In Waitress, a musical I love, there’s a song called “When He Sees Me” that I love. But there’s one line that gives me pause.
Here’s the verse (emphasis mine):
Sorry girls
But he could be criminal, some sort of psychopath
Who escaped from an institution
Somewhere where they don’t have girls
He could have masterminded some way to find me
He could be colorblind
How untrustworthy is that?
He could be less than kind
The context here is that Dawn is single and hesitant about putting herself out there. Most of all she’s afraid of being hurt, and the joke of the song is that she can’t quite admit that fact, and she chooses instead to enumerate all of her other excuses for not going on a date: minor infractions like calling the waiter by his first name or eating Oreos wrong, for example. It’s a breathless and very funny stream of consciousness. Ha ha, right?
But hold on, what’s her problem with colorblind people? How is it untrustworthy to be colorblind? I love this song, but I always trip over that line. In addition to being a bit ableist, it’s also such a non sequitor.
I’m reminded of the classic 2008 parody of Deep Blue Something’s Breakfast at Tiffany’s from the sketch comedy group Olde English:
That’s me right now.
Dawn’s characterization is probably strengthened by her being a little bit shitty about this. She’s such a sweet character that for her to be randomly biased against a protected group is funny, in a dark way. In the chorus, she asks, “What if when he knows me, he’s only disappointed?” The audience is inclined to love and root for Dawn, but in order for the song to resonate, she needs to show some human flaws.