Source: Michael Tran / Contributor / Getty
As the mom of a teenage son who has autism, I sometimes worry about how the world will accept him once he becomes an adult. Although he is very self-sufficient, the potential of him being taken advantage of and teased by people who don’t understand his condition really concerns me.
These fears were heightened after I saw a deplorable video of rapper, 50 cent mocking an autistic (19 year old) man in a Cincinnati airport. In the video, 50 can be seen teasing the man and commenting that he looked “high.” As you can imagine, 50 apologized profusely after realizing the man had Autism (and in an attempt to avoid a costly lawsuit), 50 released a statement saying: “It was certainly not my intent to insult him or the disability community, which is a source of great strength in America. I have apologized personally to him and his family.”
When I think about the memes and cruel comments people post on social media, I wonder if they realize the damage they are doing. Sure, 50 may have been joking and if the guy didn’t have Autism, this would be a different headline, but there is never an excuse to insult and bully someone you don’t know.
I hope this terrible incident makes people think twice about how they treat others. In the words of Jesse Jackson: “The only time you should look down on someone is when you are helping them get up.”
The Day 50 Cent Broke My Heart And The Costly Mistake Of Bullying On Social Media [VIDEO] was originally published on majicatl.com
