Les Misérables

I check my email the first thing every morning :)
This morning, as I opened the web browser, a piece of news on British's Got Talent caught my attention.

It was on Susan Boyle. Curious, I clicked on it. I saw the video of Susan singing Les Les Misérables "I dreamed a dream". Needless to say, it was beautifully sung!

I tudou'ed (www.tudou.com) Les Misérables and found the musical online.
I played it while I was doing my work.

Les Misérables
translated variously from French as The Miserable Ones, The Wretched, The Poor Ones, The Wretched Poor, The Victims (1862) is a novel by French author Victor Hugo. I have not read the novel myself, but the musical that I listened (and watched) online had painted the whole story beautifully.

Fantine, was one of the characters from this novel / musical, she had to offer sexual services to earn a living because she was fired from her job as a factory worker after people have found out that she has an illegitimate daughter.

I reckon Fantine is one of the sex workers portrayed in famous literatures. Prostitution has been thought to bring shame to a woman because she is "expected" to be faithful to one (the husband) whereas he is "expected" (or perhaps that is too strong a word, "allowed") to have more than one sexual partner - the more to show masculinity!

I hear stories of wives consenting to their husbands' hobbies to purchase sexual services while they are at work, abroad. How so? - These wives will place condoms in too, as they pack their husband's luggage.

Ahh well, there are many miserable things that happen in life, that we cannot prevent (I presume?)

One of songs sang "At the end of the day, you are another day older, and that is all the thing you can say about the life of a poor".

As I continued you-tubing, I found a few videos. I shall stick them here, as a reminder that stigma and discrimination existed since a long time before.

Societal values that form social norms today, unfortunately, have not significantly change for the better.

Please click here for Susan Boyle's performance.


Andrew Johnston performing Pie Jesu.

When the judges asked whether his friends had provided him (moral) support to be in Britain's Got Talent, Andrew reveals that he gets bullied in school (because of his weird singing).

Andrew's mom (video at 0:30 secs) said "He gives me strength, as much as I give him strength".


Madonna Docena performing I will always love you (for her children)

I you-tubed further and found Madonna Docena's performance. She is a Filipino earning a living in the Wales. Many women like Madonna leave their homeland in search of a better life, for their children back at home, ironically, abroad.

I have met so many single mothers here.
So many who have ended up doing sex work in this country, to support their children and parents back at their home countries.

I think there are some who see them as "different".
That is where stigma branches out.


Pol Pot

Finally, I had also came across this video of Pol Pot singing. I thought his voice is absolutely brilliant! Yet, he mentions that he finds it difficult to discover his own self esteem.

There are two extremes of finding self esteem.
I have friends who belittle others in order to exert and confirm their existence and self esteem.
The other extreme is believing that they do not have self esteem, as that is what the "majority" says.

The one thing that we can change (or do), is just learning to respect others the way we want others to respect us; despite the difference in values, religion nor ethnic groups.

The other thing that I always do, is trying to be content of life and be proud of myself, my family, friends and everyone around me.
Life is beautiful.

If we look carefully, we look at life in different fish tanks (that forms our perception via cognition). There is no need to calibrate ourselves to what the "majority" believes is "normal" or "true", as long as we know what we do is right.

There is nothing wrong to be the "minority".