As we all know, the internet can be a warped place where some truly cruel individuals feel entitled to mock and harass others from behind the safety of their keyboard.
Such people would think nothing of questioning the right of a little girl to exist; not giving a second thought to the feelings of the child or those who love her.
Luckily, there are also some strong people out there who are willing to take on the bullies, despite their own emotional hurt.
Nine-year-old Sophia suffers from Rett disease, a neurological condition which affects her speech, movements, breathing and eating. Sophia also has type one diabetes, an immune deficiency and a facial disfigurement.
Despite her young age, she is already vulnerable to receiving vile comments online.
As an advocate for children with disabilities and complex medical needs, Sophia’s mother Natalie Weaver is dedicated to showing how Sophia is much more than her medical history.
In November 2017, Natalie created a touching Twitter thread which revealed aspects of her daughter’s personality.
In one tweet, she wrote:
Her all-time favorite color is Green! Sometimes she can even say Green. She loves all types of music and will pat her hand to the beat, perfectly.
She enjoys popping bubbles and having us read to her. She also rolls her eyes at mommy and is sassy, just like a typical 9-year-old.
One twisted individual crossed a serious boundary when they tweeted a picture of Sophia along with the following message:
It is okay to think that every child matters however a lot of them do not hence the amnio test which should be a mandatory test and if it proves negative and the woman does not want to abort then all bills accrued after that is on her and the father.
Whatever your views are regarding abortion, it is never appropriate to insinuate a person’s life does not matter on account of his or her medical conditions.
Natalie was understandably horrified by this ignorant tirade, and blocked the Twitter user who had voiced it. However, it soon became apparent the image, pinned to the tweet, was being circulated.
Along with her supporters, Natalie reported the tweet to Twitter. However, the response – which came two days late – was completely inadequate.
Twitter Support claimed the tweet was not in violation of any rules or regulations. A more timid individual might have given up at this point, but not Natalie.
The committed activist did not back down, and proceeded to complain again. This time, Twitter accepted they had been mistaken, and issued an apology. The individual who made the disgusting tweet was suspended.
Natalie spoke with VT about the complicated aftermath of this experience:
It’s been very difficult, I’ve had days where I’m just crying.
It’s interesting I shared my story with a reporter because I wanted to put pressure on Twitter to have the person who was promoting eugenics and using my daughter’s image, I wanted them to take it down and I never imagined it would go viral like this.
She added:
It’s been difficult because this man was using my daughter in a hateful vile way, which has now led to other reporters from right-wing media groups to change the narrative to fit their devices, agenda, they lie which opened me up to more attacks.
So a story about hate and attacks on my child has now to led to more hate and attacks on my child.
However, this victory was only the beginning of Natalie’s fight with Twitter policy.
The determined mum soon learned about how the social media platform does not include hate towards those with disabilities within the form people use to report a tweet.
Natalie is currently pushing for Twitter to change violation reporting procedures to include those with disabilities.
Natalie told CNN:
Twitter needs to add people with disabilities as a category in their violation reporting.
Otherwise people don’t know the appropriate category to select for hate towards people with disabilities.
Good on Natalie for using this as an opportunity to push for change. Certain horrible trolls could no doubt learn a lot from her pro-active and compassionate personality.
You can donate to Advocates For Medically Fragile Kids NC – co-founded by Natalie herself – here
Jules studied English Literature with Creative Writing at Lancaster University before earning her masters in International Relations at Leiden University in The Netherlands (Hoi!). She then trained as a journalist through News Associates in Manchester. Jules has previously worked as a mental health blogger, copywriter and freelancer for various publications.