Girl targeted by cyber bullies hits back in style
A Canadian student has hit back at the cyber bullies who started an ‘ugly girl’ poll for her class, naming her in it.
Lynelle Cantwell was in maths class when two friends alerted her to the poll, which was set up on ask.fm and asked people to vote for the “ugliest girl in grade 12” at her school, Holy Trinity High School.
The poll showed she was in fourth place and that hurt, she said, “a lot.
“It kind of tore me up inside a little bit. I was like, ‘Oh, my God, like why would somebody be so mean as to post stuff like this?’” she told the Toronto Star.
But the 17-year-old thought long and hard about how to respond – and her come-back has led to a whirlwind of support and kind messages, even flowers.
She went online and she posted a comment on Facebook beginning: “To the person that made the "ugliest girls in grade 12 at hth" ask.FM straw poll. I'm sorry that your life is so miserable that you have to try to bring others down”.
“I know that I'm not the prettiest thing to look at. I know I have a double chin and I fit in XL clothes. I know I don't have the perfect smile or the perfect face. But I’m sorry for you. Not myself.
“I'm sorry that you get amusement out of making people feel like shit,” she wrote.
Miss Cantwell went onto say that the other girls targeted in the poll were just as good and kind as she is.
“Just because we don't look perfect on the outside does not mean we are ugly. If that’s your idea of ugly then I feel sorry for you,” she finished.
The post has been shared over 6,000 times and many people have commented offering their support and expressing admiration for Lynelle.
“I've known you for a long time and you are a beautiful person,” wrote one man. “Never let anyone tell you otherwise!!”
Miss Cantwell said the positive turn around has made her feel better about herself than she did before and she is proud of the outcome.
“I don’t even have words for it. I’m trying to show people to combat negativity with positivity and I hope people are getting the message,” she told the US Today show.
Lynelle's efforts to combat bullying are not the first to have gone viral:
