Haiti Quake and Tiger Woods: a Comparative Analysis of the Haiti and Tiger Woods Catastrophes
Reports that Tiger Woods is to donate $3 million towards the Haiti relief effort, in particular to groups that provide relief to children got me thinking about the similarities and dissimilarities of these two events that have captured world attention lately.
While one may be quick to dismiss Tiger Woods debacle as celeb culture hype and accept Haiti quake as a genuine cause of world concern, the world’s agenda is set by the media and you cannot ignore what they throw at you. It has a way of hijacking your attention and hence the dividing line between trivialities and issues is growing thinner.
The Haiti quake and the subsequent humanitarian crisis have received a minute by minute coverage from world media and fuelled blog and social sites debates and exchanges. The media buzz that followed Tiger Woods car crash and infidelity saga received equal attention.
While the Tiger Woods saga was both amusing and sad, indeed a tragic-comedy drama of sorts, the Haiti quake disaster is heart wrenching and disturbing. The Tiger Woods saga cost him his image and endorsement fortunes but the Haiti quake has cost lives and fortunes.
Reclaiming lives is impossible, reclaiming Tiger Woods holy Joe image is nigh impossible. To rebuild Port-au-Prince may take equally long time as it will Tiger Woods to crawl out of the woods.
The Haiti quake has received attention, sympathies and donations from world leaders and celebrities while Tiger Woods quake was a mixed reaction of disgust, amusement and sometimes pity from a few golfers. His is an individual social and economic torpedo stemming from recklessness and moral decadence. Maybe the curse of fame and fortune. Haiti’s is a result of vagaries of nature, fate and to some extend poor quake preparedness owing to poverty. As aid money flow to Haiti, Tiger Woods’ coffers are drying up.
Tiger Woods claim to be a Buddhist, a religion without a concept of sin and subsequently no forgiveness. One has to wage an individual war to reclaim moral compass and peace of mind without the added benefit of a super-natural being. Unlike Irish Robinson, Tiger Woods’ contemporary in infidelity, who is a Christian and has been ‘forgiven’ by God, Tiger Woods has but one body he will seek forgiveness from; the public.
Haitians are devout Christians who are renowned for their faith throughout the world. The only blemish being the equally fervent voodoo adherents crawling in Port-au-Prince’s sprawling slums. The Haitians will look to God to appease the ever recurring natural disasters and to weather the heartache from the quake calamity. Tiger Woods is left to his own devices.
Haiti is the poorest country in the western hemisphere; Tiger Woods is the richest sportsman in the western hemisphere. Tiger is a man of color, Haiti are a people of color. It was a disaster of color.
If Tiger Woods was to appear in Haiti to physically assist in the relief efforts, the media splurge will be on him but it won’t help placate his image. He will be accused of using the Haiti disaster to cleanse his image. The Haiti tragedy will be an impetus to the UN pre-quake efforts of rebuilding the country.
Tiger Woods has not been sighted yet, so the media has to continue speculating where he could be holed up in.
Have you spotted Tiger Woods?
No comments:
Post a Comment