Tiger, Barack and MLK - or why I'm depressed about November

Many of you may remember the incident of a few weeks ago when a Golf Channel anchor, Kelly Tilghman, a white woman, off-handedly spoke of Tiger Woods' rivals having to take him into a back alley and 'lynch' him in order to stop his dominance.  But this isn't just a story about golf or the bigotry of the white golfing world.  It's about Woods' reaction, about Obama's chances in November should he ge the nomination, and about my personal despair about unacknowledged racism among my fellow white Americans.  Can Obama possibly win if he gets the nomination?  And this is NOT a "candidate" diary - I'm still an Edwards loyalist, but I'm also a realist. What I worry about is the pervasive racism that corrupts our entire society.

What prompted these thoughts is an incident that occurred when I played golf last week at a small course in central Florida.  Now, understand, Tiger Woods is the person who finally induced me to take up golf - he's the greatest golfer certainly of our generation of viewers, and will in all likelihood end up the greatest golfer of all time, and I feel privileged to be watching him as his career began and now flourishes.  He's still, however, a decade after he began playing professionally, the only black American golfer of any prominence - and he has consistently been reticent to talk about politics or racism in any direct way.  

So his reaction to the Tilghman remark was not unexpected - through his spokesman, he accepted her apology and said it was not an issue.  And much as I love Tiger, that reaction really bugged me, at the time, but I had a hard time articulating exactly why until I was in the clubhouse looking at shirts on sale, after my friends and I had finished our round, and overheard some guys including the guy behind the counter, talking about the "lynch" remark.  The gist of their talk was "well, Tiger himself said it was no big deal" and "it wasn't until Sharpton got involved that anybody said anything " and, finally, what got me going, "Only 1 person in a thousand would have been offended by that."  At that point, I turned to them and said "Well, I was offended, and I don't care what Tiger thought.  It offended me."  They were, of course, astonished - not least probably because I am a woman so what the heck was I doing butting in to their conversation at all, and also because I'm white, so why the heck do I care anyway.  I went on to say that of course, that word was offensive, and would she ever have used that verb in talking about a white golfer?  They were just too taken aback to even respond - and at that point, I was so angry, I stopped looking at anything to spend money on there and went to wait in the car for my friends.

And maybe I should explain why I feel so strongly that the remark was racist, as I've seen some posters here also discounting it.  I am, among other things, a student of Southern history, and "lynch" in this country, from the Civil War on at least, means only one thing - white people hanging black people.  There is no other possible construction of the word.  So when a white woman uses that term for the most popular and dominant golfer of the day, who is black (albeit also Thai, American Indian and a bunch of other things), there is simply no way to construe it other than racism.  She may love Tiger, she may consider him her friend - but Kelly Tilghman would not have used that word in connection with Phil Mickelson or Sergio Garcia or Geoff Ogilvy or any other golfer challenging Tiger.  The fact that the word jumped out of her brain in connection with Tiger is evidence of the kind of hidden racism that is so pervasive in white America - and it has to be challenged EVERY time it comes out of hiding.

So this is what was wrong with Tiger's reaction - he gave license to men like the ones at this golf course to give not only the Golf Channel announcer, but themselves as well, a pass on racism. These guys clearly loved Tiger, but he allowed them to maintain their personal racist attitudes - or, at the least, ignorance.  This is maybe not the type of racism that uses the "n" word - but racism of possibly a more insidious kind, unacknowledged, pervasive and corrosive.  The type that will make it very, very difficult for Obama to win in November, if he wins the nomination, and difficult for pollsters to be able detect.  

Does this mean he shouldn't be nominated?  NO - he's not my first choice, but I'd vote for him in a heartbeat, as I would for Clinton.  (And she DEFINITELY wouldn't get these guys' votes either, so I'm not sure either candidate has an edge there).  And maybe an Obama presidency would be one way we could start to get past some of this crap - and if the markets continue to tank and we head into a recession the likes of which we haven't seen in 30 years, as many are predicting now, it may not matter who the Democrats nominate, we'll win no matter what.

But today, on Martin Luther King Day, I wonder how he would have reacted to Tiger Woods' reticence, and how he would assess Obama's chances in our still fundamentally racist country?  I wish I were more hopeful.

