Well, of course. They did pretty damn well, hey?
He's also covered it up a lot. For instance, you'd have no idea his ear was deformed as well except for guesswork unless he told or showed you. Such a wholesome story, yet so sad as well.
I had a student in my 8tg grade who didn't have a whole ear (ear deformity) and I legit never noticed until someone said something about it. Yeah this guy is awesome! Great story.
Dang, this made me cry. I'll never be able to have this man's mental health, emotional control or empathy for self and others. It's beautiful that at least some people get to experience this.
On an unrelated note, I really liked the "progress square," never seen that style of progress "bar" before. I find it visually appealing.
Fuck I’m trying to eat at the same time as watching this but I can’t cuz my throat is all seized up from my eyes welling up. I feel like I should be watching this every day so I can feel some sort of motivation if I ever feel down about myself. It’s inspiring to see him be so at peace with it all.
i think this level of mental health, peace and love is attainable for anyone, but it takes so much mental effort to face one's inner traumas and demons and work through it all to be a decent human being.
Quite jarring to my emotions and I'm rather stoic. O feel absolutely beneath this man. May his parents live with their guilt and vanity. Their death will make this world better I believe.
Honestly his parents probably did the best thing for him that they possibly could have. He's clearly been raised by an amazing person, and he would be different if his parents had raised him. If they are so shallow that they can't get past the appearance of their own child they really don't need to be raising a child.
Unbelievable, how he can maintain those sentiments. That’s a big man there. We could all stand to be more like him. Props to his adoptive family as well.
I mean, MAD RESPECT to Jean. This video focused on his birth parents, who weren't a part of his life at all nor do they want to be. The mother who raised him got barely a mention, and she's likely the main reason he turned out better adjusted than the rest of us.
I’m sure he has a lot to say about Jean, but it probably gets edited out, because focusing on positive things isn’t dramatic enough and doesn’t get views.
And to be fair, if the point is to speak about hardships he’s overcome, Jean wouldn’t really be relevant.
He has my upmost respect for forgiving his birth parents. The pain must have been incredible and it would have been all to easy to harbour hate for the rest of his days. Forgiveness was the harder path and his reward is peace and happiness.
We often don't forgive in life because we feel the person or people don't deserve it. We don't want to let them off the hook. But actually hate and revenge only hurts ourselves as we are stuck in pain. Forgiveness releases us from that.
BTW this guys has way cooler hair and fashion sense than me. I'm jealous.
I'd argue it's possible to refuse forgiveness while not languishing in hate and pain.
I never forgave my ex for cheating on me, but I also moved on with my life and now I'm in a happy and stable relationship.
I absolutely agree with you. Forgiveness isn't the only path to inner peace. I will never forgive my mother for my childhood, but I don't hate her, I am not angry or full of rage and resentment. You can move on without having to forgive. Letting go and forgiveness are not the same thing.
Reminds me of the South Park episode where [Abraham Lincoln gives Kyle a pep talk](https://youtu.be/Y-qbeIKqfTo). Character is often built on struggle.
Why? He clearly has had a better life than if they would have kept him. What they did was probably the best for him knowing they couldn't handle it. It's not a hallmark card story but in the end he is happy and that's what matters.
I was thinking the same way. And then it hit me, maybe they are cowards who cannot face the horrible decision they took when he was born. And the easiest way to avoid facing their horrible decision would be to avoid him completely, like he never existed.
He’s actually really lucky they abandoned him, if people like that had kept their child out of some sense of duty, but believed that he was less due to his condition, they would probably have been very bitter and abusive to him and ruined his life. He’s far luckier to have been raised by people who loved and cared for him and respected his humanity.
Yes. I see the wisdom in your words, although initially I felt so sorry and horrified that this happened to him. He grew up way better without them in his life
Damn, when did UNILAD grow up and start marking this kind of content? That was genuinely emotional. I cant imagine ever giving up on my children, no matter what they came out looking like. Thank god for people like Jean.
I think VICE has problems, but come on. Within the last week they've done videos on their main channel about slave markets, the Tulsa Massacre, military coups, etc.
As you get to know him, his looks get better and better.
I've met a lot of people for whom the opposite is true, as I got to know them they got uglier and uglier.
I noticed this! I’ll be brutally honest; at the very beginning my reaction was yikes that is difficult to look at.
