Keep on Dancing

Keep on Dancing

Not to long ago on Twitter, a screenshot from the website 4chan with a man dancing and the caption, “Spotted this specimen trying to dance the other week. He stopped when he saw us laughing,” began to circulate. The caption in this screenshot is judgmental, derogatory, and just plain mean. The man was simply dancing, and received unwarranted criticism on no other premises than his size. No one should feel pressured to stop doing what makes him/her happy out of the fear of what someone else is thinking. As the picture began to spread, it was clear that many felt the same, and messages to keep dancing, ignore bullies, and stay strong were shared. Soon women in Los Angeles went on the quest to find the man in the picture using #FindDancingMan, in order to invite him to his own dance party! With the help of social media users, they were able to find the London resident and are currently fundraising for the event (you can donate here.) 

Happy ending and warm fuzzies aside, I think that we can relate to each player in this story. I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve judged someone without even speaking to them. I’ll also admit that I chose not to wear something, because I was scared of being judged. We have all judged and been judged-- but have we all reached out and helped? And so I encourage every one of you to go out and be that helping hand. It doesn’t have to be big-- small actions have the potential to speak volumes. Whether it be thinking before you comment about someone’s hair, stop a friend from judging someone’s outfit, smiling/saying “thank you” more, there is an infinite amount of things we can do to be that much needed positivity.

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