Can A Tiger Change His Stripes?
Should Elin forgive Tiger and try to rework their marriage? Would it be better for their two kids (daughter Sam Alexis, born in 2007, and son Charlie Axel, born in February) if they stayed together, or does it actually do more harm?
The whole Tiger Woods scandal has caused an absolute media frenzy. In case you've been living under a rock, in summary, Tiger was caught with his pants down with now what seems to be a tawdry list of a dozen willing bed mates. Some of the alleged women happen to even include porn stars. Since the scandal has emerged, his pretty Swedish wife, Elin Nordegren, has gone underground.
At this point it's a little unclear whether she'll be sticking around to work on the marriage or if she'll be bidding him adios. Some reports state that she's already moved out and in fact has recently purchased a castle back in Sweden. Other reports suggest otherwise and claim that the couple is going for marriage counseling, and she's changed her prenuptial agreement, so that if he ever does it again, she gets a handsome payout of 55 million dollars.
While we aren't sure what Elin plans to do, we'd like to know what you guys think. Should Elin forgive Tiger and try to rework their marriage? Would it be better for their two kids (daughter Sam Alexis, born in 2007, and son Charlie Axel, born in February) if they stayed together, or does it actually do more harm?
If she stays will she be sending the wrong message to her kids?
Shouldn't we be teaching our kids that misconduct bears – or at least should bear – a cost? And that ethics should remain in place no matter whom or what is affected by those standards. After all, ethics that change with the situational tides are not ethics at all; they are but policies of convenience.
On the other, if Elin does leave Tiger, wouldn't the "cost" then fall squarely on the kids? Studies after studies have shown the long term ill effect of divorce on children. In fact, a study in The Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, found that children six years after a parental marriage breakup still tended to be “lonely, unhappy, anxious and insecure”. If that's the case, would it be better for Elin then to just suck it up, and play martyr for her kids?
Also, while Tiger says he regrets the transgressions, and we are sure he does, how do we know that he won't do it again? After all can a Tiger (wait for it) really change his stripes? How can Elin be sure that he won't go back to his seedy gaudy bearer ways once everything blows over?
Tell us what you think!