In case you live under a rock...

[hymnia]

...and haven't heard of Susan Boyle and her unforgettable performance on "Britain's Got Talent", go watch!

Like many, I found Ms. Boyle's performance inspiring. But in the week since she took YouTube by storm, I've seen some responses like this one that seem a bit too eager to squash that feeling of inspiration with comments like:

The unspoken

Comments

[hymnia]

Oh thanks for the info! On YouTube it's being billed as some sort of British version of "American Idol", so I thought it was exclusively a music show.

[piperx]

That show sounds way cooler than American Idol!

[piperx]

I agree but I think that she was also being judged by her age and that is at least a little valid. There is an expectation that if a person is truly talented, it won't take decades for that person to be discovered. At least this explanation makes me feel better about how the audience treated her.

I'm very glad that Susan's success has the effect of getting people to talk about this subject.

[dome36]

unfortunately you are what you look like, including what you wear. Believe me, I know what I am saying.

Susan Boyle was a lesson!

Great performance, great woman!

Dome

[ginny_t]

I agree she did great. I think it was indeed very courageous of her to have gone on the show because she knew she was going to face the reaction that she got before she sang. A 47-year-old woman who is not traditionally beautiful or delusional is going to know the reaction she's going to get (especially from Simon the @sshole).

Still, I think that the judges' and the audience's reaction to her appearance was absolutely horrible, and it says something about our society. She was pre-judged to be a waste of time, a self-delusional old fat lady who was there for them to laugh at and nothing more.

She showed 'em, and good on her, but bad on them (and us).