Disability activist Melissa Blake has written an article online about a hurtful new TikTok trend that sees parents showing their kids pictures of disabled people, who they say is their child's new teacher.
Their reactions are filmed and hence the viral trend, known as the New Teacher Challenge, plays out.
In one video that has been shared across social media, a mom can be seen showing her son a picture of disability activist Lizzie Velasquez (all while pretending it is a Facetime conversation).
Velasquez was born with an extremely rare congenital disease called Marfanoid–progeroid–lipodystrophy syndrome, and upon seeing her face, the young boy physically recoils in fear.
A clip of the video can be seen below, as Velasquez responds to the hurtful footage:The disgusting new trend was subsequently slammed by Velasquez herself, who has taken to social media to share an important message with parents and adults with children in their lives.
In the video, Velasquez says: "TikTok I need your help.
"This trend where you are pretending to FaceTime someone who is either disabled or is a baby or just some crazy mugshot and you're showing it to someone to get their reaction to saying, 'Oh hey, talk to this person' just to get a quick laugh, this is not funny. This is not a joke."
She went on:
"He had a scared reaction on his face.
"If you are an adult who has a young human in your life, please do not teach them that being scared of someone who does not look like them is okay. Please, everything that these kids need to know about having empathy and being kind to one another starts at home."
And writing for Refinery29 on the trend, Melissa Blake said, "As a disabled woman, people ridiculing and mocking my appearance is practically the most predictable thing about social media."
Melissa Blake was born with Freeman-Sheldon syndrome, a genetic bone and muscular disorder.
She later added, "Adults who actually think this is okay, and worse…even funny, should know better. There’s absolutely no excuse. They should be the ones teaching their children how harmful and hurtful these pranks are, not laughing in the background as their child recoils at the sight of a disabled person. We live in a society where people who look “different” are seen as ugly and grotesque; those messages start being taught at a young age."
As for Lizzie Velasquez, when she saw that her picture had indeed been used for the prank, says she was swept into a "whirlwind". Unable to sleep, she recorded her response video.
She said: "I couldn’t sleep. All that kept running through my mind was the innocent people used in these videos. Whether their photo is photoshopped to look exaggerated or whether they are babies who were born uniquely different, nobody has the right to use that in the form of humor.
"When things like this are brought to my attention my number one concern is how can I make this a teaching moment. How can I best use my platform for good."
