The Internet is taking a stand: no one should ever be shamed for trying to have a good time.
In February, a user on 4chan posted about their encounter with a man at a concert, who was ridiculed for dancing and quickly stopped when he noticed people were laughing at him. The user posted before and after photos of the man, saying "spotted this specimen trying to dance the other week. He stopped when he saw us laughing.”
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The photo was reposted onto Imgur on Wednesday by a user called FrozenBadger. They wrote, "I find this behavior fucking despicable. If you're out there big man, fuck those kids. Keep dancing."
Many other people on 4chan, Reddit and social media shared the user's opinion, who called out the original poster for bullying the man when he was simply trying to have a good time.
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Twitter, can we find the man in this photo and tell him that he is beautiful and we love him? pic.twitter.com/waE6S0658o— Captain Fitch (@FitchyEmma) March 5, 2015
PLEASE #FindDancingMan !!!! And please hashtag it! Let him know he has an incredible amount of love and support.— finally got a jacket (@pinkukitten) March 6, 2015
I really hope someone is able to identify #DancingMan Half the Internet wants to give him a hug! #FindDancingMan— Tinypants (@tinypants) March 6, 2015
Anyone know this man or who posted this? There's a huge group of ladies in LA who would like to do something special pic.twitter.com/DGbu3AXOrB— Cassandra (@CassandraRules) March 5, 2015
The Free Thought Project writer Cassandra Fairbanks decided to launch a personal campaign to find the dancing man and arrange "something special" for him. In a mere 24 hours, thousands of female Twitter users joined Fairbanks in her search, using the hashtag #FindDancingMan.
An open letter to the dancing man began to circulate, detailing a major dance party the women wanted to throw to not just boost the man's self esteem but also send a strong message against body shaming.
Does anyone know who this man is? My friends and I want to throw him a party pic.twitter.com/BrmjW85bAu— sydney ladd (@syddabid) March 6, 2015
#FindDancingMan Help us find this dude with the moves! Let's do this, ladies! pic.twitter.com/JvBIkpIxdi— TheElleWord (@TheElleWord) March 6, 2015
A GROUP OF THE MOST KIND HEARTED SOULS IN LA want to throw this man a HUGE BAD ASS PARTY IN LA #DONTBODYSHAME pic.twitter.com/mtxn1WdSJ6— Rachel Weinstein (@xorachelflies) March 5, 2015
Body shaming is awful & people hide behind social media. Help me and my 2,000 girlfriends #FindDancingMan #dancefree pic.twitter.com/i5iGXYKEwe— Hope Leigh (@HOPELEIGHMUSIC) March 6, 2015
On Friday morning, Fairbanks was sent a strong lead on the identity of the dancing man, who lives in London. After getting in contact with him via social media, the dancing man finally revealed himself to his thousands of Internet fans, and they were very happy to see him.
The man, who's first name is Sean, accepted Fairbanks' offer for a dance party -- as soon as he is back from a trip to Kiev. Because he can dance if he wants to. He can leave 4chan behind.
Sometimes, the Internet really is a wonderful place.
@MaxTaucer @CassandraRules is this him? #FindDancingMan possibly spotted in London? pic.twitter.com/ol6NTz9wnM— Robert A. Pabich (@RobertAPabich) March 6, 2015
YAY TWITTER!!! @Dancingmanfound #FindDancingMan ❤️❤️❤️ We are going to dance!!! pic.twitter.com/G7FxuiSsIh— Cassandra (@CassandraRules) March 6, 2015
UPDATE: March 6, 2015, 4:10 p.m. EST: Singer Pharrell Williams has also sent his support to Fairbanks and Sean the dancing man with a post on Twitter. Let's hope the "Happy" artist will also be on the dance party guest list.