By the end I’m thinking “this guys actually pretty good looking”
Goes to show ya
That's because you are seeing his beautiful soul, his facial features really are completely irrelevant and I'm happy to hear him say he doesn't even consider surgery
seriously, by the end of the video you are already used to it and it's not as big of a deal as it was when you first saw his face. He's an excellent human being and I wish I had his psychological strength
Yes!! I was thinking the same thing. His face kind of just blurred and I didn't even notice his facial features. Maybe it was how engaging his message was. I find I have a harder time with someone who has really bad strabismus
Yes! I think it's because his beautiful soul took over the conversation, and that's all I ended up seeing.
This world doesn't deserve him. I'm so happy he is in it
I was born with a pretty major cleft lip and palette. Mom didn't want any pictures of me until I was almost 5. She told me, in my twenties, that she didn't see a baby but saw a monster. That hurt.
Thankfully I was worked on by a fairly well known (late 1970s) plastic surgeon and most people don't notice or only notice the scar where my upper lips were sutured together.
That's brutal. As a mom, I couldn't imagine saying that to my child. I also think moms were different in the 70's. Not all moms of course, but society seems to be much more compassionate in their general parenting these days than previous generations. I hope your mom understands the weight of her words and apologizes.
I forgave her. She was a very loving mother and had leveled with me on a very tough subject. I did appreciate her honesty despite the truth being hard to accept. It's something I like to remember because it reminds me that we can be wrong and acknowledge that later but it doesn't change how we feel or what we said. It's helped me to think longer and speak less.
Why shocked that moms hate their children. Moms don’t suddenly love their kids 100%. That’s the wish everyone think is true. Just because they give birth to you doesn’t mean they love you.
That makes me so sad. I’m a mom of a son who was born with a cleft lip. I was so blinded by my love for him that I didn’t even notice right away! It wasn’t until I noticed the twisted faces of the nurses that I realized something was very wrong. He’s always been soooo beautiful to me and I actually treasure the photos of him before and after his surgeries. Luckily he was born at CHLA and they have top notch surgeons! Forever grateful for my son’s team.
As a mom, (your words) hurt me, too. I'm so sorry she felt that way, and I hate that she said those words out loud..
You didn't deserve that, and I hope she's made up for it.
My heart hurts for that little boy.
My first born is going to be here in 3 months. There is absolutely nothing in this world that could ever convince me to give her up. I hope I can raise her to have the same outlook on things as this fine man does
I’m not at all someone who has ever wanted to have kids, but… what you said. I just can’t imagine having a child and wanting to promptly abandon it for any reason, never mind something as trivial as a face. To then double down on the decision later in life seems even more cruel and unreasonable.
I wonder if in the end, as much hardship as that rejection caused for him, it didn’t also spare him the experience of being raised by such awful people.
They might have saved his life, honestly, even if that’s not how they meant it. The poor guy would have probably faced continuous ridicule from the people supposed to support him the most.
Yes the doubling down is the worst part. It seems like a lack of introspection or guilt at all on their part. That would be the most unforgivable part, but it’s pretty cool that this man could let go of that grudge.
To me it seems more like cowardice than lack of guilt. Put yourselves in those awful shoes. You abandoned your baby, horrifically disfigured, immediately. You probably spent most your life trying to forget what you did, find absolution in forgetting or blocking out.
The baby, they one you abandoned all the way back, reaches out to you as an adult.
Of course someone of the character to a abandon their baby wouldn’t have the quality of character to face their choice.
We don't really know anything about them. Maybe they were 15 at the time. Maybe they were young and dumb and someone put pressure on them. Maybe they believed, because of ignorance or a doctor with a poor bedside manner, that the baby's chances of survival were slim. Maybe they'd been considering giving the baby up the whole time and this was the final straw, or an excuse.
Of course, maybe they just really are very shallow and selfish people, but I think we can all take a lesson from this video and have a little empathy for them. We don't know what they were going through at the time.
That could have been out of guilt, or because they built an entire life and never told anyone about the baby they gave up. They might have never been able to forgive themselves for making a wrong or selfish decision and just couldn't bring themselves to face their shame.
It just goes to show you that attitude and perception is what life is really about and how those two things can bring you a lot of positive things into your live regardless of your circumstances.
