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Motivational Speaker Mocked in Meme Speaks Out Against Body Shamers

By YDD Contributor 2 min read

# bad memes
# body shamers
# body shaming

Meme or not, it is not cool to judge someone based on their appearance, which is why Lizzie Velasquez is speaking out against it.

After an offensive meme she was featured in went viral, the motivational speaker took to Instagram to blast the kind of people who take part in the current trend, and to teach us a valuable lesson on body shaming.

“I’m writing this post not as someone who is a victim but as someone who is using their voice.”

Velasquez was born with a rare condition that prevents her body from storing fat. She also has Marfan syndrome, which affects the length of her limbs and body shape – causing her to look the way she does.

Currently, Facebook is infected with memes of people who many find unattractive, with captions provoking them to tag a friend with the same name.

“No matter what we look like or what size we are, at the end of the day we are all human,” wrote Velasquez. “I ask that you keep that in mind the next time you see a viral meme of a random stranger.”

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. Xoxo Lizzie

A photo posted by Lizzie Velasquez (@littlelizziev) on Dec 11, 2016 at 12:07am PST

And many have praised Velasquez, whom has appeared in a bunch of TED talks and has a respectable following, for her inspiring message.

Facebook has already banned a popular group for promoting the hurtful memes and exponentially more complaints might be on the way in ridding the internet of this trending plague.

“Think before you tweet. Think before you share. Think before you like,” says Velasquez.