A brief rant which my fan base of 1 (who I probably will alienate with this post). America's Got Talent is on in the background while I am trying to get some work done. A young girl of 5 or 6 is on stage, singing her heart out. She is adorable. She is key chain cute as a friend used to say (as in small enough and cute enough to fit on a key chain). She is still signing, and I am nauseous with how sweet and cute she is. And then she finishes, unsure and cautious about how she interacts with the judges. And the first judge is some foreign puppet who in short tells her that while he thinks she is cute she is not ready for the big time of Vegas. Ugh. The crowd boos. The 6 year old stands like a deer in the headlights and at that moment you can almost see her insides crumble. How does a six year old interpret someone of authority (with an accent no less) saying something she doesn't understand, and then be boo-ed. The synapses in her brain barely are capable of learning lyrics and now she has to figure all of this out.
Someday, her parents will ask themselves, "why is our daughter bulemic?" or "what are all those cuts on her arms", or better yet, "how does she get up so high and spin down that brass pole?" I hope to be there with a copy of this video tape, because at that moment tonight, I watched the hopes of a six year old collapse after being aimed far too high for any six year old.
We have created a culture for parents to live through their children at early ages. Thanks Tiger Woods. We have created a culture where public humiliation in the hopes of fame are accepted, and applauded by audiences everywhere. Thanks Chuck Berris, and the Gong Show. We have created a culture where 12 year old girls have a more fictitious body image than ever before, and we can thank Paris Hilton.
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