During the last months, we have been experiencing so many changes in our lives that I am actually quite impressed with how easily we seem to have adapted to the new norms. From my point of view, the year 2020 can be characterized as nothing less than eventful and memorable. Definitely, a turning point to our 21st-century history.

Just in a few months, our reality has changed so significantly that under any other circumstances it might have taken years. I think that everyone can agree that the two most significant events that took place were, firstly, the epidemic of COVID-19 and then the Black Lives Matter movement. Both of them carry huge importance to human life. So, color me surprised when amid these kinds of moments, there are people out there that would see the following picture and they would feel obligated to post hateful comments.

This is how a controversial story emerged just last month, when a non-profit organization, called Gentle Carousel Miniature Therapy Horses, posted a picture of this lovely young girl, wearing a surgical mask, next to a tiny horse. Moments after the beautiful photo was published, numerous people went on and commented on the post. However, what surprised the team of the Gentle Carousel was the presence of a big number of hateful/ racist comments targeting the little girl who just happened to be Black.

Some other of the negative comments were centered around the fact that the little girl was wearing a surgical mask. And, a number of the commentators actually demanded the removal of the mask. One can only suppose that the child had to wear a mask as we are still going through the COVID-19 epidemic and of course as the Gentle Carousel said in their mission statement, they work with vulnerable teams that nearly always are required to wear a mask to protect themselves. The charity took a stand and officially replied to these “haters”. Also, various were the people who commented against these negative posts and praised the beautiful baby girl with her tiny horse.

“When our horses make a hospital visit they do not care about a patient’s race, politics, finance or religion. They love unconditionally. Some humans could learn a lot from little horses”, wrote the Carousel Team in response to the hateful comments. Their team went on and deleted the racist comments, and banned the accounts of the people who turned this beautiful innocent scene between a child and an animal into a matter of racial hate.

The Gentle Carousel is a non-profit charity whose mission is to help people suffering from traumas, chronic illnesses, or going through emergencies. For someone browsing on their Facebook page, it’s almost immediately obvious that they want to bring joy and hope to people in need. Spending time with animals, it is said to be in a way therapeutic.

As a matter of fact, more and more nursing houses tend to bring in cats and dogs to spend time with their senior population. The animals don’t discriminate based on skin color or someone’s origins; they tend to love you unconditionally.

I would like to end this article with some food for thought, “How do we change the world? One random act of kindness at a time”, this was the beautiful and encouraging message accompanying the photo of the little girl.

I hope in the future, posts like this will only inspire people to be kind and generous with each other. Because children like this little girl need a better world where the only common denominator is love.

View the full Facebook post below.

Please SHARE this with your friends and family.

https://www.facebook.com/TherapyHorses/photos/a.177874068899/10158730864158900/?type=3&theater

Source: Boredpanda Facebook Gentle Carousel