By Jenny Rapson 
What’s Candace Cameron Buré doing now that Fuller House is over? Well, to be honest, as far as acting I’m not sure —but if I had to guess, I’d say lots of Hallmark movies. What I DO know for sure is that she’s active on Instagram and TikTok, and that recently she used her platform to throw down an important message for parents and all social media users.
On Sunday, August 9th, Candace Cameron Buré reposted a powerful TikTok from motivational speaker and activist Lizzie Velasquez (@littlelizziev) and we all need to watch it.
You see, Velasquez was born with a rare congenital disease called Marfanoid–progeroid–lipodystrophy syndrome that, among other symptoms, prevents her from accumulating body fat and gaining weight. Lizzie is also blind in one eye, and as a result of her disease, she appears physically different from the “average” person. Throughout her life, Lizzie has been subjected to bullying, both cyber and in-person (which makes steam come out of my ears) which is what inspired her to become a motivational speaker.
Lizzie, who was called the “World’s Ugliest Woman” in a YouTube video in 2006 when she was just 17, has taken her pain and turned it into purpose, speaking up for those with physical differences and abilities, and touting kindness over bullying. Her courage is inspiring, and Sunday, after seeing her image used AGAIN on social media as a joke, Lizzie put out a powerful TikTok that even inspired Candace Cameron Buré.
On her TikTok, Lizzie explains that a disturbing new TikTok trend has emerged: using photos of people with disabilities or physical differences to “scare” or “shock” one’s friends or relatives.
In the heartbreaking example Lizzie shows in her video, a mother uses a photo of Lizzie and tells her small son that Lizzie is his teacher for the upcoming school year. You read that right. A mother used a photo of someone else’s child to scare her own.
So. Not. Cool.
Lizzie implores TikTok users to stop this abhorrent behavior, saying, “TikTok, I need your help . . . this is not funny! This is not a joke! If you are an adult who has a young human in your life, please do not teach them that being scared of someone who doesn’t look like them is ok. Please! Everything that these kids need to know about empathy and being kind to one another starts at home.”
Preach it Lizzie!!
Candace Cameron Buré echoed Lizzie’s words in her own TikTok/Instagram post, saying “Listen up Tik Tokers!!! Lizzie’s words need to be heard! Please stop using videos of people with disabilities to scare your children. It’s not funny. Kindness and empathy starts at home. #kindnesscounts #kindnesswins #kindisthenewclassy”
Parents, let me echo Lizzie and Candace here: this is NEVER OK! It doesn’t seem like the kind of thing you’d have to tell someone . . . but Lizzie’s video proves that some just haven’t gotten the message yet.
Moms, I promise to teach my babies to love your babies, no matter what they look like or what abilities they do or don’t have. Can we all promise each other the same? Let’s make the world a kinder place, whether in person or online.
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