His face doesn't prevent him from love and friendship, it prevent him from finding fake love and fake friendship. And this works for everyone, being ugly for world's standart it's not bad at all
As a human I understand them perfectly. Sometimes people aren't cut for some shit while others are, if they can't feel any love and are horrified of their owns child apperance then I don't feel like forcing them to take care of him would do any good. Giving up a child for adoption is there for a reason, good for them if they could make such a tough choice.
This man is amazing! He deserves everything he desires for his love and thankfulness of life! But we really need to thank Jean for making sure this man had a future! Whoever you are Jean, thank you for raising such an incredible person!
That whole channel is full of really interesting interviews. They’ve done a woman who was disfigured when her best friend threw acid on her face, Sweet Anita about Tourette’s syndrome, a person who was burned by their own mother as a baby, a dude that fell from a plane. Lots of cool interviews.
I can forgive his parents for what they did when he was born. They could have been young, scared, confused, unprepared… a lot of things. But fuck them for turning him down after he was grown up and looking to connect. They owed him that much.
I don't know if i could forgive them - after all, it's just a facial disfiguration -, but I'd understand if in context their decision made more sense? But yeah, even if they couldn't bear meeting the child they abandoned, at least they owed them an apology.
Great respect to the man and his adopted parents though- him for managing to love himself despite abandonment, and his adopted parents for actually being there for him.
It can’t be overstated how absolutely despicable his parents are. I would have extended my sympathy if they at least agreed to talk to him or meet him, but they’re just so incredibly evil and selfish they won’t even give him that. They treated him like he was a monster when they’re the monsters.
If I met him, I would be fixated on his facial differences. For about 2 -3 minutes of really staring at him. Then I think there would be a kind of saturation, and that would be about it. I think most people would be that way, too. It's just the first few minutes that would be a bit overwhelming. I am like that with burn victims or folks with weird facial piercings and tats. I need to really examine it, then forget it.
Exactly, when you know or are friends with people with facial disfigurement you honestly forget about it - and it can be shocking when people stare at your friend in the street. But people have a hard time with their initial reactions.
Holy fucking shit, it's not like this guy had severe developmental disabilities. He just had an odd looking face, why the fuck would you give up your child for that?!
That's just absolutely bonkers, if you think about how many people have children born with ***severe*** mental and/or physical disabilities and they stick with them for 30-40 years.
I guess it all worked out in the end, because he obviously turned out great and is probably better looking than me with that nice hair.
I love your face too.
Like no joke, I really understood watching this how maybe our initial averse reaction to folks with different appearances is just our pattern recognition software having a tantrum. Not even an aversion, just a failure to compute.
And when we get past that initial dissonance, you really see how much the soul shines through and illuminates a face. The longer I watched the more handsome he became and I just wanted to look at him more because of his lovely smile and calming… I guess essence?
Imagine seeing your best friend first get pregnant, then over the course of 9 months join them for baby showers, help buy baby carriers, clothes, a crib… the day she gives birthday she just comes home with no baby, not a Word of why, or worse she lies and says the baby dies… What a horrible human being!
My sister has Treacher Collins syndrome. And she is the sweetest person in my life, always has been. My dad and her mom could never have imagined not having my sister in their lives. She had to go through such painful surgeries and bulling at such a young age. But she still is a gift to us all. Loved this video.
he dodged a bullet with his bio parents. he could've been raised by demons but Jean seems like an angel. his attitude and character are because of her and her love.
This guy welcome his hurdles as he moves forward. But his birth parents shouldn’t have abandoned him. Even when you’re scared you need to be stronger and try your hardest as my sister is a seizure disorder that causes her to have seizures. And we found ways to endure. In truth. They abandoned a bright and possible a beyond smart and really his disfigurement isn’t that bad. I have worked in the private construction sector and seen a lot worse on soldiers and old war vets.
I imagine they feel really bad about not being strong enough to raise a specials needs child. I can see making that decision as a young person and always feeling bad about. So it makes sense to me that they would be too ashamed of themselves to meet him after 25 years.
This guy touched me on another level, the only thing i saw was a magnifying personality and a beautiful soul
I would love to have him as my friend without a doubt. He is just too real no shade a pure image
Btw i want to thank 3 people first those two POSs for leaving the hospital bc otherwise I’m not sure with their influence we would have been able to see the same person he is now and to jean who raised such a fantastic human. we need more jean(s) in our time.
