his continued and worsening addiction to prescription drugs.

And at some time or another, let them tell it, each and every individual comprising this host, attempted an intervention of some kind or another but to no avail. But the more I listen, the greater part of this host seemed to have a vested interest in a confused and drug-addled Michael. The greater part of this host didn’t push too hard for fear of being shoved away from the feed trough and losing their place.

And could someone please tell me at what point did Uncle Reverend Jesse Jackson become the Jackson family spokesman? Perhaps, the family did request his services, but from where I’m sitting, it smacks of opportunism.

You know, I don’t really know why I’m so personally offended or even if I should or have the right to be. I was never an over the top Michael Jackson fan. But from the time I was a child, he has always been there on the cultural landscape. And gradually he transformed himself into the best known entertainer in the world, an icon. So, I recognize and respect him for that and for his talent and artistic vision.

But perhaps my right to object comes from the fact that first and foremost he was a human being, and even in death, perhaps especially in death, he and his family deserve to be treated with dignity and respect. But I guess human nature is impossible to overcome. Perhaps it is in our nature to always seek an advantage, to seize the opportunity.

But in the same instance, it still doesn’t seem right. First, you are reeling, trying to wrap your mind around this thing, trying to regain your equilibrium. And then the next thing you know, the vultures come.

How much of the coverage of Michael’s death is sincere adulation and how much is outright exploitation and how do we know the difference? Do we have the right to offended and why?

Because He Was One of Us: A Tribute to Michael Jackson

Michael Joseph Jackson

(1958-2009)

There was a kid back in the old neighborhood—I think his name was Bud or something—who we picked on relentlessly. Yeah, his name was Bud; I remember now. Anyway, we teased him. We tricked him into eating and drinking all kinds of foolishness. Bud was the butt of all our jokes.

I don’t think he was slow or anything; he was just strange. Very strange.

But as vigorously as we picked on him and teased him and made his life hell, we defended him. Strangely as it sounds, we would fight tooth and nail with anyone who dared disrespect him or raise a hand against him.

He was one of us, and any affront against him, any insult hurled at him, we took personal. Very personal. I guess in some idiosyncratic way you can say we loved Bud as best as little boys growing up among the filth and the funk of the ghetto could love and show affection.

For some reason, when I heard of the passing of Michael Jackson, Bud immediately came to mind. I guess our quirky relationship with Bud reminded me of the relationship the Black community has had with Michael Jackson for so long.

We loved him as we watched him grow up on stage performing with his brothers. We recognized the immensity of his talent even then. We loved him when he finally went solo. I still remember the debates over the identity of Billie Jean and just where that baby was.

We especially loved him when Thriller came out. Somehow we could just sense that he was changing the music industry, that he was taking over. And in the years that followed, we loved him even as he began altering his appearance to look less like us and began to exhibit stranger and stranger behavior. We were somewhat perturbed with him, but we loved him nonetheless.

And we stood with him when he was accused of the unthinkable. And we bore the jokes that arose, and sometimes we even participated by telling a few of them ourselves.

We dismissed the news that he was penniless and waited patiently for him to rise like a phoenix from the ashes and take over the world again. But I guess now that day will never come.

But we must remember that for whatever he was and whatever he wasn’t, he represented the best we have to offer. Perhaps we shall never know just how much talent he really possessed. But despite it all, because he was one of us we shall continue to love him for all that he has given us throughout the years.

And I leave you with Never Can Say Goodbye by the Jackson 5.