Why is Tiger Woods black, not Asian?

Great Debates
21

I’ve said this many times: Black trumps all.

It doesn’t matter how many times Tiger says he’s Cablasian or that he’s proud to be Asian or that he’d like to be considered just American. . . he will be viewed as black.
I know from personal experience how fustrating it is to be multi-racial and yet get heat from both blacks and non-blacks for daring to lay claim to any part of my European heritage. There seems to be a heirachy as to what I am allowed to call myself:

I can be black with no problem with any group. I can be Spanish to blacks and Latin Americans with little problem. I can be American Indian to easily to all except blacks, who accuse me of trying to “pass”. I can be white to no one.
The above is, of course, a huge generalization with a sample size of one (myself). Still, this has been my experience by and large.

22

Woods is (or at least should be) free to describe himself any way he wants. If he calls himself a “Cablinasian”, then simple courtesy requires me to do the same.

23

But I thought cannibalism was against the law.

24

Oral sex is only illegal in certain areas. Thought you’d like to know.:wink:

25

We need to get our priorities straight. We should not be worrying about what to call Tiger. Instead we should be working on getting Tiger together with Annika Sorenstam in order to create a new race of super golfers!

26

Just don’t piss him off or he’ll unleash his mighty teeth of doom on you!

27

Soooo…

28

Well, Shodan, I don’t necessarily agree that Tiger Woods has an obligation to become a spokesman for whatever cause Jesse Jackson is pushing in a given week. I don’t say he HAS to take any political stance at all. I merely point out that many black Americans (and a lot of angry, white liberal journalists, for that matter) think he should.

For that matter, ARE there times when one HAS to define himself by the prejudices of others? Well, yes! Hypothetical example: SUPPOSE that, in 1933, Germany’s top soccer player was 1/8 Jewish. Now, this imaginary athlete may NEVER have set foot in a synagogue in his life, may not think of himself as Jewish at all, may think of himself purely as a German and as an athlete. He may WANT to shrug off Hitler and the Nazis by saying, “Hey, politics isn’t my scene, I’m just a soccer player.” But…

  1. Wouldn’t he have SOME moral obligation to use his position and popularity to stand up for other JEws facing oppression?

  2. Even if he himself didn’t think twice of his Jewish heritage, wouldn’t he be foolish to dismiss the danger he might face from others who WOULD regard him as a dirty Jew?

To use a flawed analogy, look at Hank GReenberg and Sandy Koufax, two of baseball’s all-time greats. Both were Jews, but neither was religious. As far as I know, neither attended a synagogue, kept kosher, or took his heritage all that seriously. And yet, both made a point of skipping important games (in Koufax’ case, a 1965 World Series game) when they coincided with Jewish holy days.

Why? Well, presumably because, while neither really felt much connection with his faith or heritage, both saw a need to set an example for Jewish kids, AND to make a statement to Gentiles (“yes, your favorite athlete is a Jew- maybe you want to rethink your prejudices”).

So, even if Tiger Woods feels more kinship with the Asian side of his heritage than with the African side, I CAN see where some might feel a guy with his power and visibility has some obligation to USE some of that power to help black Americans.

29

Well, Shodan, I don’t necessarily agree that Tiger Woods has an obligation to become a spokesman for whatever cause Jesse Jackson is pushing in a given week. I don’t say he HAS to take any political stance at all. I merely point out that many black Americans (and a lot of angry, white liberal journalists, for that matter) think he should.

For that matter, ARE there times when one HAS to define himself by the prejudices of others? Well, yes! Hypothetical example: SUPPOSE that, in 1933, Germany’s top soccer player was 1/8 Jewish. Now, this imaginary athlete may NEVER have set foot in a synagogue in his life, may not think of himself as Jewish at all, may think of himself purely as a German and as an athlete. He may WANT to shrug off Hitler and the Nazis by saying, “Hey, politics isn’t my scene, I’m just a soccer player.” But…

  1. Wouldn’t he have SOME moral obligation to use his position and popularity to stand up for other JEws facing oppression?

  2. Even if he himself didn’t think twice of his Jewish heritage, wouldn’t he be foolish to dismiss the danger he might face from others who WOULD regard him as a dirty Jew?

To use a flawed analogy, look at Hank GReenberg and Sandy Koufax, two of baseball’s all-time greats. Both were Jews, but neither was religious. As far as I know, neither attended a synagogue, kept kosher, or took his heritage all that seriously. And yet, both made a point of skipping important games (in Koufax’ case, a 1965 World Series game) when they coincided with Jewish holy days.

Why? Well, presumably because, while neither really felt much connection with his faith or heritage, both saw a need to set an example for Jewish kids, AND to make a statement to Gentiles (“yes, your favorite athlete is a Jew- maybe you want to rethink your prejudices”).

So, even if Tiger Woods feels more kinship with the Asian side of his heritage than with the African side, I CAN see where some might feel a guy with his power and visibility has some obligation to USE some of that power to help black Americans.

30

I think Mr. Woods should be able to decide which ethnic group he decides to be a part of. And yes, it would be nice if he used his wealth and influence for good things. For all we know, he may support a great number of causes but does so quietly.

If I were him, I would call myself black. That way, if slavery reparations ever come to pass, all those Appalachian coal miners who have been squandering their money on feeding their families can pool their money and pay it to him because of course, since slavery existed 140 years ago, he never had a chance to realize his potential in this country.

31

:rolleyes:

Go beat your dead horse somewhere else, yanx4ever.

32

Wouldn’t you have some moral obligation to stand up for Jews facing oppression? ("First they came for the Jews and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew… ") The oppression of minorities will not end as long as the majority stands idly by because it’s their problem.