-Opinion Monday August 17th 2015 by
Theron K. Cal Managing Editor, RBR Network
White commentators and writers had fun with Tigers open mic moment at this weekends PGA Championship, where the worlds former number one three-putted leading to a personal worst third missed cut at a major. Tiger could be heard saying to himself; “What the F-ck is wrong with you?”.
This is the part where I’m supposed to claim a light went off in my head, as I wondered to myself the same question but that would be a lie. I’ve always known that Tiger hated his race and culture, thought of Whites as superior. When that secret was exposed, it was like Samson losing his long flowing blond hair(there weren’t any Whites in Africa at the time of Samson but for analogy sake).
For those not familiar with the story, Samson was granted super natural powers by God but he had two vulnerabilities; his hair, and his attraction to untrustworthy (White)women.
The fact that Tigers hairline is receding and he’s balding at the crown, is not a problem as long as Nike requires a fitted cap with the swoosh logo prominently featured. That brings us to the untrustworthy White women.
I wasn’t the only one who made a stink about Tiger marrying the Nanny. Many in the media and in Black power circles were very vocal about another successful Black professional athlete marrying White. Even Oprah chimed in on at least two occasions-trying to get Tiger to see that he was indeed Black. All this selling out could be detrimental to his career and development as a Black man.
Tiger was Ben Affleck. We tried to tell him.
Even Nike weighed in when Tiger made the proclamation that he wasn’t Black but Canabalasian. The number one shoe manufacture encouraged-their most high profile star since Michael Jordan- to walk back his comments for a series of commercials where a Black kid proclaimed, “I am Tiger Woods”.
What I, Oprah and a few other of the 10% Blacks who embrace our Black race, culture and reject the myth of White supremacy know-that 99.9% of Whites and 90% of Blacks don’t-is that success for anyone is more rooted in how you feel about yourself than in your swing or the hours of practice you put in or how White your spouse is.
Its why when Bill Cosby was running around here cautioning Black women not to name their kids Barack or Oprah or Muhammad Ali, because they couldn’t accomplish anything in life with an African sounding name I simply cringed.
Your name is a constant reminder of who you are and if your name is Bill Cosby then you’re subject to get caught up by a bunch of untrustworthy White women 40 years later accusing you of rape. No, I’m just half-way joking but yes, who you THINK you are is far more important than who you could be if you embrace who you are.
And yes the name Tiger has a story behind it and indeed was given to and used by Woods as inspiration and motivation. The problem was he identified with White Tigers more so than Black Panthers and that is his problem(even Kobe calls himself the Black Mamba).
How Tiger Was Brought up
We know that Tiger was brought up in a lily White environment where his father did his share of selling out. No question about it, Tiger picked this up from his father. While its water under the bridge, I think its important that while nobody teachers their children to think of Whites and Asians as superior, few of us teach our children that they’re not.
Indeed many successful Blacks will falsely attribute their success to their rejection of Black stereotypes, which come with a rejection of our very race and culture that is responsible for our success. Yes had Tiger not been Black, say he had two Asian parents, there’s no doubt in this reporters mind that he’d be a so so golfer if one at all.
That said, I’m sure Jeremy Lin or KJ Choi would protest but neither of them have come even close to Tigers success.
On many levels myself, Oprah, Nike and much later President Obama have failed to properly convey to Tiger that embracing your Black is not to be militant or anti-White or to adhere to outdated racial or in many cases racist stereotypes.
On the contrary, Brothers and Sista’s like me, Oprah and Obama are very cognizant of how Whites perceive Blacks who don’t buy into the myth of White genetic, intellectual, moral and athletic superiority.
Tiger Misses Cut in 3td straight major a personal worst. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports
What experience has shown us is there’s but one trade off to conceding to the myth that our race and culture is degenerate and inferior, and that’s failure. While we sympathize with Whites who’s self-worth is tied up in White privilege and the myth of their genetic superiority, its a disaster for us as Blacks to adopt such a philosophy.
ESPN’s Freddy Coleman Agrees
On Freddy Colman’s radio show the topic of what’s wrong with Tiger came up. I suggested on Twitter that Tiger should call up President Obama. Obama lost to Bobby Rush to become the 2nd Black Senator since Reconstruction. It would be the last election he would ever lose.
Its so ironic because Obama lost to Rush because the State of Illinois Black residents viewed Obama as a sellout who didn’t really come from or care about the Black community. The President told Steve Croft of CBS News, that he felt as people get to know him they’d have a far different take on who he was, than if they simply listened to the scuttlebutt about him being a Muslim born in Kenya who hates America etc.
It was a chance meeting on a city bus that Obama met a co-worker of future Campaign Manager David Axelrod, who’s contacts connected the Obama campaign with Jewish money allowing Black voters to get to know the future Senator and the rest is as they say history.
My point being, Obama embracing his Black race and culture and rejecting the myth of White supremacy didn’t mean he couldn’t work with Whites to achieve his goals and objectives. Tiger doesn’t have to lose his friends or fire his White swing coaches but he does need to place less faith in them as he does in who he is and that means who he really is and not who he wants to be.
Who Tiger dates and or marries is important because it speaks to how he feels about his race and culture. Yes he did quite well balancing a healthy hatred of who he was with using his gifts that were the result of his having a Black father. His Black father is gone now so he’s going to have to look for other living inspiration.
Can Tiger comeback? Yes he can but not by tweaking his swing and finding another White Nanny to wed(there was a recent story that he’s looking to reconcile with ex wife Elin Nordegren). No, to comeback, to win more majors Tiger must embrace his Black race and culture, reject the myth of White supremacy. If so, he can win until he’s in his 50’s if not, in 40 years they’ll be claiming he drugged raped them.
Those are my thoughts as usual I invite yours.
TKCAL
