Voting For A Stutterer
Posted on: April 6, 2013
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- 4 Comments
Well, Lazaro Arabos made it through another round on American Idol this week. In fact, voters put him in the top three this week.
This came as a surprise, since Lazaro forgot some lyrics in his duet performance this week, just like he did in last week’s performance. And Jimmy Iovine, the show’s mentor, had predicted that Lazaro should be in the bottom two or voted off the show.
The judges thought Lazaro’s solo performance of “We Are The Champions” was a perfect song choice for him, as the song signals that Lazaro is a champion after defying the odds to sing so well despite his severe stutter.
But many critics are saying that Lazaro is getting through when he should not, and at the expense of much better singers.
Do you think Lazaro is getting the sympathy vote? Do you think people are voting for him just because he stutters? To make a statement that finally, someone with a disability, can get this far?
I have been following the show every week this year. As a person who stutters myself, I greatly admire what Lazaro is doing. He is a great singer, but clearly struggles with interviews. But he does them anyway. He’s a great role model in that regard.
But I don’t think he is the better singer over some that have been eliminated since the top 10 was established.
If you are a person who stutters, are you rooting for Lazaro just because he stutters? Do you think he deserves to have made it this far? If you don’t stutter, what do you think?
4 Responses to "Voting For A Stutterer"
April 10, 2013 at 7:30 PM
So sad, that S Richard Lamoureux
decides to put in 50 votes every week to a show he doesn’t even watch just to make an example of Lazaro. Your rationalization of why you think it’s okay for Lazaro to get the pity vote is reasonable. Yet, you still don’t even like the show nor watch it. Sad.
And you think you are helping Lazaro? I don’t think so. You are helping more people who already have negative feelings towards someone like Lazaro, to justify and continue their negative feelings towards him. Because, it’s not right nor fair to the other deserving singers that got the boot.
I admire Lazaro and what he does. He IS a good singer, is he better than the past 2-3 singers that got voted off? No. And that is the truth.
Technicality of singing does not include forgetting lyrics.
Make Room For The Stuttering 
April 6, 2013 at 3:28 PM
I haven’t watched Idol at all, and I vote for Lazaro all the time. Fifty votes, every week. Yes, I vote for him because he has a stutter. Good examples need to be supported. To those who whine that Lazaro isn’t the best singer, my response is: So what? I vote for who I want, for the reasons I choose. It’s just a karaoke show, not the US presidency.
April 6, 2013 at 5:09 PM
Yes, he’s a good example of a person who stutters living his dream and not letting his disability hold him back.
But is he the best person to win as a singer, given the stiff competition of singers who don’t stutter?
April 6, 2013 at 6:01 PM
I got into an argument in a Facebook PWS group with someone who insisted that voting for Lazaro was wrong because there were so many better singers, you’re just voting for him because it’s PC, etc. My view that the show is just a ridiculous reality show I don’t even bother watching didn’t stop the exchange. Some PWS seem to wear their non-support of Lazaro like a badge of honor, as if it makes them fair. But who you prefer as a singer comes down to how you feel, and feelings are highly subjective. Popularity of singers often comes down to more than technique, after all. Technically speaking, Gary Puckett is a greater singer than most, but who even knows who he is nowadays?