Susan Boyle's triumph a slap in the face to prejudice

The world's discovery this week of Susan Boyle offers humanity another opportunity to look at itself.

People snickered when the 47-year-old woman from Blackburn, Scotland stepped onto the stage of "Britain's Got Talent." They guffawed when she said she wanted to be a professional singer, and they laughed when she said she wanted to be as good as Elaine Paige, a British actress and singer.

Then they stopped laughing.

Why? Because she did exactly what she said she would: made the audience "rock."

Her stunning rendition of "I Dreamed a Dream" from the play "Les Miserables" has set the world on fire since the segment aired April 11. Even the notoriously critical Simon Cowell was speechless, and anyone could see him just melt under the power of her angelic voice.

Why was everyone so skeptical at first? Because she didn't look the way people expect a talented singer to look. Being in her late 40s, she had put on a few extra pounds. Caring for her ailing mother the last few years and working in charity had taken their toll on her, and she didn't have a lot of money to spend on clothes.

It seems to me we've gotten off track here. What does any of this have to do with talent?

Nothing. Not a damn thing.

And yet, as one of the judges pointed out after Boyle finished her performance, everyone was against her before they even heard her sing. This is a serious flaw we must pause to consider.

In my opinion, this kind of intolerance of someone's appearance originates from the same source as racism, homophobia, gender prejudice and age discrimination. People have lost so many opportunities for advancement because of their race, their age, their sexual orientation and their gender; likewise, many of us miss out on opportunities to benefit from someone's talent or genius because they don't have "the look." Instead, we hold out for someone who has a very admirable appearance who may not have nearly as much talent as someone else. This is not to say that attractive people aren't capable and talented too, but the looks are purely coincidental.

This brings to mind the story of a friend of mine who encountered prejudice while shopping for a new car. She is Native American and was wearing jeans and moccasins. A salesman sneered at her and told her he didn't know what she was doing there because she couldn't afford anything on the lot.

It just so happened that this woman was very well-off financially. She returned to the dealership the following day and purchased a new car with cash paid in full. She paid the money to another salesman, making sure the man who insulted her the previous day saw the transaction.

This is one of probably millions of examples of lost opportunities brought about when people make snap judgments. This case illustrates that when we indulge ourselves in snap judgments based on irrelevancies such as appearance, we are setting ourselves up to look ridiculous.

The audience at "Britain's Got Talent" did indeed look extremely foolish, but no more so than we have all done to ourselves at one time or another. Fortunately, they quickly redeemed themselves as soon as Boyle showed them her stuff. Everyone was overwhelmed not by the fact that her appearance caught them off guard but by the sheer beauty of her voice, a voice I suspect has been empowered by years of struggle. Caring for her ailing mother and doing charity work must have matured her talent to a level of profound ecstasy that she projected to her audience, which was more than happy to give her a standing ovation.

After watching her YouTube clip several times (which at this writing on Friday afternoon had more than 20 million hits), I began to notice other things. She's brazenly informal, and when you combine that with her voice, you get a fine blend of elegant talent, earthy sensibility and gutsy confidence.

She moved about the stage, addressing different parts of the audience as she delivered her performance, indicating she knows how to relate to her fans and build a relationship with them. As she walked off the stage (before the judges called her back), her profile showed a very elegant and stately walk. She had a fresh poise that captivated everyone.

News reports say there are already negotiations for a record deal, and fans the world over eagerly await her first CD. The music industry, for giving her a chance, will get the following: a mature woman who wants to sing, and will make them a substantial amount of money doing that, without all the headaches of some starry-eyed teenager going ape-wild over the sudden fame and fortune. I think the record company, whoever signs her, is getting a pretty good deal. As are we all.