MASTERS OF RHETORIC
I noted with interest the comments by Martha Burk about Augusta National and the women
who are risking their lives in the interests of, so our leaders tell us, extending the
blessings of freedom and equality to all the world. It does seem a bit ironic that these
women should be denied at home the equality for which they are fighting.
The spokesman for Augusta National called shame upon Burk for invoking our soldiers
to further her own ends of self-promotion. It always makes me shake my head when I
encounter the brazen gall of some apologist for inequity who calls shame on others when
his own organization deserves the contempt. Of course, if he didn't have a full
supply of gall, he wouldn't be participating in Augusta National's exclusivist policies in
the first place. The question of exclusively men's -- or women's -- organizations
will not be settled here, but we can at least deal with the glorified role one of them
plays through the exposure of the Masters -- and the snide rhetoric of Augusta National's
spokesman. The apologetics have been spectacular in their creativity.
I suggest that Burk allow her tactics to be informed by the color of the jacket given to the
Masters winner. Go after the sponsors. If her constituents would do as I plan to do –
watch CBS golf broadcasts often enough to find out who is sponsoring them and then
avoid those sponsors when possible – somebody might get the idea.
I don't mean just at the Masters, though. Augusta National has paid for the whole broadcast
themselves, so
no sponsors will lose money. Of course, they won't sponsor ALL CBS's golf broadcasts
throughout the year, so that card can still be played. Burk might also consider that
any player participating
in this event is lending tacit support to good-old-boy exclusionism. I believe that all
players on tour have sponsors. It might be useful to get out lists of these sponsors as
well. Of course, CBS, the PGA, and Augusta National should know about her
intentions. Imagine the squealing! The self-righteous spin-doctoring alone
should be worth the effort.
Perhaps we could move the golf establishment into the 20th Century. I think it is about
time seeing as the rest of us are now in the 21st.