And I don't mean the actual people of Walmart. I mean the photo collection website, to which I will not link because I don't want to promote it in any way. And it's not just that site. It's every site that mocks people just going about their life, minding their own business, when some mean person with a camera decides he or she is better than that person and chooses to snap their photo to share and mock with the world wide web.
I'm not talking about mocking people for the publicly displayed choices they make through protest or performance art or whatever. (A certain Topeka church comes to mind). If someone is putting themselves purposefully out in public to make a statement, then by all means, mock away if you don't agree with them. But there are weird people in the world. And that's okay. There are people who don't fit the standard of beauty (or really come anywhere near the ballpark of it). And that's okay. If someone is just living their life, happy in their own little universe, who the hell has the right to whip out a phone, take a picture and subject them to the cruelty of the world? Leaving your house does not mean you are granting license to every a$$&ole out there to take your picture.
Carly Findlay was one such woman who found her face plastered on Reddit and mocked. Carly has two rare skin conditions. As a result, she looks like she is severely sun burned. Carly is a blogger so when her face was used in one of these mean memes, she fought back! And beautifully so. But Carly had a platform from which to launch her defense and a talent for words to help her "win the internet". What about the dude with the unfortunate haircut, the single mom who is going through hell right now and left the house in her shabby clothes to spend her last dollar on food for her kids, the war veteran who is covered in odd scars. Who will defend them?
Parents, teach your kids not to mock people. Friends, call out your buddy when they point, stare and laugh. Humans, start loving the other humans! It's the only way we're all going to make it on this big ball of dirt we're sharing.
Yes! Great post - I totally agree that the Walmart blog and others like it are mean and nasty.
ReplyDeleteThose sites make it so much easier to engage in nasty behavior an individual wouldn't otherwise do. But just because it's anonymous doesn't mean it isn't damaging - to the victim AND the perpetrator.
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