Anti-Bullying Activist’s Face Used to Scare Kids on TikTok

This trend was started by actual parents, and it is truly atrocious.

Social media can be a place that creates a lot of negativity, so it’s not surprising to hear that there’s another problematic and toxic trend that needs to be addressed.

But what’s really shocking and disappointing is when this trend is started by full-grown adults who are responsible for raising the future citizens of our world.

A recent trend on the social media platform Tik Tok has parents pranking their children by “introducing” them to a stranger on FaceTime.

The “kicker” is that the pictures that are used are mugshots, pictures of babies with down syndrome, individuals with physical disabilities, and the like.

The parents show this picture to their child and record the child’s reaction of either fear, laughter or disgust.

Recently, Lizzie Velasquez, a global motivational speaker and anti-bullying activist, has become a popular victim in this Tik Tok trend.

Lizzie was born with a genetic disorder called marfanoid-progeroid-lipodystrophy syndrome, or MFLS.

This affects here physical appearance as her body has trouble creating and maintaining fat. This leaves her with a very low body fat percentage, and skin that is quite tight on her bones. She’s also blind in one eye because of this condition.

Over a decade ago, Lizzy was horribly labelled the ‘ugliest woman in the world’ by internet trolls, and of course, this was a deeply traumatizing experience.

But what’s amazing is that she took this experience and became an outspoken and fierce advocate for anti-bullying, and treating one another with compassion and empathy online. She went on to be a professional motivational speaker (her amazing TedTalk really launched her career) and author.

Velasquez has spoken out in her own video about the serious damage and harm that this “FaceTime Prank” Tik Tok trend can cause. You can find the video here:

With this video response from Velasquez in mind, I will be dissecting just how messed up this trend is, and how ashamed these parents should be for not only participating, but using this trend as a shining example of their toxic parenting style.

The danger of teaching children to be scared of or laugh at someone who doesn’t look exactly like them.

Plain and simple, we are world full of very diverse human beings.

Human beings with different physical features, different colours of skin, different physical abilities and different genetic combinations.

This leads to us as a global community carrying a very diversified look.

And there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that.

But when we start behaving as if there is something wrong with someone looking different from ourselves, we tread into very dangerous territory.

Racism. Discrimination. Hate speech. Acts of violence — a misplaced sense of superiority is an extremely dangerous thing.

As Velasquez pointed out — how will these children behave when they go out into the world and encounter a disabled or differently-abled person in real life?

The standard has been set from here that the appropriate reaction is to be fearful, mock and make fun of these strangers.

How horrifying.

Children are paying close attention to these parents' actions.

Velasquez made a phenomenal point in her video — teaching kids empathy and compassion for others starts at home.

To instill an expectation that it’s acceptable or humourous to laugh at or be frightened by a stranger’s appearance, just because it’s different is appalling.

Take this video, for example, where Lizzie Velasquez’s face is used to “introduce” a child to their “new teacher”.

The child originally looks a little taken aback, and immediately turns to his mother to gauge her reaction. She laughs, and so he laughs as well.

That moment sets a precedent in this young boys mind now that it’s not only okay but a bonding experience to laugh with his mother at strangers who look differently from him.

And that kind of lesson is extremely dangerous — parents who are participating in this trend are teaching their children that bullying is not only acceptable, but funny.

That treating people poorly is worth a good laugh, with no regard for the feelings of the person being laughed at.

This is exactly how bullies are made.

And it is the fault of the parents that this happened.

Our differences are beautiful and we are all still deserving of respect.

Especially for young girls, this sets a harmful expectation that is already shoved down their throats — that their value to the world is only skin deep.

Parents need to be proactive in teaching their children that a person’s value is not categorized by physical appearance, but rather by their actions and what they contribute to the world.

Lizzie is a strong, fierce activist who is making the world a better place through her teachings and public speaking.

She does not have control over her genetic disorder, nor does it devalue who she is as a human being and what she can contribute to the world.

We live in a society that places a lot of value on looks rather than character, and while this is the norm this is something we should all be actively working towards changing.

Final word.

I’ve been a follower of Lizzie Velasquez for many years on social media, and she truly is one of the most beautiful human beings on this planet. She is truly a bright, bright light.

It should be common sense, but it seems that we still need to have a conversation of how to properly treat one another.

If it was kids, who have not yet fully learned what is socially acceptable or correct, who were making this newest trend I probably wouldn’t be writing about it.

But the fact that it’s full-grown adults who then made a conscious decision to bring other human beings into the world who are responsible for raising these children to be respectful and good human beings?

Well, that makes this trend even more horrendous.

While the person in the photo may be a stranger, and the parent may think that there’s no harm done, they couldn’t be more wrong.

For one thing, the person in the photo is still a person. They deserve to be treated with compassion respect and empathy. They have feelings.

But what’s worse, is that not only are they harming the stranger in the photo, but they are also causing harm to the people who their children will encounter in the future who have differing abilities or physical appearances.

Parents — your actions are being watched.

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