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Title: Why we can't let Tiger Woods off the hook for alleged affairs with a 'sex addiction' defense
Source:
nydailynews.com
URL Source: http://www.nydailynews.com/opinions ... ow_a_tiger_by_his_stripes.html
Published: Dec 9, 2009
Author: S. E. Cupp
Post Date: 2009-12-09 16:01:46 by beyond the sea
Keywords: Woods, Tiger, Perv, Sleazebag
Views: 1563
Comments: 185
In Britain's News of the World - whose editors and readers have such an insatiable appetite for sex scandals that the tabloid is fondly called "Screws of the World" - an addictions manager at North London's Priory Clinic says declaratively of a beleaguered Tiger Woods, "I see him as ill, not bad." Here it comes. Amid all the sordid details of Tiger's numerous "transgressions," we should now prepare ourselves for a forthcoming announcement by a very somber-looking Woods spokesman, or perhaps even by the golfer himself, that Tiger is, in fact, a sex addict. We can stop questioning his character, for this - we're being told - is a medical issue. No less an authority than Drew Pinsky, the host of VH1's reality show "Sex Rehab," told "Entertainment Tonight" that "it's safe to say that sex addiction might be part of his problem." Pinsky and the rest of the world are trying to help us understand what otherwise seems inconceivable: how such a rich, powerful and focused man ("and with such a beautiful wife!" some add, suggesting that ugly wives require no explanation) could risk his reputation, his fortune and his family to play the field with floozies. We can't let them get away with it. If the psychologizers win, they will allow brain chemistry, instead of free will, to co-opt habitual infidelity, thus completely and utterly absolving Woods of everything. Including driving barefoot, no doubt. And thereby absolving the rest of us of our sins. Yes, I said it: sins. The facts here are pretty simple. Woods made repeated and calculated decisions to deceive and hurt his family. For that he should get no sympathy. Pawning off bad behavior on some nebulous psychosis makes public apologies and professed remorse merely perfunctory, not sincere. In fact, that sex addiction even has a name (and its own television show) speaks volumes about our culture - and our collective psyche. The affliction may be real, but it also keeps us from acknowledging the immorality of our actions. After all, we don't call serial killers "murder addicts." Yet, anyway. Buying into the notion gives us license to embrace a psychology gap that keeps us divorced from our own behavior. Discussing a clinical condition is easier than actual soul-searching. Who needs confession when you can just be absolved through therapy and rehab? Over the past decade or two, psychologizing of this sort has become big business, crowding out so many basic moral judgments. The intelligentsia has so successfully marginalized morality to the far corners of its collective attics (where it also keeps religion) that the manic and predictable rush to medically explain immoral behavior has built a permanent, Bill Clinton-style wall separating the things we do in our private lives from who we really are. We saw a similar justification after the Fort Hood massacre, when scores of mental health experts decided from afar that Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan wasn't a hardened terrorist - he was just really, really stressed out from absorbing everyone else's stories of posttraumatic stress. The Tiger drama is of course worlds apart, in every imaginable way. But the aftermath shares the same frantic search for a simple explanation that does an end run around free will. And as for Tiger's mental health, sex addiction may just be the tip of the iceberg. In Psychology Today, Stanton Peele writes (with a whiff of that inimitable shrink's humor) that Tiger's success and stamina on the golf course may have predicted his behavior in the bedroom: "Rather than being a sex addict, the same single-mindedness, skill set and gift for robotic calculation that make Tiger Woods the world's greatest golfer make him an avatar of the bedroom." Amazing: For both his strengths and weaknesses, psychology manages to surgically remove Tiger, a man whose power and wealth have bought him more free will than most of us will ever have, from his own life. It's hardly a comforting thought. But Peele leaves us with an intriguing question. If we can blame Tiger's troubles on his addictive behavior, why don't we blame his successes on a personality disorder, too? This man is a golf addict, to be sure - he's downright obsessed. But for that he earns our praise and respect. And tons of money. Forgive me for sounding old-fashioned. But the best prescription for a long, healthy life isn't pricey rehab, therapy and psychological reprogramming. It's a clear conscience. secupp@redsecupp.com
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Begin Trace Mode for Comment # 96.
#2. To: beyond the sea (#0)
It is only the law that keeps most men from being sex addicted. Woods and others circumvent the law by buying what a poor man could not have. (or want)
Woods and others circumvent the law by buying what a poor man could not have. (or want) It sure is a cop out for him to claim sex addiction. Most men would fall into that category if all of their wants materialized.
Indeed. Throw in a measure of morality and most men walk the line. Woods had a history of such prior to marriage, his wife was not too bright if she figured he would give all of that up. A man with a billion dollars most often will buy everything he ever wanted, including women.