•  C'mon guys, cheer me up!

  I hope these ruminations are mostly a product of this "Blue Monday" stuff (this is supposed to be the most depressive day of the year, and I have nothing currently to counter that assessment, for myself anyway.)

  by geordie on Mon Jan 21, 2008 at 05:18:40 PM PDT

  •  Hmm...doesn't matter...

    ...how well thought out your diary is, you'll be branded a "concern troll" before it's over. This is simply not a question that the Obama supporters want to hear and not one that anybody else is likely to answer.

    Many Dems seem to want to pretend that this isn't an issue just because it shouldn't be, and that isn't going to help at all come November.

    T.

    by trevzb on Mon Jan 21, 2008 at 05:39:55 PM PDT

  •  I grew up in Arizona,

    where lynching was historically pretty much a colorblind activity, so the word itself, absent context, isn't synonymous with racism to me. Your mileage obviously varies.

    by valion on Mon Jan 21, 2008 at 05:42:27 PM PDT

    •  Yes, but...

      Kelly Tilghman grew up in South Carolina.

      by Free Spirit on Mon Jan 21, 2008 at 05:51:17 PM PDT

      •  Well

        that explains it. This is the kind of stupid stuff that people in SC say all the time. It's normalized.

        by Ga6thDem on Mon Jan 21, 2008 at 06:50:35 PM PDT

        •  Give your defensiveness a rest...

          I'm a Southerner myself.

          by Free Spirit on Mon Jan 21, 2008 at 07:17:59 PM PDT

  •  well, we all have worries about what others think

    one of ours is black, sure, but one's female, and one's a redneck.

    But look at it another way:

    We have three super smart and decent Democrats running against a load of regurgitated BushCo! Remember each one got far more votes than the top Republican...so don't worry.

    by dotcommodity on Mon Jan 21, 2008 at 07:17:36 PM PDT

  •  They fired the Golf Week guy...

    link.

    by kredwyn on Mon Jan 21, 2008 at 07:50:54 PM PDT

•  Barack.

  by clonecone on Mon Jan 21, 2008 at 05:18:49 PM PDT

  •  Oops. Correction.

    I wonder why I type Barack and then change it to Barak?  I think I think each time I'm making a mistake to spell his name like barracks or something.  Thanks for the correction.

    by geordie on Mon Jan 21, 2008 at 05:22:46 PM PDT

•  recc'd.

  for your honesty...and for speaking up when others might have stayed silent.

  we need more voices doing the same.

  by txdreamer on Mon Jan 21, 2008 at 05:22:09 PM PDT

•  keep in mind

  the country club gold world is heavily republican. fuzzy zoellar's infamous remarks were typical of what was probably standard club house banter, until tiger arrived. but it's still a very non-representative world.

  could an african american democrat win anywhere close to a majority of country club golfers' votes? doubt it. but neither could any democrat. fortunately, though, such social worlds are very much a minority, in our society. can an african american win the presidency? i have no doubt. it might not be this particular candidate (although, if he wins the nomination i think he wins the white house), but it can and will happen.

  by Turkana on Mon Jan 21, 2008 at 05:25:37 PM PDT

  •  gold = golf

    in more ways than one...

    by Turkana on Mon Jan 21, 2008 at 05:27:31 PM PDT

  •  This was a public course

    I don't play country club courses - I don't belong to one.  This was a public course, popular with retirees - not dirt cheap, but less than $40 for a round, so we're talking pretty ordinary folks here.

    by geordie on Mon Jan 21, 2008 at 05:46:28 PM PDT

    •  i'm talking about tiger's world, too

      but it would be interesting to know the political biases of the people you obsrved. again, i think it was atypical, for the country as a whole. there are definitely some seriously nasty pockets, all over the place, but they're the minority.

      by Turkana on Mon Jan 21, 2008 at 05:48:49 PM PDT

      •  I wish I thought you were right

        and I really hope you are.  We may find out in November.

        by geordie on Mon Jan 21, 2008 at 05:50:28 PM PDT

        •  i think he has an uphill climb

          for the nomination. if so, we'll find out if the country's ready to elect a woman- or this woman. either way, we're going to have an historic first, for a nominee.

          by Turkana on Mon Jan 21, 2008 at 06:01:15 PM PDT

      •  Deny and speculate all you want, but

        the good folks at Harvard know that race-based bias is real. And they've devised this little test to prove it. They had slavery here, for freak's sake. The system of apartheid was modeled on the segregated south. Discrimination in housing and employment are real and have long been well documented.  

