When Keaton Jones' mom shared a heartfelt video of him pleading his bullies to leave him alone, she could never have expected the out pour of love and support from the internet which would soon follow her way. The video became instantly viral and was shared millions of times, numerous celebrities offered their sympathies including Justin Bieber and Katy Perry.
Young Keaton Jones shared the ordeals he goes through on an everyday basis dealing with his sick bullies. His genuine emotions and the innocent way in which he complains to his mother about his bullies softened many hearts.
Keaton says the boys called him 'ugly' and made fun of his nose. They would throw stuff at him and treat him differently than they would the rest of the kids. The entire ordeal took its toll on him.
While the word 'fame' itself is subject to a lot of terms and conditions, you could argue they became internet famous. Their video was shared almost 50 million times and people began to show a lot of interest in both mother and son.
Because the video was originally shared over a Facebook account, it meant that the mother's privacy was now compromised. Her views, her family life and all publicly shared Facebook posts began to become savagely scrutinized under the public lens.
Fame comes at a cost and while the mother probably didn't intend on becoming instantly famous, the price of becoming famous means that she now has to contend with people who oppose her opinions and are not afraid to voice their complaints over social media.
Her public posts on Facebook do cause reason for concern for many people, especially those who began sympathizing with Keaton. Her posts were full of alleged racism, supporting the days of slavery. But this is of no consequence to many black celebrities such as Snoop Dogg who offer their love and support for Keaton.
The mother decided to set up a Go Fund Me page when she realized that the world wanted to help Keato recover from the emotional trauma dealt to him by his bullies. The campaign even managed to raise around $60,000 before being cancelled.
Many critics began to call out Keaton's mother on her opportunistic approach to her son's new found fame. An MMA fighter Joe Schilling said how she just wanted him to 'share' her GoFundMe page and expressed his distastefulness at her attitude.
While the mother may have had racist views, this does not mean Joe Schilling should unleash provocative and rancid language online, after all if he wants to help the boy, this isn't how you do it. He later deleted the video and Instagram post.
Another 13 year old child actress from Stranger Things, Millie Bobby Brown sent him a message asking Keaton to become his friend. She began by expressing her disgust at bullies and why they engage in their provocative behavior.
Keaton's mother was being criticized by many people for capitalizing on her son's new found fame. But she had this to say "I'm guessing y'all didn't because y'all wanna steady Judge me and say I'm using him for money that's false."
The entire idea of becoming famous is that it sometimes translates into money. Money which can be used for the betterment of the child and the family. But isn't the internet undoing all those messages of love and support for the child by cancelling his GoFundMe page?
The person who set up the page clarified that it was set up only for the sake of the child and had no prior idea about the mother's skewed ideals on racism and slavery. The GoFundMe page should not have been affected by this.
This has always been the case with the internet; they seem to pass judgment without knowing anything prior and expect things to become hunky dory. By passing judgment on the mother, they are inadvertently engaging in racism themselves!
Although the mother may have engaged in what could be described as racist behavior online, the outpour of love and support for the child should not stop. If someone wants to donate to his Go Fund Me page, that shouldn't be taken away from him.
