It was the Halloween costume seen ‘round the world: A Michigan woman named Alicia Ann Lynch dressed as a victim of April’s Boston Marathon bombing, sporting runner’s clothing and fake splattered blood. And as a result, she ignited the rage of the Internet.
On Oct. 31, 22-year-old Lynch posted a photo of herself wearing the costume on Instagram and Twitter, using the handle @SomeSKANKinMI. Shortly after, users descended on Lynch, tweeting their disgust. Responses included:
@SomeSKANKinMI U R unbelievably deranged to do such a thing! You are obviously heartless. You are no better than the terrorists that did it!
— Sheila Rae Davis (@SheilaRaeDavis) November 5, 2013
Where do you work that this is tolerated in the work place?? @SomeSKANKinMIpic.twitter.com/ul3QpYREMQ
— Lady Jaye (@mzbilly) October 31, 2013
But the backlash didn’t stop there. When some discovered that Lynch had once posted a photo of her driver’s license online, they used her home address and other personal information to assist with further attacks. One user tweeted that he sent Lynch a vile package, others found racy photos of her online and circulated them, and some even tracked down her parents’ contact information and sent them death threats.
Lynch posted to Tumblr that since the onset of the threats, her social media accounts have been deactivated and she told BuzzFeed on Sunday that she had lost her job as a result of the photo. The incident triggered a global discussion about basic judgment on social media and whether cyberbullying (in response to Lynch’s costume choice) was justified.
Source: Yahoo News
