While some of American Idol's top rated moments come from the obvious ridicule of individuals with an appearance outside of what the general public considers "Hollywood Material", imagine what wonderful talent we miss when talented individuals who see this ridicule forgo opportunities out of shame and fear.
Recently, Susan Boyle blew audiences and judges away on Britain's Got Talent. See her performance here: Susan Boyle Performs song from Les Miserables. Similar to a previous contestant, Paul Potts, whose rendition of Nessun Dorma brought one judge to tears. The obvious skepticism and ridicule apparent in the audience was no deterrent for these two who had a gift they wanted to share. However, they are the exception.
We make so many assumptions in life...at work and at home. How often do our negative assumptions based on gender, race, sexual orientation or physical appearance deter individuals from expressing themselves and sharing their gifts? Conversely, how many opportunities do we miss to see, hear or experience something new and beautiful because of these biases?
It's so funny that a phrase we so commonly use, "Never judge a book by its cover", is so rarely followed.
LaShana Jackson
Director - Aon Diversity & Inclusion
Wonderful article in today's Chicago Tribune (http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/columnists/chi-schmich-bd19-apr19,0,6444611.column) also about Susan Boyle. The author,Mary Schmich, makes an excellent point..."people deserve respect even if they don't have talent". The point of my post is not to say that we should only value people who are different and talented, but that we should be willing to learn from everyone no matter what their appearance. However, we must realize that we miss out on extremely talented people everyday because of the way we isolate individuals who are different.
Posted by: LaShana Jackson | April 19, 2009 at 10:09 AM