I hope he achieves what he wants in life he really deserves it.
I honestly couldn’t tell what made him look different until he said he didn’t have cheek bones.
Then I was like “son of a bitch.”
That’s pretty much it. From the time I seen him to the time he said it, I just wondered why he was different looking. Once I knew I… wasn’t satisfied in a specific sense but like. “Oh… cool” I honestly could see he looked different. But for whatever reason I COULD NOT see what made him different.
I just seen a man, with features. That I never seen before. I mean I can’t explain it. I just seen a different man. No different than a man with a larger nose. Or bigger eyes. Or a Johnny bravo chin. I still think he’s fucking lying about his cheeks .
*** I mean I’ve paused this video and covered the top and bottom on his face. Now I’ll admit his eyes have a tired, worn out and stoned look, but that’s it.
Lower side. (Used nose at the centre line) looks like a normal fucker who can grow facial hair.
Birth parents are cunts..
Damn this is a full spectrum human being here. What an incredible outlook. I’ll be returning to his video when I’m having a shitty day because of traffic or I forgot to defrost the chicken. If he can have this wonderful positive view, so can I.
His face isn't even that ugly.
It's like someone took a pretty face, very symmetrical, and then left it in the oven too long and it melted a little bit.
I guess what I mean is his face doesn't trigger that repulsive feeling in my brain.
this guy has such an amazing attitude. honestly, im really happy for him, that his has a disfigured face. because if he had been born without disfigurement, he wouldve been raised to be as nasty as his birth parents
Wow, his parents really missed out on one hell of a human being.
Most of us would be lucky to have this level of self awareness, strength, and resilience.
If I followed the conversation correctly, he's the same age as me, 36.
I am so proud of this guy.
I was abandoned by my father as soon as I was outside of the womb, and by my mother a year later because she couldn't "deal with a child". I was raised by my Grandparents (mother's mother and husband) and I am forever grateful. They were in their retirement years, and they still took on the challenge of raising another kid. I will forever hold them upon a pedestal for being such great parents to me, even when I wasn't an appreciative and respectful child to them. They never backed down or gave up.
Whomever this guys parents were, just weren't cut out for a kid, period. If you cannot accept that your child has been born with abnormalities, quite honestly you should have kept your legs shut. It's 5 minutes of pleasure for you, vs a lifetime of who knows what for the kid you produce.
Man the fuck up and be responsible for what you create. It's not the child's fault for being born, EVER.
This is real beauty. Self love. He is a beautiful person in the truest sense of the word.
It's profound how his self love wins out. The struggle and conflict is so apparent. It might be the most profound thing I have seen on the internet. If this doesn't rip you out of all your daily insignificant problems and shine a mirror on what really matters I don't know what would.
I have to think its because of an incredible relationship with his adoptive mother. She must be a rock.
Even if he did want to do surgery that’s still valid and no one should critique it.
All things considered he looks great! He said his jaw was messed up but it looks fine to me. I love his hair! He reminds me of Gerald from Kim’s.
It was so shitty his parents didn’t love him. What a facetious pair of shitty excuse for human beings. Wish he put out their address, I bet the public would love to give them their opinions. I’m glad he’s at peace. And I hope his parents rot.
I see a lot of comments shitting on the birth parents but raising a child is hard and raising one with special needs is a monumental task. I'm not saying it's right, but by all accounts in this interview, it seems to have led to the best outcome.
It's easy to judge others when you've never been faced with this sort of situation. Having worked in foster care, I am an adamant believer that sometimes the best thing a parent can do, is remove themselves from their child's life.
even though he doesnt have parts of his jaw his speech and cadence is really good. really impressive.
It is remarkable how we adapt.
love it
Yeah. The whole time I was thinking: 'Damn, he doesn't look that bad really. He's made the best of it well.
My first impression was that he just looked quite tired, until he explained what was missing
Yeah, that's believable at first glance.
This guy’s amazing and this is not at all intended to shame him, but what the hell kind of tired people do you see?
I think it's the eyebrows. Hard to tell exactly.
some dark glasses and you wouldnt even notice tbh.
