When Susan Boyle walked out on stage at Britain’s Got Talent in April 2009, everyone pre-judged her, not one person in the audience or on the judging panel gave here a hope in hell. She didn’t look like who she wanted to emulate, and a call was made on that assumption.
Some minutes later an ecstatic audience were united in rapturous adulation of what they had witnessed. The judges held their hands and everything else up to Boyle confessing their prejudice.
Before Boyle sang, Simon Cowell asked her “OK, what’s the dream?”, she replied “I’m trying to be a professional singer”. Cowell then continued, “and why hasn’t it worked so far Susan?” Boyle then replies, “I’ve never been given the chance before, but here’s hoping it’ll change”.
The rest of course is history, watching the clip recently made me think of how many people that have never been given a chance could also prove to be monumentally talented.
I just wonder how many people living with disability, if given a chance, could Boyle a job in hospitality?
Denis Sheehan FIH
