Image via 4chan/Twitter
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This Man Was Ridiculed for Dancing. When Bullies Posted Pictures Online, They Started Something They Could Have Never Imagined.
March 08, 2015
"#FindDancingMan"
He just wanted to dance, but when he was photographed and mocked, he hung his head in shame.
Now he's getting some sweet revenge — thousands of supporters coming together to throw him his own dance party.
The whole thing started when someone on the message board 4chan posted pictures of an overweight man dancing, saying the man had been roundly mocked in public.
The shaming backfired, however, when Twitter users decided to try to find the man and support him.
The Free Thought Project writer Cassandra Fairbanks tweeted about tracking down the man...
Anyone know this man or who posted this? There's a huge group of ladies in LA who would like to do something special pic.twitter.com/DGbu3AXOrB
— Cassandra (@CassandraRules) March 5, 2015
...and soon more than 10,000 tweets marked "#FindDancingMan" were circulating online.
They worked.
YAY TWITTER!!! @Dancingmanfound #FindDancingMan ❤️❤️❤️
We are going to dance!!! pic.twitter.com/G7FxuiSsIh
— Cassandra (@CassandraRules) March 6, 2015
Fairbanks tweeted on Friday that she had found the dancing man, a London resident named Sean, and on a new Twitter account Sean tweeted photos of himself gearing up for a dance party in his honor.
@CassandraRules @MaxTaucer
Dancing Man in training pic.twitter.com/4jAy1TuswO
— Dancing Man (@Dancingmanfound) March 6, 2015
A GoFundMe crowdfunding campaign for the shindig had raised more than $33,000 as of Sunday morning, while celebrities from Pharrell Williams to Andrew W.K. pledged support and wanted to get in on the Los Angeles dance party action.
Hey @CassandraRules keep me posted about your dance party! @Dancingmanfound, never be ashamed of yourself. You are both truly #OTHER
— Pharrell Williams (@Pharrell) March 6, 2015
Major positive props to @Dancingmanfound for showing people how to let go! Hope to see you and @Pharrell and @thelittleidiot at the party.
— ANDREW W.K. (@AndrewWK) March 7, 2015
Pledging to donate extra funds raised to an anti-bullying charity, the woman who set up the crowdfunding campaign posted a message late Saturday expressing how Sean had come to symbolize love — both of fellow human beings and of dancing:
Our #dancingman meeting last night was a great success and lasted well into the early morning hours (and continues today). We started this so that we could dance with one man, who had been shamed from dancing in public. Many of us know what it is like to not be comfortable in our own skin- and the photograph resonated with all of us. When we saw the worlds response throughout the night - it became clear this was bigger than us, bigger than him, and the start of a beautiful wave of solidarity against bullying, against body-shaming, and an inspiration to #Dancefree in our own bodies.
(H/T: People)
—
Follow Zach Noble (@thezachnoble) on Twitter
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