        I myself was born into an America where my mother and my father, a WWII combat veteran, were not guaranteed the right to vote.

        To paraphrase, no one ever went broke underestimating Americans' tolerance and respect for their fellow man. I'll grant that things have gotten better over the past forty-odd years, but I'm not willing to gamble this critical election on chance that racism is no more. That's a sucker bet if ever there was one.

        by output on Mon Jan 21, 2008 at 06:37:17 PM PDT

        •  Fortunately...

          ...this election doesn't hinge on whether racism is no more.

          no one ever went broke underestimating Americans' tolerance and respect for their fellow man

          Oh, my, and I thought Edwards wasn't all about money.  We aren't trying to get rich here, in case you are a little fuzzy on that point.

          I'm not willing to gamble this critical election

          Well, I've got good news for you. This election doesn't belong to you, so you won't get a chance to gamble it on anything.

          That's a sucker bet if ever there was one.

          And we aren't playing poker, either. In case you were a little fuzzy on that point as well.

          by Free Spirit on Mon Jan 21, 2008 at 07:25:38 PM PDT

          •  The only thing to say to that is

            Hello President McCain! You've been warned.

            Forgive them father, for they know not what they do.

            by output on Mon Jan 21, 2008 at 08:52:08 PM PDT

•  one thing that I've always like about Tiger

  is his disengagement from the politics of race.   He's always tried to stay above it.  Here's the thing, it could turn out that Tiger is a conservative republican.. that may be true but I don't want to know that anymore than to know he's votes straight democrat at the polls..   The only thing I have to worry about next week is by how much he's gonna be beat Mickelson & Els...

  Another golfer, Paul Azinger, who now works as a broadcaster for (ABC?) was a great golfer at one time, has 12 or 13 PGA wins during his career.   Never had a bad word to say about the guy until I read an article a few years ago.   It went on about Azinger not willing to shake hands with Bill Clinton and how he went on to call Bill a fraud & liar..

  frankly, that's the last thing I wanted to know about Azinger.  I would have rather been blissfully unaware of that... now everytime I hear his voice during a broadcast it hurts.  

  Tiger has a lot of fans and probably doesn't want to risk losing them over stupid politics...  all of this lynching & noose garbage has gotta be driving him crazy.

  by soros on Mon Jan 21, 2008 at 05:40:00 PM PDT

  •  Well, this is my point.

    Yes, Tiger keeps fans like these morons - but at what price?

    by geordie on Mon Jan 21, 2008 at 05:48:58 PM PDT

    •  Wow.

      He's a champion. Champions have all kinds of fans. You cannot choose your fans...they choose you.

      You are laying an odd trip on the man, I think. And you are questioning his values because he chooses the high road in response to an idiot spewing a trailer trash comment. Seriously....why do you expect more than the acceptance of the apology from him? He's Tiger Woods for christ sake. He can do what he wants WHEN he wants.

      Deal with it.

      by bic momma on Mon Jan 21, 2008 at 08:07:10 PM PDT

      •  Not values, but...

        Look, I love Tiger, I think he's a class act and a good guy.  But I do wonder if he could have come up with a reaction a bit more .....emphatic.  Of course, perhaps he agrees with those who don't think this was racist at all.

        by geordie on Tue Jan 22, 2008 at 05:00:17 AM PDT

        •  Bullshit.

          perhaps he agrees with those who don't think this was racist at all.

          Your passive/agressiveness towards the man you supposedly love is quite entertaining.

