Friday, November 16, 2007

Jiri Tlusty should not be embarassed: media and girl should

I'm not sure how many non-sports fans have heard about this one, although it was carried by all major media outlets from what I can tell.

Seems Toronto Maple Leafs (that's hockey for you folks in Zimbabwe) rookie forward Jiri Tlusty hooked up with some gal over the internet a year ago and, one thing leading to another, he sent her a picture of himself "hanging out" at home, so to speak.

A year later, these photos mysteriously appear on the Web and the press is all over it. Shame! Scandal! Surely this will ruin the young man's career!

Tee-hee! Peepee! Poopoo!

But a surprising thing happeend on the way to the front page; the players interviewed seemed unaffected by Jiri's cyber "indiscretion". They didn't say, "the kid screwed up" or "let's send him to rehab and couselling, poor guy." Instead, they chalked it up as no big deal to anyone but the press. And guess what? The press ran it anyway.

Do you care, dear public?

I don't.

So why is this occupying space in my newspaper and time on my sportscast?

Seems the press have nothing better to do than to try to magnify any embarrassment the poor guy might be feeling, when perhaps they should be investigating what kind of person betrays a man's trust and leaks such "intimate" material to a website. If anyone should be hounded and embarrassed, it ought to be the person who sought to embarrass this guy: the gal, followed closely by the media themselves.

Frankly, it's no big deal to me. I cringe at the media's response - not the fact that a guy takes a picture of himself in the buff to send to an object of desire.

Hell, I wish women who fancied me would send me pictures of themselves in all their glory. I'm sorry for you prudes out there, but that's just hot. Ridiculously hot.

And I'd return the favour, if so desired and conditions permitting. Of course, I wouldn't send pics to an "internet girlfriend" as it appears Jiri did, but that's no excuse for betraying him. See, trust is the key here. When you share something "intimate" like that, you trust that the person won't go around flashing it (pardon the pun) to everyone in sight. That's a given. But if the person betrays that trust and the pics get "out there", then why should the "victim" feel shamed? Because something personal was revealed?

*gasp!*

First of all, dear critics, get over yourselves. You have "private parts" too. Stop acting like they don't exist. I often envy "exhibitionists" who have no fear of public perceptions and criticism (though many folks would suggets I am quite shameless myself). I shake my head at folks who think sex is dirty and shouldn't see the light of day.

Jiri need not feel shamed for being sexually expressive. The only mistake he made was trusting the wrong person.

Shame on her.

5 comments:

Karmic Angel said...

..so... you're putting out an open call for photos of ourselves, Phil? This is actually a pretty subtle approach for you! Well done!

Ok, no seriously, I agree with everything you have said, except for one tiny thing (no pun intended)... I find it refreshing that a naked man seems to be as big news to these media groups as a naked woman. I don't know why we hear about it more (because I refuse to believe that more women are sending around naked shots of themselves than men) when photos of a naked woman 'get out there.' The only thing that I do not find ridiculous about the coverage of this story is that it is getting equal attention regardless of the gender of the subject.
Other than that, totally with you, the media is essentially calling ALL of us prudes who can't handle that this man is a sexual being who is demonstrating his intentions to his prospective love-interest. I can handle it. And I too feel bad for him that his trust was so cruelly destroyed. Karma is a b&@^h my friend, and she's got some coming her way.

PS said...

Actually, I said I wished women who FANCIED me would send me pictures of themselves in all their glory.

Did you think I was talking about you?

Do you fancy me, KA?

Aw, that's sweet. ;P

I totally agree with your point - what's good for the goose is good for the gander (no pun intended). And as much as I appreciate the head's up that pics of some American Idol teenie bopper are available online for all to see should they so wish, we're not talking trashy entertainment "news" here: these are the SPORTS PAGES. Seriously, WTF?

(Who watches that entertainment garbage anyways? What the hell is wrong with the world these days that people can be talked about ad nauseum while having accomplished absolutely nothing? P. Hilton...I'm looking in your direction... I remember when Entertainment Tonight was actually about the entertainment industry and had entertainment news. God, I'm old.)

Karmic Angel said...

Well if I DID fancy you, Sullivan, you should be checking your inbox every half hour... I will let that be my answer to your smart-ass question.
And I am that old as well, when News was news, Entertainment was entertainment and never the two did get confused.

Anonymous said...

Thank you fort this! I am positive that Jiri and his family appreciate your level-headed post. That girl was just cruel...

PS said...

You're welcome, mysterious stranger!

Oh, and KA - I'm still checking my inbox every half hour. I think your computer must be broken.