After adopting two children, a family’s home was vandalized. During the vandalism, hate speech was aimed at two sisters who had been adopted, but their younger brothers weren’t going to take it, and they defended them.
A family awoke in 2011 as usual, but when they stepped outside they found something unexpected. Despite living in a small town in Illinois, the Hollis family was surprised. It’s rare to see things like this. Upon finding their house spray painted, Anne Hollis was completely taken aback.
Their home was painted with hate speech such as “Get Outta Here” and “Retard.”.
They took this attack very seriously. They believe it was caused by the adoption. They recently adopted two daughters with Down syndrome. This day changed Anne’s life forever. The boys, who are 6 and 7, decided to make a video and defend their sisters.
Their parents helped them address the public and asked everyone to stop using the word “retard”. The Everyone Matters initiative learned about their video and requested permission to share it. This could not have been a better outcome for the Hollis family.
The original video on YouTube currently has over one million views, making it one of the most popular stories on the internet.
You’ll see the boys holding index cards in the video. The cards are addressed to their sisters, Meg and Alina. Throughout the rest of their video, they convey their message using index cards.
At the beginning of the first card, there is an underlined “Re” at the beginning of the sentence. The purpose of this is to show others that they need to stop using the word “retard” when referring to people with Down syndrome.
Furthermore, they explain how their sisters are capable of learning and doing things and how the word “retard” doesn’t describe them at all. After that, they described their sisters and their personalities, giving viewers a glimpse into their lives. In their efforts to dispel stereotypes surrounding Down Syndrome, the boys tried their best.
At the end of the video, a picture of the boys’ entire family appears. The brothers ask if you are willing to help their sisters at this point.
Instead of using hateful words, they want viewers to use loving words. Respect, love, and hope are what they want to share. As you will see at the end of the video, their sisters are not “retards.”
Would you believe that someone would do this to their home? At least they’re making something positive out of this experience. It’s really sad that this family had to go through this.
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