think about it

E and I have been watching this clip together on YouTube (as well as some other clips from the show -- as we sort of got hooked on watching talented people -- it's the envy factor).

I love the sound of her voice; it's rich and smooth, like a glass of great red wine. I also love how E gets a smile on his face watching her sing and wow the audience.

But the best part of watching the clip was when E, pointing to the judges and the members of the audience, said, "Look, they don't think she can sing well. But she can!" (This was after having watched it several times already.) I asked him, "Why do you think they don't think she can sing?"

I suppose I expected him to say, "Because she's not young and beautiful. She doesn't look like she can be a good singer." I suppose I anticipated a teachable moment, where I would say, "But she can sing, and we should never judge people by their appearance."

Well, how judgemental of me.

E's response was a shrug with "I don't know."

How non-judgemental of him. And how refreshing. He just cared that she did sing beautifully and the judges and the audience loved her performance. He has not been polluted by currently existing social expectations and psychology, where you're nobody if you don't look like (fill in the blank with the name of a movie star).

Really, why did we even think she couldn't sing, when we saw her walk on stage?

As the author of this article asked, is Susan Boyle ugly? Or are we?