There is a new ridiculous form of bullying out there that drives me nuts. Someone becomes famous for something (usually a sad something), and then the trolls of the internet gather together to spread MORE bullying misinformation about the person.
The latest victim is Quaden Bayles. The little 9 year old boy that was crying in a viral video after being bullied for his condition – Achondroplasia, a type of dwarfism. The internet comes together and does beautiful things – currently donating over 300k to send the little boy to Disneyland… So the jealous people of the world have to go crawl through every single inch of his life online to find something they can possibly hate more on him for. In this case they found a photo of him at a family friend’s 18th birthday…. and started spreading the rumor this poor little boy is really 19. And because there is a photo or two people don’t understand… BAM.. SPREAD THE HATE. “He fooled us.. boo him.” The backlash is quick. Uh No.
Really Internets? You can’t believe photos any longer. Especially not with some random text from some random person telling you what it means… Soon you won’t be able to believe video any longer with deepfake technology.( but that is a story for another day)
I did a quick Google search myself and was able to find a video that is an entire documentary series on Youtube about him and his condition. It clearly shows he’s 4 in the video and the description. It was posted 5 years ago in 2015. The kid is 9. I am disappointed in you Internets.
The people that go viral haven’t scrubbed their Internet lives. They are not prepared for the onslaught of overnight fame. They are not prepared to have their entire lives ripped apart by millions of people. Did the Mother do the “right” response for you? Did the person do anything questionable.. ever… in their entire life… on the internet or in a photo? Soon the world will judge. These poor people don’t know how to act or what to do, and there is no one around them that knows either. Believe me, it’s a very difficult thing. Usually they just try and delete things or make them private. Often times making them look “guilty”.. usually, they just want everything to stop. Keep that in mind next time.
We MUST learn this skill of self research as a society. The ability to find factual information is getting worse every day. Learn. Grow. Question. Stop spreading not researched information. Peoples very lives depend on it.
