Man Slams Caitlyn Jenner With Viral Facebook Post About ‘Bravery,’ Learns Epic Lesson About ‘Irony’ Instead

Terry Coffey recently learned an epic lesson about irony after his patriotic Facebook post went viral. Apparently, he wasn’t pleased with ESPN’s example of courage and heroism, so he decided to share an example of his own. It’s quite ironic how the entire story unfolded.

On June 1, Caitlyn Jenner broke the internet with the unveiling of the latest Vanity Fair cover. Later that day, ESPN announced the former Olympic gold medalist would be receiving the Arthur Ashe Courage Award at the 2015 Espy Awards in July. By nightfall, an array of opinions about the widely publicized transition flooded the internet. Although many fans were elated for her, the pomp and circumstance took a bit of a turn when a rumor about the alleged runner-up for the award — a wounded veteran — began trending on Twitter, reports Deadspin.

Caitlyn Jenner wins Arthur Ashe Courage Award.
And the runner-up is …. pic.twitter.com/DKUdnPT8Gx

— Gerry Callahan (@GerryCallahan) June 1, 2015

Of course, many were outraged, but one man decided to voice his frustrations over the seemingly disrespectful snub. According to Birth Movies Death, Terry Coffey felt some kind of way about Caitlyn Jenner winning an award for bravery, heroism, and courage for her public transition. He decided to share what he considered a more suitable example of the three commendable characteristics.

Apparently, many Facebook users definitely agreed with Coffey’s sentiments. The Facebook post went viral in less than 24 hours with more than 755,000 shares. Due to the overwhelming number of supporters, Coffey felt compelled to credit the photographer who captured the moving image. He was quite shocked by what he learned. After doing some online research about the image Coffey successfully traced its origin. The photographer’s name is Mark Hogancamp. Through detailed research, Coffey learned about the series of events that led to Hogancamp’s inspiration to create the symbolic image.

Back in 2000, Hogancamp was brutally beaten by five teenage strangers. He’d suffered multiple injuries, including severe brain damage and memory loss. He spent nine days in a comatose state but awoke with a new outlook on life. He created an artistic world of imagery with a World War II theme to subsist following the vicious beating.

All of the characters used in the captivating narrative are actually dolls.

“Fight scenes, dramatic rescues and love triangles are painstakingly arranged to play out before Mr. Hogancamp’s camera. The resulting images are startlingly lifelike, poignant and, for him, therapeutic,” reports the New York Times.

Hogancamp’s 82-minute documentary Marwencol chronicles the making of the Hogancamp’s imaginary world and the series of events that led to his epic artistic creation. The world was created as a coping mechanism for the trauma he endured that changed the course of his life.

However, that’s not all Coffey learned about Hogancamp. The reason he’d been beaten on that unforgettable night is where the ironic twist comes in. Needless to say, Coffey was astounded by what he learned.

“Why was he nearly beaten to death by 5 strangers?” Coffey asked. “Because he was a cross-dresser.”

Ironically, Coffey posted an image to support his definition of “bravery, heroism and courage,” created by someone in the likeness of Caitlyn Jenner.

On June 2, Coffey took to Facebook again with a detailed statement about Hogancamp. He also touched on the irony of the image and the lesson he’d learned from it.

“Hate helps nothing. Love wounds no one.

and God heals all.

(and irony makes us think)”

Do you think Caitlyn Jenner’s transition is a commendable act of bravery? Share your thoughts.

[Image(s) via Facebook Screen Captures; Mark Hogancamp]