Fred Shuster: The "Idol" Lottery

are the hurt feelings inflicted on those given the hook. Just look at the faces on the official site. In the pics, these kids look so determined, so full of hope, so positive.

Then, one by one, they're insulted, shunned, criticized and ultimately dumped back into their old lives. Yes, they knew what they were getting into, but it's still a lot of public humiliation for some very young kids that may not recover from the experience.

The whole "Idol" ordeal reminds me of the Shirley Jackson short story "The Lottery." In it, a New England village with "average" citizens engage in a deadly rite, the annual selection of a sacrificial victim by means of a public lottery.

It isn't until the end of the story that we realize the "winner" will be stoned to death by the rest of the villagers.