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Help them don’t shame them

Popular culture
6 May, 2014

The last time I heard of someone running around the streets naked the person needed and subsequently received medical help because they suffered a mental break. I hope that the man that was filmed running around Hither Green, south east London naked gets the help he needs.

I’m jumping ahead, sorry. A young black man was taunted and filmed by a group of black guys in a car who then posted the video online. The video caught the attention of a local newspaper and subsequently the attention of racists neo-Nazis who referred to him as a “naked ape”.




I am not of the medical profession but I’m going to go out on a limb and say judging from the man’s behaviour, he is in crisis or suffering from a mental illness. And the fact that these guys went out of their way to find him and film him means they knew he was unwell. This is a violation and I am disappointed in their lack of respect for this man.

When sharing our daily lives on social media we must know where to draw the line. The energy they used to torment this man would have been better spent getting him the help he needs.

I don’t know where the newspaper copied the original footage from but if you know who filmed the original video, have several words with them and tell them to take a stadium full of seats for their bad behaviour. People with mental health issues shouldn’t be made a laughing stock of.

The next time you point your camera at a sick person think about helping them before you shame them.

[Tweet “Just because someone has a mental illness, it doesn’t give you the right to ill-treat them.”]




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