Everybody Hates Chez

Just a few of the more entertaining responses to my Sharon Osbourne vs. Susan Boyle piece, "The Ugly Truth," from over at the Huffington Post:

"Mr. Pazienza, just because you find a woman not to your sexual standards, really does not justify calling her "ugly" or really unattractive. Would you be so cavalier were those standards applied to your mother or sisters or some woman whom you care about? Everyone has an opinion, but that does not excuse lowering everything to acts of berating others. I do not condone your idea of "Truth" and I call it ugly."

-- Milinda

"Regardless of (Susan Boyle's) appearance, she's a lovely woman... People who pick on her about her not looking like some plastic surgeon's creation are only showing their own ugliness. As for people who say they think she's attractive being 'enlightened beings above petty prejudice'...well this article was both petty and prejudiced."

-- sallythewerewolf (I'll give you a minute to stop laughing at the name.)

"Boyle's attractiveness is no more or less than millions upon millions of other people who inhabit the earth and definitely no less attractive than paziena [sic] himself. she certainly has much more talent than he does."

-- respectingothers (whose icon, by the way, is a picture of Garfield)

"You don't understand the reason behind all the rage against Sharon Osbourne. Susan Boyle has a disability!!! She's been mocked and bullied all of her life... Sorry, Sharon will NEVER be forgiven by a lot of people."

-- LoveLelique

"Whatever your name is, Chez?, you can't speak for me and my response when Ms. Boyle walked out on the stage! Don't even try going there. I was watching Ms. Boyle's facial expressions and thinking how sweet she looked. And I cheered her on. I knew that it had been set up by the producers, especially after Simon "winced" when he saw her. What'shisname rolled his eyes. At that moment I knew 1. It was a setup 2. She was going to knock our socks off! I wish her all of the success she so richly deserves. I wonder if eventually Ms. Boyle will be able to buy and sell Mr. Chez? I think so! You go, woman, you go!"

-- PatA

"So by your logic, people are pre-ordering Susan Boyle's CD in nearly unprecedented numbers because we feel sorry for her and that makes us feel better about ourselves. It has nothing to do with her singing ability and the feeling it evokes in her listeners... Please, don't insult our intelligence. You still have a lot to learn about life."

-- fepgam

(Author's Note:Dear fepgam, No, people are pre-ordering her CD because, as I said, she has a very good voice. Plus, you don't have to look at her while listening to it.)

Here's someone who doesn't realize that she's ironically doing the same thing she accuses me of (poor Bela):

"Susan Boyle is not Angelina Jolie, nor is she Bela Abzug."

-- Singermuse


And my personal favorite:

"Why would you even WRITE a blog like this, discussing (and affirming) someone else's lack of visual appeal? Ugliness is on the inside, not the outside. I met someone, once, a neighbor, with a screeching voice I could only compare to nails on a chalkboard. One of the nicest people I ever met. But for the first few weeks, I could barely stand to be in a room with her. For very long. After a while I didn't even notice her voice anymore. Her kind and beautiful spirit erased my reaction, it simply was gone. Her beauty, like Susan Boyle's, is on the inside. I wonder about your inner looks, that you would decide to pen a column like this. You can't even pretend to see past, apparently, the outermost layer."

-- wadenelson1 (whose icon can be seen at right)

But as usual, there are one or two people who get it:

"You know, I agree wholeheartedly with the author of this article. Most of the comments on this thread just prove the point that he is making. We live in possibly THE most looks-obsessed society on EARTH and here we all are pretending that the reason for this is the Sharon Osbournes of the world and DEFINITELY NOT ANY OF US! We you see, unlike Sharon, never judge other people by their looks, RIGHT?!!! In case you missed it, the author is saying that the magnitude of the vitriol spewed at Sharon Osbourne for saying what we were all thinking when Susan Boyle first walked out on to that BGT stage is in direct proportion to our hypocrisy. Sorry but Susan Boyle would be just another pretty girl with a good voice if she hadn't so not looked the way that voice sounded. Some patronising people are saying that we can't say she is not attractive in the way that our society values most because she is disabled. I think that's just as insulting as saying she can't be really hot because she's disabled! I'm in no way defending Sharon Osbourne's choice of words or the ridiculous obsession with physical attractiveness that exists in our society so that we are collectively shocked when Susan Boyle sings. It is wrong to judge people based on anything other than their character, but it is who we are. If we don't like it, we should revisit our social values."

-- BeFairNow