This amazing photo of a boy at an anti-gay march went viral for all the right reasons.
It's not the size of the man, but the strength of his gesture that matters.
On Sept. 10, 2016, a young boy faced off against thousands of anti-gay-marriage protestors.
Image by Manuel Rodriguez for Regeneración, used with permission.
Journalist Manuel Rodriguez captured this amazing photo during a Frente Nacional por la Familia march in Celaya, Guanajuato, in central Mexico. Frente Nacional is a nationwide pro-family organization that essentially condemns same-sex marriages.
Rodriguez says he initially thought the boy was just goofing around when he saw him stand in front of the crowd with his arms out.
But when Rodriguez interviewed the boy, who's about 12, the boy told him he has a gay uncle. He said he doesn't like the hatred his uncle faces from people like the ones he faced head-on in that march.
A sea of people march in the event held in Guadalajara, Mexico. Image by Hector Guerrero/Getty Images.
It's important to remember that the "machista" mentality unfortunately still runs rampant in Mexico.
Homophobia remains a big problem among Latino men, many of whom feel a cultural expectation to be the big, strong head of the household — something they feel is stereotypically contrary to gay culture.
But this incredible image is certainly one that speaks a thousand words. It shows that the younger generation is bringing a more open and accepting mentality into the mix in Mexico.
Yes, hate is a strong emotion. But love is even stronger. And it's love that made this boy take this huge stand against thousands of people.
We're born without judgments. And it's only after we begin to understand the world around us that we form prejudices and preconceived notions about people who lead different lifestyles than those we're used to seeing.
So let's lift this boy up as an example of what it means to choose love over hate.
To me, his grand gesture is proof that there's inherent good and acceptance in all of us. And that's worth celebrating.



A Generation Jones teenager poses in her room.Image via Wikmedia Commons
An office kitchen.via
An angry man eating spaghetti.via 
At least it wasn't Bubbles.
You just know there's a person named Whiskey out there getting a kick out of this. 


An Irish woman went to the doctor for a routine eye exam. She left with bright neon green eyes.
It's not easy seeing green.
Did she get superpowers?
Going to the eye doctor can be a hassle and a pain. It's not just the routine issues and inconveniences that come along when making a doctor appointment, but sometimes the various devices being used to check your eyes' health feel invasive and uncomfortable. But at least at the end of the appointment, most of us don't look like we're turning into The Incredible Hulk. That wasn't the case for one Irish woman.
Photographer Margerita B. Wargola was just going in for a routine eye exam at the hospital but ended up leaving with her eyes a shocking, bright neon green.
At the doctor's office, the nurse practitioner was prepping Wargola for a test with a machine that Wargola had experienced before. Before the test started, Wargola presumed the nurse had dropped some saline into her eyes, as they were feeling dry. After she blinked, everything went yellow.
Wargola and the nurse initially panicked. Neither knew what was going on as Wargola suddenly had yellow vision and radioactive-looking green eyes. After the initial shock, both realized the issue: the nurse forgot to ask Wargola to remove her contact lenses before putting contrast drops in her eyes for the exam. Wargola and the nurse quickly removed the lenses from her eyes and washed them thoroughly with saline. Fortunately, Wargola's eyes were unharmed. Unfortunately, her contacts were permanently stained and she didn't bring a spare pair.
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Since she has poor vision, Wargola was forced to drive herself home after the eye exam wearing the neon-green contact lenses that make her look like a member of the Green Lantern Corps. She couldn't help but laugh at her predicament and recorded a video explaining it all on social media. Since then, her video has sparked a couple Reddit threads and collected a bunch of comments on Instagram:
“But the REAL question is: do you now have X-Ray vision?”
“You can just say you're a superhero.”
“I would make a few stops on the way home just to freak some people out!”
“I would have lived it up! Grab a coffee, do grocery shopping, walk around a shopping center.”
“This one would pair well with that girl who ate something with turmeric with her invisalign on and walked around Paris smiling at people with seemingly BRIGHT YELLOW TEETH.”
“I would save those for fancy special occasions! WOW!”
“Every time I'd stop I'd turn slowly and stare at the person in the car next to me.”
“Keep them. Tell people what to do. They’ll do your bidding.”
In a follow-up Instagram video, Wargola showed her followers that she was safe at home with normal eyes, showing that the damaged contact lenses were so stained that they turned the saline solution in her contacts case into a bright Gatorade yellow. She wasn't mad at the nurse and, in fact, plans on keeping the lenses to wear on St. Patrick's Day or some other special occasion.
While no harm was done and a good laugh was had, it's still best for doctors, nurses, and patients alike to double-check and ask or tell if contact lenses are being worn before each eye test. If not, there might be more than ultra-green eyes to worry about.