          Doing your part to bring him down just like the commentator? It's not going to work. Obviously the guy chooses his battles. You think this is the first time he's had this shit thrown his way? Why do you think it so important he becomes the sounding board for racist buffoonery? You do realize that he won tournaments in clubs that would not even let him in as a member? Put things in perspective. Or you may find yourself in the same group as those who make idiotic remarks about the man.

          by bic momma on Tue Jan 22, 2008 at 11:10:33 AM PDT

          •  Same back at you

            Look, I have been watching Tiger play since his amateur days, as many of us have. I know about his being tied to a tree as a kid by a bunch of white kids in his school. I have followed his career closely, and he's the reason I play golf at all.  I think he's grown and matured as a man, and I admire him - I just wish he'd said something a bit more to the point about this incident.  To put me in the same category as Kelly Tilghman who made a racist statement is simply horseshit - and the main point of my diary was not to criticize Tiger, but to point out the unacknowledged racism that still pervades this country, even among this group of golfers who were clearly fans of Tiger's.

            So fuck off.

            by geordie on Tue Jan 22, 2008 at 05:48:06 PM PDT

            •  get over it...

              ...Tiger's one rich, man of color YOU can't control...hahahahahaha...kinda burns your ass, don't it?

              Hey whitey...get the hell over it and yourself....

              by bic momma on Tue Jan 22, 2008 at 07:16:21 PM PDT

              •  Really? "whitey"?

                When I just heard David Aldridge, well-known, respected African-American sports analyst say EXACTLY what I said in the diary - including that perhaps Tiger simply didn't view the comment as racist as I and others did ?  Get over yourself.

                by geordie on Wed Jan 23, 2008 at 06:13:47 AM PDT

  •  Generally he should take the high road,

    I agree. His politics is his business. I too have been put off by the blatant Republican attitudes of more than one notable golfer -- understandable since they are mostly born in privilege, often born or living in the South, and making millions. Many people watch to forget such things and are just as happy not to be reminded.

    On the race question the sport has been pretty quick to correct the errors when they occur and is very keen to dispell its elite reputation -- knowing that those who actually play and watch the game on an everyday basis are highly varied in their views and backgrounds.

    by global citizen on Mon Jan 21, 2008 at 05:52:25 PM PDT

•  It might be noted that Tiger...

  ...is a person of mixed race.  Why is he being reduced to an African American here?

  by rserven on Mon Jan 21, 2008 at 05:40:18 PM PDT

  •  I noted that in the diary

    I did note that he is of mixed heritage, if you read what I wrote - but he is perceived, as is the historical pattern in the US for persons of mixed race, as "black".  

    by geordie on Mon Jan 21, 2008 at 05:48:14 PM PDT

    •  ya,

      i doubt taxi drivers in the slums would look at tiger and think, "oh, there is a person of mixed race - a cambloindonatiafrican.  I'll gladly give him a ride."    (or whatever abstract term he's decided to call himself.)

      by soros on Mon Jan 21, 2008 at 05:50:27 PM PDT

      •  Aren't you respectful.

        by rserven on Mon Jan 21, 2008 at 06:11:08 PM PDT

    •  I was referring to the commenters.

      by rserven on Mon Jan 21, 2008 at 06:11:31 PM PDT

  •  It's called the one drop rule.

    ~

    by output on Mon Jan 21, 2008 at 05:56:13 PM PDT

    •  I find it as disgusting here...

      ...as when I lived in the South.

      by rserven on Mon Jan 21, 2008 at 06:10:33 PM PDT

      •  Where is "here"?

        ~

        by output on Mon Jan 21, 2008 at 06:38:43 PM PDT

        •  Daily Kos.

          by rserven on Mon Jan 21, 2008 at 06:39:33 PM PDT

          •  The one drop rule isn't a kos thing.

            It's just how America is. Because of racism and white supremacy, it's often easier for biracial people to find acceptance in the black community.

            I know a southern white woman who cried the first time she heard a white child refer to her biracial baby as "black". That was maybe five years ago. Racism is real and it's not going anywhere any time soon.

            by output on Mon Jan 21, 2008 at 07:01:03 PM PDT

            •  A former partner and good friend of mine...

              ...who is multiracial would dispute this and hope that people like yourself wouldn't accept it as "business as usual."

              How about it?

              by rserven on Mon Jan 21, 2008 at 07:04:19 PM PDT

              •  Racism isn't an <issue> for me.

                It's a frustrating fact of daily life. So please don't lecture me on what "people like [my]self" should do.

                by output on Mon Jan 21, 2008 at 07:07:31 PM PDT

                •  The world changes one person at a time.

                  My friend...who is watching this discussion...would like it if people would reject inovking the "one drop rule" and calling it the way things are...and pledge to stand up and speak against it.  One person at a time...and it's your turn.

                  It's not that hard to understand.

                  by rserven on Mon Jan 21, 2008 at 07:22:01 PM PDT

                  •  Look, the point of this thread

                    is that racism exists, and that if Obama is our nominee, it is possible, or even likely that racial considerations will affect the outcome of the election. A lot of brave and unselfish people put their lives on the line to tell America and the world that racism, segregation and discrimination are wrong.  If standing up and speaking out against racism were going to eliminate it in the short term (i.e. over the past 40 years or so)we would not be having this dialogue.

                    Racism is not going to disappear just because good people wish it so. Of course we should keep working to stamp it out, but in the meantime  the Constitution, federal courts, Iraq, and Guantanamo, to name a few, require our urgent attention. The consequences of losing this election are far too cataclysmic to take chances on a longshot candidacy. We have to deal with the racist bastards we have, not the tolerant, enlightened electorate we wish we had. Do you understand where I'm coming from?

                    by output on Mon Jan 21, 2008 at 07:47:26 PM PDT

                    •  The question is about whether you...

                      ...are willing to see where I am coming from.  You responded to my comment, not the other way around.  You are the one who invoked the "one drop rule."

                      All else is pointless because that's all I am focusing on.  The question is only whether * you * will change, as an individual, and not do that in the future.

                      by rserven on Mon Jan 21, 2008 at 08:02:20 PM PDT

                      •  Good night.

                        by output on Mon Jan 21, 2008 at 08:48:24 PM PDT

•  I beg to differ

  Kelly Tilghman would not have used that word in connection with Phil Mickelson or Sergio Garcia or Geoff Ogilvy or any other golfer challenging Tiger.

  Having heard white southerners use the term in connection with other white southerners, I don't agree. Whether she was more likely to use it in connection with Tiger seems plausible, but it is something that none of us can know.

  by Free Spirit on Mon Jan 21, 2008 at 05:50:20 PM PDT

  •  I'm a white Southerner

    and I've NEVER heard that.  Nor do I believe this was a coincidence.  But everybody's entitled to their own interpretation.

    by geordie on Mon Jan 21, 2008 at 05:51:56 PM PDT

    •  Well then obviously

      ...we come from different parts of the South, at different times, and with different people.

      I guess you don't really want to be cheered up after all.

      by Free Spirit on Mon Jan 21, 2008 at 05:55:08 PM PDT

      •  No, no, I'm really trying!

        I am, really - I'm hoping I'm just down, and that we're a better country than I'm afraid we are.

        by geordie on Mon Jan 21, 2008 at 05:57:26 PM PDT

•  You get it.

  This is maybe not the type of racism that uses the "n" word - but racism of possibly a more insidious kind, unacknowledged, pervasive and corrosive.

  by output on Mon Jan 21, 2008 at 05:54:05 PM PDT

•  This diary should cheer you up

  Chuck Norris Does Math

  I'm usually not one to diary pimp but Elise's diary and the comments in it are a great pick me up!

  by jayden on Mon Jan 21, 2008 at 06:05:48 PM PDT

•  On Tiger...

  I don't think his unwillingness to take on racist language is equal to his giving the world of golf a pass on racism. He's kicked the shit out of racism in the world of golf. Institutional racism historically denied men like him entry into that world and look at him now.

  Equality surely includes the right of the individual to choose his own battles and expecting a black man to behave or react one way over another because he's black is, well, some kind of racism. I couldn't care any less about golf, but I salute Tiger Woods.

  by blueteam on Mon Jan 21, 2008 at 06:09:34 PM PDT

  •  Truly.

    Tiger Woods is a class act. He accepted the apology as any gentleman of class would. It's no big deal to him because this woman has no class....and Tiger could buy and sell her twice if he chose to.

