Teen Posts Joke on Twitter, Internet Orders Her to Kill Herself
On January 1st, Twitter user Safiyyah Nawaz started a joke, which started the whole world crying for her head on a silver platter.
"This beautiful earth is now officially 2014 years old," tweeted "$afiyyah" just after the clock struck New Year's. "Amazing."
Within hours, the "harmless joke" was retweeted thousands of times by increasingly serious individuals.
At was first it was "dumb." Then "bitch." Then "dumb bitch." Then "#dumbbitch."
Safiyyah couldn't help but laugh at some of the sillier remarks:
“@safiyyahn: this beautiful earth is now officially 2014 years old, amazing” TAKE THAT $ OUT OF UR NAME U DUMB U DONT DESERVE MONEY
— Mayuran (@MayuranGkrn) January 1, 2014
that last rt really hit me where it hurts
— $afiyyah nawaz (@safiyyahn) January 1, 2014
" @safiyyahn: this beautiful earth is now officially 2014 years old, amazing" #stopblackgirls2014
— Brent Raymond (@Brent_raymond17) January 1, 2014
so far i have seen stop mexican girls, stop black girls, and stop indian girls hahahah YOURE ALL WRONG #RACIALLYAMBIGUOUS
— $afiyyah nawaz (@safiyyahn) January 1, 2014
But later she admitted she was also "kinda scared," as insults gave way to threats and demands that she kill herself.
She initially tried to make the most of her new-found infamy, hoping to leverage the unsolicited attention to secure a meeting with her idol, Snoop Lion:
i have been named dumbass of the year oh wow what an honor first of all id like 2 thank snoop lion
— $afiyyah nawaz (@safiyyahn) January 1, 2014
Id like to take this opportunity to announce that Im running for presidency in the year 2036, hopefully with snoop lion as my vp
— $afiyyah nawaz (@safiyyahn) January 1, 2014
@swatzkrothz 1 step closer 2 meeting snoop lion #dreambig
— $afiyyah nawaz (@safiyyahn) January 1, 2014
But eventually "acknowledged" that the Earth really was older than 2014:
I DONT KNOW ANY OF THE PEOPLE WHO I JUST RETWEETED BUT THEY SEEM REALLY OFFENDED BY MY REMARK
— $afiyyah nawaz (@safiyyahn) January 1, 2014
I DONT KNOW ANY OF THE PEOPLE WHO I JUST RETWEETED BUT THEY SEEM REALLY OFFENDED BY MY REMARK
— $afiyyah nawaz (@safiyyahn) January 1, 2014
IM SORRY I GET IT NOW OKEY THE EARTH IS MORE THAN 2014 YRS OLD WHO ARE U PEOPLE
— $afiyyah nawaz (@safiyyahn) January 1, 2014
She even changed her Twitter bio — "I GET IT THE EARTH IS APPROX 4.54 BILLION YEARS OLD IT WAS A JOKE" — but that did little to assuage her haters, so she tried again to make the most of it:
Please keep the people of Syria in your mind, prayers, thoughts, anything. You can donate at this website: http://t.co/3DrMaRe1Bd
— $afiyyah nawaz (@safiyyahn) January 2, 2014
hey kids remember to recycle, conserve energy, re-use water bottles, turn off the lights, and do everything you can to save the planet
— $afiyyah nawaz (@safiyyahn) January 2, 2014
i've not been hacked i just figured if im gonna get a bunch of followers for something stupid i better use my voice for good
— $afiyyah nawaz (@safiyyahn) January 2, 2014
While im at it I should mention suicide awareness since so many people told me to kill myself, but please dont joke about suicide EVER
— $afiyyah nawaz (@safiyyahn) January 2, 2014
Ultimately, Safiyyah realized there was little she could do to stem the tide of negativity, so she did what anyone in her situation would do:
THANKS A LOT OBAMA
— $afiyyah nawaz (@safiyyahn) January 1, 2014