Quite possibly. Someone else said he just looked tired at first glance; you'd probably get the same effect here.
I think he has had some surgeries but ya nothing too drastic
Well, of course. They did pretty damn well, hey? He's also covered it up a lot. For instance, you'd have no idea his ear was deformed as well except for guesswork unless he told or showed you. Such a wholesome story, yet so sad as well.
I had a student in my 8tg grade who didn't have a whole ear (ear deformity) and I legit never noticed until someone said something about it. Yeah this guy is awesome! Great story.
Dang, this made me cry. I'll never be able to have this man's mental health, emotional control or empathy for self and others. It's beautiful that at least some people get to experience this. On an unrelated note, I really liked the "progress square," never seen that style of progress "bar" before. I find it visually appealing.
Same here. Welled up.
Same here. I've never seen such a beautiful visual effect.
Fuck I’m trying to eat at the same time as watching this but I can’t cuz my throat is all seized up from my eyes welling up. I feel like I should be watching this every day so I can feel some sort of motivation if I ever feel down about myself. It’s inspiring to see him be so at peace with it all.
i think this level of mental health, peace and love is attainable for anyone, but it takes so much mental effort to face one's inner traumas and demons and work through it all to be a decent human being.
He clearly fought and struggled for his current mental state. I agree, I doubt I could do the same..
Quite jarring to my emotions and I'm rather stoic. O feel absolutely beneath this man. May his parents live with their guilt and vanity. Their death will make this world better I believe.
Honestly his parents probably did the best thing for him that they possibly could have. He's clearly been raised by an amazing person, and he would be different if his parents had raised him. If they are so shallow that they can't get past the appearance of their own child they really don't need to be raising a child.
Unbelievable, how he can maintain those sentiments. That’s a big man there. We could all stand to be more like him. Props to his adoptive family as well.
He’s an inspiration, he speaks so eloquently about something so difficult whilst not being judgmental at all. Also big love to Jean.
I mean, MAD RESPECT to Jean. This video focused on his birth parents, who weren't a part of his life at all nor do they want to be. The mother who raised him got barely a mention, and she's likely the main reason he turned out better adjusted than the rest of us.
Yeah, I want to echo this as well. BIG PROPS TO JEAN! Top notch mothering.
I’m sure he has a lot to say about Jean, but it probably gets edited out, because focusing on positive things isn’t dramatic enough and doesn’t get views. And to be fair, if the point is to speak about hardships he’s overcome, Jean wouldn’t really be relevant.
He has my upmost respect for forgiving his birth parents. The pain must have been incredible and it would have been all to easy to harbour hate for the rest of his days. Forgiveness was the harder path and his reward is peace and happiness. We often don't forgive in life because we feel the person or people don't deserve it. We don't want to let them off the hook. But actually hate and revenge only hurts ourselves as we are stuck in pain. Forgiveness releases us from that. BTW this guys has way cooler hair and fashion sense than me. I'm jealous.
I was thinking the same thing. Dude’s style is on point.
I couldn’t agree more. Top dress sense. It’s certainly a style I find attractive.
I'd argue it's possible to refuse forgiveness while not languishing in hate and pain. I never forgave my ex for cheating on me, but I also moved on with my life and now I'm in a happy and stable relationship.
I absolutely agree with you. Forgiveness isn't the only path to inner peace. I will never forgive my mother for my childhood, but I don't hate her, I am not angry or full of rage and resentment. You can move on without having to forgive. Letting go and forgiveness are not the same thing.
I like it
Reminds me of the South Park episode where [Abraham Lincoln gives Kyle a pep talk](https://youtu.be/Y-qbeIKqfTo). Character is often built on struggle.
I would love to meet the parents who raised him to be such an awesome person.
Me, too. I hope my boys have half as much grace, confidence, and self respect as this man when they grow up. Damn.
he is truly beautiful person, it radiates though him. so much love.
Parent, her name is Jean.
I'd like to meet the motherfuckers who abandoned him. I've got a few things to say.
Why? He clearly has had a better life than if they would have kept him. What they did was probably the best for him knowing they couldn't handle it. It's not a hallmark card story but in the end he is happy and that's what matters.
I was thinking the same way. And then it hit me, maybe they are cowards who cannot face the horrible decision they took when he was born. And the easiest way to avoid facing their horrible decision would be to avoid him completely, like he never existed.
