No doubt Gerod Roth (who uses the screen name Geris Hilton), thought the selfie he posted on his Facebook account would be seen by a few friends and then forgotten. The only comment Roth made about the photo, which shows him and the child of co-worker was:
“He was feral.”
Then Roth’s online friends grabbed the ball and ran with it, posting some of the most reprehensible and racist things you can possibly imagine about this innocent little boy. Here’s a sampling of their remarks:
As it turns out, this precious little child’s name is Cayden, and his mother, Sydney Jade, says she has received a “massive outpouring” of support after the photo of her 3-year-old son became the target of racist insults. She has also started a hashtag on Twitter, #HisNameIsCayden.
For his part in this hateful scenario, Gerod Roth is now unemployed. He has been fired by Polaris Marketing Group, and company president Michael Da Graca Pinto wrote on Facebook:
“It breaks my heart that Sydney and her adorable son Cayden were subjected to such hateful, ignorant and despicable behavior. Cayden visits my office almost every afternoon after daycare, he’s sat at my dinner table and I consider him a part of the PMG family.”
Cayden has also received lots of online love from people who can know that every person has value and should be cherished:
Cayden, your sweet smile 
outshines those ignorant people and their worthless comments. You are loved, kiddo! #HisNameIsCayden
— Hannah Lee (@bananadeehannah) October 6, 2015
#HisNameIsCayden – what a beautiful boy who tacitly lived through a racist social media act. His mom is a class act with a graceful reaction
— Dr Sharon Z Marts (@lifebythequill) October 6, 2015
#HisNameIsCayden Though I don’t know the beautiful little boy, I just want to give him endless hugs! Sweet little boy!
— Pamela Robinson (@LovelyLady0529) October 6, 2015
#HisNameIsCayden and he is a beautiful little boy. Bravo, PMG for taking a swift and sure stand against such hatred, such racism.
— Tina Schrader (@tinaschrader) October 6, 2015
And this story also reminds us of another important lesson that some seem unable to learn: What you post online is potentially seen by everyone in the world. So use some discretion before you start to put up crap that will only embarass you and potentially harm another human being. Common decency is what needs to be exercised in all our lives.
Featured image by The Daily Mail, available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial license.
