How would you like to go through life having been told by the highest authority in your country that you were too ugly to sing in public? This is what happened to sever-year old Yang Pelyl at the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics. She sang the "Ode to the Motherland" while a nine-year old girl lip-synced it on stage in front of 91,000 attendees and a world-wide TV audience. A member of the Chinese Politburo ordered the switch because Pelyl was said to be too chubby and had crooked baby teeth.
Contrast this with President Harry Truman's conduct more than 60 years ago. He told a young heckler to shut up and sit down in a public forum. Then worried that the young man would carry that chastisement through life, Truman had the Secret Service round up the man. The President talked with him, listened to the man, apologized for snapping at him and sent him on his way. The young man walked away with a smile on his face. The story was released to the media on Truman's orders.
