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Bullying

Dancing Man Found: Dance Like No One Is Watching

#1 trending topic, #DancingManFound proves there is still goodness in the world.

A London man was feeling the music at a concert and was dancing to his heart's content -- until he saw a nearby group taking pictures of him while laughing. Immediately, he hung his head and looked beaten and dejected. The bully who took the photos didn't stop there. He posted them on the anonymous message board 4chan with the caption: "Spotted this specimen trying to dance the other week. He stopped when he saw us laughing."

Imgur.com
Source: Imgur.com

The photo spoke volumes. It was soon posted on Imgur where it gained international attention. Most readers took issue with the comments left by the bullies, but the insults really hit home with one particular woman.

Cassandra Fairbanks saw the photos and the caption and called it what it was -- bullying. She dove into action and decided to do something about it. On March 5, she tweeted from her account, @CassandraRules, photos of Dancing Man. She was on a mission to find him because she, along with 1700 women, wanted to throw him an epic VIP dance party in LA. Eventually #FindDancingMan went viral, being retweeted over 11,000 times in 24 hours. They tweeted an invitation that would have been tough for anyone to resist.

With the photo posted on several social sites, it only took 24 hours for the Dancing Man to be found. By 2:30 a.m. Friday, a photo was posted of a London man with an unmistakable likeness to the dejected dancer. Max Taucer tweeted "#FindDancingMan spotted in London with latest dancing partner." It received 278 retweets and was favorited 454 times. Less than an hour later, Sean (we still don’t know his last name) discovered he was a wanted man.

Imgur.com
Source: Imgur.com

Imagine how he felt with this wave of support from so many. Literally turning a humiliating moment into an epic reminder to always embrace who you are. He has agreed to come to the USA to meet the LA ladies and dance the night away, as per his new Twitter account, DancingManFound. His first tweet was specifically to say hello to Cassandra and his many well-wishers: "Hi Cass & Twitter (as requested)!" Cassandra responded with "We are going to dance!!!".

Pharrell Williams and Moby have offered to perform and other superstars have expressed interest. The LA Memorial Coliseum tweeted "we would love to donate the "world’s greatest stadium" for the world's greatest dance party." Susan Sarandon responded with her own tweet: "Hey @Dancingmanfound, dancing is a basic human right & I applaud your spirit. Dancing in my kitchen with you now. #DanceLikeNododysWatching".

We see politicians lying every day, the rich getting richer, CEOs padding their own pockets, athletes using any means necessary to win, win, win and reality shows glorifying backstabbing and deceitfulness. For those of you who have become jaded and cynical, and believe technology has ripped apart every shred of human decency, take heart. Yes, social media has given us our fill of nasty trolls who post hate-fueled, disturbing and explicit sexual rants to anyone and everyone for any reason. And it’s true there is an abundance of mean spirited people who take delight in belittling others, but fortunately there are millions of good people, too.

Cassandra Fairbanks, Twitter.com
Source: Cassandra Fairbanks, Twitter.com

This story reminds us that there's still good in the world, still those who believe in fairness, don't get their kicks by demeaning others and are willing to take a stand to help those that are less fortunate. Yes, there will always be haters and the Internet will always have a dark side. But, if we refuse to tolerate hate and vindictiveness and take a stand in the light, the good will triumph. This story has proven just that, and anyone who has read this will feel just a little bit better about the world today, their fellow man and themselves. This time justice and kindness have prevailed.

In just a couple of weeks Sean will be arriving in California, compliments of almost two thousand women, to attend the ultimate dance party in his honor. It doesn't get much better than that.

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