When the Tiger Woods scandal first broke I just ignored it. A famous sports player fucked around on his wife? That’s not news. But I’ll admit that when the cuckolding angle came into it I was entertained. Still though, it’s not really news. It’s of interest to his wife of course but it’s a private matter.
I’m glad I’m not the only one who feels this way.
From The Guardian:
Tiger Woods’s cold embrace
“Tiger Woods’ self-imposed exile from golf is the most stunning – and stunningly rapid – fall from grace in the history of sport.
(snip)
The least attractive part of Woods’ persona – including all his recent peccadilloes – is his complete absence of conscience when it comes to peddling his billion-dollar brand. Tiger’s partnership with Chevron and the financial bandits in Dubai deserves far more scrutiny from the sports press than it’s received (none).
Then there was the Philippines. As detailed in the documentary The Golf War, the Filipino government, in conjunction with the military and developers, attempted in the late nineties to remove thousands of peasants from their land, known as Hacienda Looc, to build a golf course. They resisted and three of the movement’s leaders ended up dead. Where was Woods? He was brought in by the government to play in an exhibition match and sell golf (not explicitly the course, wink, wink), all for an undisclosed fee.
Whoa. The movie is from 1999 but I’ve never heard of it. Was it widely reported back then? Isn’t it a real scandal? I did some research:
From the Golf War’s site:
“When Filipino peasants resist converting their ancestral farmland into a golf resort, they face a bloody struggle against developers and their government. Tracking down both armed guerrillas and golf boosters, including Tiger Woods, the filmmakers reveal a larger, national battle over land and revolution in what the LA Times called a “bombshell of an expose.”
Peasants in a beachfront community called Hacienda Looc have been tilling their land for generations. But, the Filipino government decided to follow a U.S. Agency for International Development-funded report that recommended the area instead be used for tourism. The government illegally sold the peasants’ land for less than it’s worth to the Manila South coast Development Corporation (MSDC). To cover itself, the government later claimed that this fertile mountainous area and tropical paradise was not suited for agriculture. Fil-Estate Land, Inc. is working with the MSDC to develop the Hacienda Looc land into a four-course golf and tourist resort.
When the peasants who live on the land learned of this takeover, they formed an organization called Umalpas-Ka, a chapter of the larger national peasant federation KMP. The developers are working in collusion with the military, as well as with national and local politicians. Meanwhile, three peasant opponents of the golf course construction have been killed. Consequently, many peasants have supported the New People’s Army’s offer to protect their families and their land.”
My Google-fu couldn’t find a film trailer. But I did find a transcript of the film here.
Posted by Vixen as News at 11:46 PM CST