Writer, activist and prolific tweeter Dream Hampton deleted her Twitter account after her daughter was attacked. Clutch magazine's Stacia L Brown says that the incident is a reminder that something must be done about disrespect on the Internet.
Apparently, a Beyonce “stan” posted a picture of the singer with dream’s daughter to a Tumblr page, where commenters promptly began leaving negative comments about the teen, whose identity was initially unknown to them. dream requested that the photograph be removed. When it wasn’t, she removed herself from both Tumblr and Twitter, to the disappointment and chagrin of many of her followers.
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We’re daily reminded that ignorance is everywhere. If any of us remember our middle and high school experiences, we know that unapologetic cruelty is part of humanity’s course. Someone will always divulge information that isn’t theirs to give or hone in with laser-like critical focus on a person’s physical appearance without any regard for who they could be hurting. But even armed with that knowledge, it’s still surprising when adults openly ridicule children, when they ignore the civil requests of their parents to refrain, and when they are fully aware of how hurtful they’re being.
Something should be done. In an information age when celebrities are willing to engage their public and allow us access that would have been utterly impossible ten years ago, shouldn’t we all show our appreciation, for whatever openness they can afford, by being respectful of their families and keeping any criticism we may have constructive and above board?
Read Stacia L. Brown's entire piece at Clutch magazine.
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