Newfoundland Teen Gets World Of Support After Posting Message In Response To ‘Ugliest Girl’ Poll
Lynelle Cantwell of Torbay, Newfoundland and Labrador showed some online bullies that staying classy and holding your head high always trumps meanness. Upon learning that she and some other teens at Holy Trinity High School in Newfoundland were the subjects of an online “ugliest girl” poll at ask.fm, Cantwell took to social media herself to respond to the bullies.
In her Facebook post to those who created the poll, the Newfoundland teen told the online poll creators that she was “sorry that your life is so miserable that you have to try to bring others down.”
The Newfoundland teen also had sharp words for those who voted in the online poll.
“I’m sorry for you too. I’m sorry that you don’t get to know me as a person. 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 (lousy). I’m sorry that you’ll never get the chance to know the kind of person i am. I may not look okay on the outside.. But i’m funny, nice, kind, down to earth, not judgemental, accepting, helpful, and i’m super easy to talk to. Thats the same for every other girl on that list that you all put down. Just because we don’t look perfect on the outside does not mean we are ugly. If thats your idea of ugly then i feel sorry for you. Like seriously? Get a life.”
Cantwell, a Grade 12 student at Holy Trinity High School in Newfoundland, said she was really surprised that her response to the online poll respondents and creators went viral. She added that she was motivated to speak out against the bullies because of the hurtful nature of the poll.
“It outraged me… all of these girls are hurt because of this one person who has no heart or sympathy for anything,” she said, according to CBC News.
By today, Cantwell said she was shocked at the wave of response she had gotten in the wake of her Facebook post.
“It’s raised my confidence a lot. I will never be able to repay back the feelings people have been giving me,” Cantwell said.
The Globe and Mail reported that the Newfoundland girl’s mother, Brenda Cantwell, was extremely pleased that her daughter took on the creators of the online poll.
“I’m extremely proud of her,” Brenda said. “She’s taken an ugly situation and turned it into something beautiful.”
Cantwell said that this instance in Newfoundland of an online poll being generated by bullies is not the first. The Newfoundland and Labrador English School District is aware of what happened and said that they were looking into the matter. The Royal Newfoundland Constabulary has also been contacted because this instance of bullying runs against the school board’s Safe and Caring Schools policy.
The Newfoundland teen has received a wealth of support in the wake of the online poll and her response to it, she said. She has received messages of support from as far away as Alberta and has even had flowers delivered to her doorstep following her now-viral message. Lynelle Cantwell said that while she was initially hurt by the online poll, she refused to let the pollsters or the respondents dampen her life.
“I’d probably tell them if they need help with anything, with any confidence, that I’m there for them,” Lynelle said of the online poll creators and their respondents.
The Newfoundland teen also had some advice for those dealing with a nasty online poll or with other bullying issues.
“Don’t keep it bundled inside, but be mature about it,” the Newfoundland teen said of dealing with incidents like a mean-spirited online poll. “Always keep the high route and don’t sink to the bully’s standards.”
[Image via Lynell Cantwell/Facebook]