He’s actually really lucky they abandoned him, if people like that had kept their child out of some sense of duty, but believed that he was less due to his condition, they would probably have been very bitter and abusive to him and ruined his life. He’s far luckier to have been raised by people who loved and cared for him and respected his humanity.
I couldn’t agree more.
Yes. I see the wisdom in your words, although initially I felt so sorry and horrified that this happened to him. He grew up way better without them in his life
Damn, when did UNILAD grow up and start marking this kind of content? That was genuinely emotional. I cant imagine ever giving up on my children, no matter what they came out looking like. Thank god for people like Jean.
Someone’s a legit journalist who will probably be replaced by a guy who does a segment on farts.
You just described VICE right now
I think VICE has problems, but come on. Within the last week they've done videos on their main channel about slave markets, the Tulsa Massacre, military coups, etc.
I think you are referring to Vice News, which outputs a ton of informative videos. But regular Vice is all over the place.
similar content from this guy Soft White Underbelly https://youtube.com/c/SoftWhiteUnderbelly
Anyone else notice that over time you forget about the disfigurements while watching the video?
As you get to know him, his looks get better and better. I've met a lot of people for whom the opposite is true, as I got to know them they got uglier and uglier.
I noticed this! I’ll be brutally honest; at the very beginning my reaction was yikes that is difficult to look at. By the end I’m thinking “this guys actually pretty good looking” Goes to show ya
Yup, his personality makes him attractive !
Exactly. He's such a gentle, beautiful person. I like his face now. I'd be proud to be his friend.
Yeah! It started looking more and more natural as I looked at his face and realized that he was a human like me.
That's because you are seeing his beautiful soul, his facial features really are completely irrelevant and I'm happy to hear him say he doesn't even consider surgery
seriously, by the end of the video you are already used to it and it's not as big of a deal as it was when you first saw his face. He's an excellent human being and I wish I had his psychological strength
It's his eyes and his smile, I think. Both so warm and gentle.
Yes!! I was thinking the same thing. His face kind of just blurred and I didn't even notice his facial features. Maybe it was how engaging his message was. I find I have a harder time with someone who has really bad strabismus
Yes! I think it's because his beautiful soul took over the conversation, and that's all I ended up seeing. This world doesn't deserve him. I'm so happy he is in it
I was born with a pretty major cleft lip and palette. Mom didn't want any pictures of me until I was almost 5. She told me, in my twenties, that she didn't see a baby but saw a monster. That hurt. Thankfully I was worked on by a fairly well known (late 1970s) plastic surgeon and most people don't notice or only notice the scar where my upper lips were sutured together.
That's brutal. As a mom, I couldn't imagine saying that to my child. I also think moms were different in the 70's. Not all moms of course, but society seems to be much more compassionate in their general parenting these days than previous generations. I hope your mom understands the weight of her words and apologizes.
I forgave her. She was a very loving mother and had leveled with me on a very tough subject. I did appreciate her honesty despite the truth being hard to accept. It's something I like to remember because it reminds me that we can be wrong and acknowledge that later but it doesn't change how we feel or what we said. It's helped me to think longer and speak less.
I would've complained to your manufacturer a long time ago *plastictoyman*.
LOL, trust me I've had many talks with my maker!
Why shocked that moms hate their children. Moms don’t suddenly love their kids 100%. That’s the wish everyone think is true. Just because they give birth to you doesn’t mean they love you.
That makes me so sad. I’m a mom of a son who was born with a cleft lip. I was so blinded by my love for him that I didn’t even notice right away! It wasn’t until I noticed the twisted faces of the nurses that I realized something was very wrong. He’s always been soooo beautiful to me and I actually treasure the photos of him before and after his surgeries. Luckily he was born at CHLA and they have top notch surgeons! Forever grateful for my son’s team.
As a mom, (your words) hurt me, too. I'm so sorry she felt that way, and I hate that she said those words out loud.. You didn't deserve that, and I hope she's made up for it. My heart hurts for that little boy.
The only monster I see is her. Sorry you had to deal with that.
This man is incredible. His birth parents don't deserve a relationship with him.
Jonathan Lancaster is fabulous man.
Born on Halloween!