Women can be dazzled by a lot less than a billion dollars.
men too
men too You don't even need money to dazzle men - just one or two things - good food and as BTS continues to remind us, good looks. Men are so simple. ;-)
but ....... you do need: ....... daisies. ****
Larry Elder-----Townhall.com The Lessons of Tiger Woods "Tiger's finished." "Define 'finished,'" I said to a friend in response to her assessment. Will Tiger Woods lose endorsements? Yes. How many and for how long remain open questions. Has the carefully groomed image of the contented family man who "has it all" gone supernova? Absolutely. Will he lose his wife, given her public humiliation and her shattered trust in her husband? Strong possibility. But the history books are full of Act Twos. Going Rogue by Sarah Palin FREE Woods is a golfer. He is neither politician nor pastor. As he struggles to deal with his apparent inner demons/self-loathing/shame/embarrassment/dishonor, he can still golf. The curiosity factor alone means stratospheric ratings for his next tournament, especially if he's still contending on the final day. People unable to spell "golf" will tune in for his next event. As bad as all of this is -- especially for his wife -- Woods hasn't killed anybody, at least that we know of. The more bizarre things become -- the growing number of alleged mistresses, his mother-in-law's hospitalization, the recklessness of his behavior -- new revelations may start producing diminishing returns in shock value. People will wonder whether he's a really rotten guy with a phony stage-managed image or a really sick guy who "needs help." A friend and I recently watched a professional football game. The announcer mentioned a stellar player. My friend said, "I like him. He's amazing." I said, "Still standing, after being tried for murder." She thought I was joking. "And," I said, "he pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice for lying to the police." We Googled it. He not only lied to the police but told others to do so, as well. Former President Bill Clinton is the only elected president ever to be impeached. He pleaded guilty to contempt of court for lying under oath and temporarily lost his law license. Does Clinton draw down the window shades, only to venture out under cover of night to go to the ATM? Please. He blamed the Republicans, who wanted to "overturn elections." Defenders said, "Everybody lies about sex." Had the Constitution permitted it, Clinton could have won a third term. When Clinton first ran for president, he admitted on "60 Minutes" having had "problems with his marriage." People interpreted this to mean an acknowledgment of previous cheating with a promise to sin no more. But he did. He lied to the country about it. He lied about it under oath. Today he strolls around the globe, an elder statesman whose opinions are sought out and somberly considered. The Rev. Jesse Jackson, in the midst of Clinton's crisis, went to the White House to serve as a presidential "mentor." Jackson brought his visibly pregnant mistress, and both later posed for a group photograph in the Oval Office. When Jackson's scandal broke, he briefly closed shop. But he soon said, "The ground is no place for a champion. The ground is no place that I will wallow on." Back in business. As to former President Richard Nixon, few have fallen from so high to so low so quickly. He went from the most powerful person on earth to a guy ACORN wouldn't hire. The only U.S. president to resign, Nixon did so just ahead of an impeachment posse, with a conviction in the Senate a near certainty. After leaving office, he got paid for an interview with David Frost, wrote a bunch of books and gave speeches on foreign policy. He sufficiently redeemed himself, to the point that by former President George W. Bush's second term, many Democrats thought Bush's "crimes" worthier of impeachment than those of Nixon. As for Woods, he once had a favorable rating of nearly 85 percent. A recent poll still gave him a favorable rating of 60 percent. And Woods conceivably could even turn public opinion in his favor if he continues to excel on the golf course. "My, what an ability to focus!" etc. There are many lessons here. There is the silliness of considering celebrities, about whom we really know very little, to be "role models." There is the envy, sometimes, of the lives of others when very little is as it seems. Fortunate is the person who can look back at his or her life and say, "I would do it all again, the same way." My dad once said that to me. Most of us mortals have made mistakes, sometimes too many to count. Some mistakes have to do with career. Some have to do with money. Some have to do with other poor decisions and poor choices -- reconsidered, of course, with the benefit of hindsight. But the ones that cause the most regret and the most pain have to do with the treatment of other people -- especially those who loved and trusted us. We finally discover the value and worth of what we once had and failed to appreciate. And now it's too late. Good luck, Mr. Woods.
yep ... well said !!!
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#5. To: Cynicom (#2)
It is only the law that keeps most men from being sex addicted.
#6. To: echo5sierra (#5)
Most men would fall into that category if all of their wants materialized.
#8. To: Cynicom (#6)
A man with a billion dollars most often will buy everything he ever wanted, including women.
#22. To: echo5sierra (#8)
Women can be dazzled by a lot less than a billion dollars.
#69. To: christine, beyond the sea (#22)
Women can be dazzled by a lot less than a billion dollars.
#80. To: mel_living, christine (#69)
You don't even need money to dazzle men -
#82. To: beyond the sea (#80)
#91. To: X-15, All (#82)
#96. To: beyond the sea (#91)
We finally discover the value and worth of what we once had and failed to appreciate.
Replies to Comment # 96.