By way of folklorist Alan Dundes, author Cecil Brown applies a bit of old-fashioned Freudian analysis to the Tiger Woods joke cycle:
Today in America, in a time in which the most powerful man in America, the president, is a black man, whites -- even the liberal whites -- experience anxiety over white women and black men. The Woods joke cycle indicates this as well:More in CounterpunchQ) What is Tiger Woods' handicap?
A) White women.
If Tiger had been white or if his girlfriends had been black, the Tiger joke cycle would have no reason to exist, because it wouldn't cause anxiety in white men. In the Clinton joke cycle, Clinton is praised for his misdeeds -- here Tiger is punished. The moral of the story is that if you are a white male, you are not a threat. If you are a black male, the joke is against you.
Comments
This is NOT fair! In my country (South Africa), a similar infidility scandal surfaced involving one of the celebs, a white rugby hero. Many jokes were made against him. Why do people always look for the racist undertones???
I’m a white woman living in South Africa, and I’m sick to my soul of the race card being played over, and over, and over. If the siuation regarding Tiger’s indiscretion was different, his ‘handicap’ wouldn’t have been a ‘white’ woman, it would have been a ‘young’ woman, a ‘pretty’ woman, or, his wife. But, a joke would have evolved.
I’m sick of political correctness. It’s boring. Seems in the US you can wish someone a happy Hannukah, or happy Kwanzaa (or whatever that newly invented holiday is called), but not a happy Christmas, in case you hurt tender feelings.
I’m white, I belong to a minority group in this country, and I’m proud of it.
Thank you for letting me vent.
Cecil Brown’s quote of the week … I’m not racist ok.. but I get tired of hearing this load of CRAP! Clinton caught a ton of jokes about him and Monica.. These recent jokes weren’t about him (Tiger) being black.. it was about him maintaining the clean cut image he used to have.. until he got caught fooling around.. When will being Caucasian in America be free from sins of our forefathers.. Yes racism still exists and will for a very long time.. it goes both ways.. I’ve seen some blacks just as racist as whites.. I just had to comment on this .. I’m over the guilt of slavery.. so many others were abused and treated like slaves too.. naming Chinese.. the greed of money used humans as slaves.. I many black friends that send me these Tiger jokes and they don’t shove the “cause he’s black issue.. and he’s only part black”
BT.. Sacramento, CA
I am getting to all of this BS over Tiger Woods. The man has made a great mistake. I think,that in deference to all of us,Just let it lie. Enough is enough and we have now passed the enough stage. He has to make amends for his lapse in judgement. He has to rectify things with his wife. We need to allow that to him and stop all of the comments.
C’mon, there will be jokes no matter what. I’ve been hearing Warren Beatty jokes since the unauthorized bio enumerated his total hookups. And that’s just as the Wilt Chamberlain jokes are fading…
I don’t recall any jokes or even anybody batting an eye when Tiger married Elin. It’s the “fall from grace” that attracts the humor, not the race of the subjects.