    Class acts like Tiger Woods waste not breath nor thought on pancake-assed announcers who slip and let their true color show.

    by bic momma on Mon Jan 21, 2008 at 06:56:08 PM PDT

    •  Tiger does not

      think of himself as black. He has self-identified himself as mixed-race. He has never injected anything related to race in his public persona.  

      by VClib on Mon Jan 21, 2008 at 07:11:00 PM PDT

      •  Sure he does....just not exclusively....

        ...because his ethnic background is African, Thai, Chinese, American Indian and European.

        by bic momma on Mon Jan 21, 2008 at 07:57:10 PM PDT

•  I obviously pervades the Democratic party.

  So I don't think you have to worry about Obama's nomination.

  But, if you really are that concerned about racism limiting Obama's chances, I'd suggest voting for Clinton as a way to prevent yourself from being disappointed in your country.

  It will take some real political courage for the Democratic party to nominate a black man, but you don't have to be a part of it.

  by brooklynbadboy on Mon Jan 21, 2008 at 06:13:25 PM PDT

•  Another example

  If I remember correctly the reigning champion hosts a dinner at the Masters every year.  A few years ago, the year after Tiger Woods won his first Masters, Fuzzy Zoeller was caught on tape musing as to whether Tiger would serve fried chicken and watermelon at the banquet. Well!!!  As you can imagine there was a furor, but the context and the message are the same: It was a racist comment by a white man about a black man. As for the word "lynch", even though it describes an illegal execution by a mob outside of established authority structures, it still cannot escape the long-established context of American whites summarily executing American blacks for trivial or imagined offenses.  Same goes for the noose; it may be a race-neutral object, but the long-established societal context tinges it with racism.

  To be fair, though, it seems to me that people "like that" will make demeaning comments about others no matter what the respective races are; it's about putting another guy down in order to make yourself look like his "better".  What these yutzes don't understand is that they're actually making themselves look like jerks.

  To paraphrase an old saying:  I love humanity, it's people I can't stand!!!

  Liberal = We're all in this together
  Conservative = Every man for himself
  Who you gonna call?

  by Oye Sancho on Mon Jan 21, 2008 at 06:32:04 PM PDT

•  Cheer up geordie

  People don't want to talk about politics because it makes them uncomfortable.

  MLK made a lot of people really uncomfortable.

  by catfish on Mon Jan 21, 2008 at 06:59:12 PM PDT

  •  Some people give a rat's ass about politics,

    comfortable or not. Maybe Tiger fits into that category? Quite possibly he's more focused on what he can accomplish within his sport...

    by jayden on Mon Jan 21, 2008 at 07:08:38 PM PDT

    •  Who knows

      not sure what your point is?

      by catfish on Mon Jan 21, 2008 at 07:24:12 PM PDT

      •  My point is your over-generalization

        Not everyone who avoids politics does so because it makes them uncomfortable. Some just don't enjoy or are interested in politics.

        by jayden on Mon Jan 21, 2008 at 10:40:11 PM PDT

•  I try not to confuse insensitivity

  with outright racism or homophobia. It would seem to me that Tiger is aware of the difference as well.

  They were thoughtless and woefully ill-chosen words by the commentator. The historical context cannot be denied. But I would not label her comment racist.

  Intent matters.

  by jayden on Mon Jan 21, 2008 at 07:02:27 PM PDT

  •  Intent absolutely matters

    and is the operative word here. Unfortunately insensitivity is all too prevalent in our society today where few of the people in power, those who have so much influence, care about the welfare of others.

    Not sure if I make any sense but I liked what you said.

    by mimibull on Mon Jan 21, 2008 at 08:34:15 PM PDT

•  Race Concern If Hillary Is Nominated

  The right will come down like a hammer on blacks with whisper, pushpoll and email campaigns hyping that the Clintons threw blacks under the bus to beat Obama.

  Same if it's Edwards.

  So we're going to get hammered on race no matter how it turns out, to suppress the portion of the black vote that manages to get through national vote caging and photo ID laws.

  by Gooserock on Mon Jan 21, 2008 at 07:26:21 PM PDT

  •  Presumably Obama would work tirelessly

    to quell any such slander. After all, he's not just in this for himeself. Surely he knows how high the stakes are in this election.

    by output on Mon Jan 21, 2008 at 08:56:25 PM PDT