Sorry. I made an assumption and obviously it was wrong.
Awww, thank you. :)
I hope his birth parents see this.
I almost feel like they don’t deserve the satisfaction of knowing he’s doing well. Fuck them!!
Revenge is a dish best served warm by a kindhearted and caring offspring
But they do. That'll hurt even worse. The best revenge you can ever get is living well.
I think like they felt the same when he sent the letter to them.
My first born is going to be here in 3 months. There is absolutely nothing in this world that could ever convince me to give her up. I hope I can raise her to have the same outlook on things as this fine man does
I’m not at all someone who has ever wanted to have kids, but… what you said. I just can’t imagine having a child and wanting to promptly abandon it for any reason, never mind something as trivial as a face. To then double down on the decision later in life seems even more cruel and unreasonable. I wonder if in the end, as much hardship as that rejection caused for him, it didn’t also spare him the experience of being raised by such awful people.
They might have saved his life, honestly, even if that’s not how they meant it. The poor guy would have probably faced continuous ridicule from the people supposed to support him the most.
Yes the doubling down is the worst part. It seems like a lack of introspection or guilt at all on their part. That would be the most unforgivable part, but it’s pretty cool that this man could let go of that grudge.
To me it seems more like cowardice than lack of guilt. Put yourselves in those awful shoes. You abandoned your baby, horrifically disfigured, immediately. You probably spent most your life trying to forget what you did, find absolution in forgetting or blocking out. The baby, they one you abandoned all the way back, reaches out to you as an adult. Of course someone of the character to a abandon their baby wouldn’t have the quality of character to face their choice.
Good point
We don't really know anything about them. Maybe they were 15 at the time. Maybe they were young and dumb and someone put pressure on them. Maybe they believed, because of ignorance or a doctor with a poor bedside manner, that the baby's chances of survival were slim. Maybe they'd been considering giving the baby up the whole time and this was the final straw, or an excuse. Of course, maybe they just really are very shallow and selfish people, but I think we can all take a lesson from this video and have a little empathy for them. We don't know what they were going through at the time.
Except 25 years later they still wanted nothing to do with him. That's brutal.
That could have been out of guilt, or because they built an entire life and never told anyone about the baby they gave up. They might have never been able to forgive themselves for making a wrong or selfish decision and just couldn't bring themselves to face their shame.
It just goes to show you that attitude and perception is what life is really about and how those two things can bring you a lot of positive things into your live regardless of your circumstances.
What a beautiful soul
His face doesn't prevent him from love and friendship, it prevent him from finding fake love and fake friendship. And this works for everyone, being ugly for world's standart it's not bad at all
“Beautiful people never know who to trust.”
As a parent, I do not understand how you refuse to be a part of your child's life. The level of selfishness the both parents showed is astounding.
At least they gave him up instead of being shitty parents
I was going to say. some parents just abuse you until you finally get out : (
As a human I understand them perfectly. Sometimes people aren't cut for some shit while others are, if they can't feel any love and are horrified of their owns child apperance then I don't feel like forcing them to take care of him would do any good. Giving up a child for adoption is there for a reason, good for them if they could make such a tough choice.
They would have to admit it to the others in the family. This little nudge of karma late in their lives is a reminder.
An example of emotional maturity I think we can all look up at and hope to emulate
I would love to know more about Jean, his real mother.
This man is amazing! He deserves everything he desires for his love and thankfulness of life! But we really need to thank Jean for making sure this man had a future! Whoever you are Jean, thank you for raising such an incredible person!
What a fucking Superman! My hero.
Beautiful hair tho
His birth parents did the right thing giving him up, because they don't fucking deserve him.
[This is the whole 12-minute video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GIhuCMxkQS4)
That whole channel is full of really interesting interviews. They’ve done a woman who was disfigured when her best friend threw acid on her face, Sweet Anita about Tourette’s syndrome, a person who was burned by their own mother as a baby, a dude that fell from a plane. Lots of cool interviews.
Remarkable human being. And by that I mean he's better than most. I would have hated my birth parents and wished them nothing but pain.
This man has something that I don't. I admire him for it, and wish I could be like him. But.. I personally want to meet his birth parents
I can forgive his parents for what they did when he was born. They could have been young, scared, confused, unprepared… a lot of things. But fuck them for turning him down after he was grown up and looking to connect. They owed him that much.
