BBC columnist Disability Bitch says Susan Boyle’s star turn on Britain’s Got Talent made her feel like running off to join the circus. Boyle has said she has learning disabilities. An excerpt:

My question, readers, is this: why are people so astonished when they discover either that 1) a disabled person is actually talented; or 2) a talented person is actually disabled? While it’s very lovely that one of our number is making the headlines for something other than committing benefit fraud, it does speak volumes about the low level of expectation that the public has for disabled people in general. I had to eat an extra packet of doughnuts when I realised that.

Depressing, isn’t it? I do, however, have a plan. You see, Normal People have always loved to watch Abnormal People. Back in the days before the welfare state, the most lucrative career option for weird looking folk was to appear in freak shows … Disabled people are fascinating, and everyone loves to watch us. So let’s take advantage.

… Readers, get yourself to karaoke and start practising.

Boyle’s performance is here: 46 million views and still rising.

(Photo from the [UK] Times)

This entry was posted on Monday, April 27th, 2009 at 5:57 am and is filed under NOT2BEMISSED, arts/music, entertainment, learning disabilities, public attitudes, television. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.  Email This Post