Woman Shares Cruel Meme Of Herself, Slams Her Attackers With Shaming Letter

#1

A meme began making the rounds this past week online. It was one of the crueler ones that I've seen.

The meme seemed cruel when it made it past my feed. I didn't learn the importance of it, or why it had been shared, until much later.

The woman being attacked in the meme is anti-bullying advocate Lizzie Velasquez. And she let this meme go viral on purpose.

Lizzie shared the meme on her Instagram, where it quickly went viral.

#2

In the post, she wrote:

"I've seen a ton of memes like this all over @facebook recently. I'm writing this post not as someone who is a victim but as someone who is using their voice.

Yes, it's very late at night as I type this but I do so as a reminder that the innocent people that are being put in these memes are probably up just as late scrolling through Facebook and feeling something that I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy.

No matter what we look like or what size we are, at the end of the day we are all human. I ask that you keep that in mind the next time you see a viral meme of a random stranger. At the time you might find it hilarious but the human in the photo is probably feeling the exact opposite.

Spread love not hurtful words via a screen."

#3

Lizzie suffers from a rare genetic condition called neonatal progeroid syndrome, which prevents her from gaining weight and has a visible effect on her physical appearance.

#4

Lizzie has been attacked in numerous memes and videos throughout her life, even being referred to by strangers as "the ugliest woman on earth."

#5

She has taken the attention she's received and instead turned it towards activism, going as far as to lead an inspiring and popular TED Talk about her harassment in 2013.

#6

Perhaps because she had already overcome so much adversity, the young woman was able to turn that cruelness into something good. Since then, she went on to college, wrote a book, and became a motivational speaker and anti-bullying activist which was most famously seen in her widely-watched 2013 that has been watched over eight million times to date.

#7 Watch Lizzie Velasquez TED talk in Austin