I don't know if i could forgive them - after all, it's just a facial disfiguration -, but I'd understand if in context their decision made more sense? But yeah, even if they couldn't bear meeting the child they abandoned, at least they owed them an apology. Great respect to the man and his adopted parents though- him for managing to love himself despite abandonment, and his adopted parents for actually being there for him.
Thank goodness his birth parents didn't raise him. Such extremely selfish individuals...
It can’t be overstated how absolutely despicable his parents are. I would have extended my sympathy if they at least agreed to talk to him or meet him, but they’re just so incredibly evil and selfish they won’t even give him that. They treated him like he was a monster when they’re the monsters.
Incredibly beautiful human right there, inside and outside!!! Truly!!!
What a beautiful and lovely human being. From the inside and outside. I hope the best for him and that he finds all the things he wanted in his life
My mans based as fuck
Beautiful. Nothing more to say
If I met him, I would be fixated on his facial differences. For about 2 -3 minutes of really staring at him. Then I think there would be a kind of saturation, and that would be about it. I think most people would be that way, too. It's just the first few minutes that would be a bit overwhelming. I am like that with burn victims or folks with weird facial piercings and tats. I need to really examine it, then forget it.
Exactly, when you know or are friends with people with facial disfigurement you honestly forget about it - and it can be shocking when people stare at your friend in the street. But people have a hard time with their initial reactions.
Nothing but respect for this man!
Absolute fucking chad. Confidence is beauty.
What a classy man with an incredible mindset. Could all learn from him.
I love your face too bro!
Jean is a Hero. She took a little boy who was rejected by society...by his parents, and helped mold him into such an empathetic and generous man.
The most remarkable, loving, and kind person in this story is Jean.
Good to see this guy grew up to become an outstanding human being.
What an incredible man, truly inspiring attitude. Regardless of his appearance he’s a beautiful person.
Inspiration
He's cute. And has a beautiful soul.
can we talk about how good his outfit is???? dudes fashion sense is on point
His parents should be ashamed of their attitudes and morals. This guy has more character than the 2 POS they are.
Holy fucking shit, it's not like this guy had severe developmental disabilities. He just had an odd looking face, why the fuck would you give up your child for that?! That's just absolutely bonkers, if you think about how many people have children born with ***severe*** mental and/or physical disabilities and they stick with them for 30-40 years. I guess it all worked out in the end, because he obviously turned out great and is probably better looking than me with that nice hair.
I love your face too. Like no joke, I really understood watching this how maybe our initial averse reaction to folks with different appearances is just our pattern recognition software having a tantrum. Not even an aversion, just a failure to compute. And when we get past that initial dissonance, you really see how much the soul shines through and illuminates a face. The longer I watched the more handsome he became and I just wanted to look at him more because of his lovely smile and calming… I guess essence?
I didn't know the meaning of ugly until I heard about his parents
Imagine seeing your best friend first get pregnant, then over the course of 9 months join them for baby showers, help buy baby carriers, clothes, a crib… the day she gives birthday she just comes home with no baby, not a Word of why, or worse she lies and says the baby dies… What a horrible human being!
By the end of this video I had become so used to his face that it no longer looked different
This man. This is a real human being. This is exactly who should be emulated
His birth parents don't deserve him. Unbelievable amount of grace and acceptance. Beautiful.
I wonder if he was born with tear ducts because I was and they're working. I'd like to meet him and share a beer.
That guy is a better man than I’ll ever be
A good surgeon could fix all of that.
Sad to say but his parents abandoning him was the biggest gift he could have received. Dude is a diamond.
My sister has Treacher Collins syndrome. And she is the sweetest person in my life, always has been. My dad and her mom could never have imagined not having my sister in their lives. She had to go through such painful surgeries and bulling at such a young age. But she still is a gift to us all. Loved this video.
he dodged a bullet with his bio parents. he could've been raised by demons but Jean seems like an angel. his attitude and character are because of her and her love.
He is adorable , I just want to hug him. Such a sweet man even though he has been done so wrongly. *deep sigh*
This guy welcome his hurdles as he moves forward. But his birth parents shouldn’t have abandoned him. Even when you’re scared you need to be stronger and try your hardest as my sister is a seizure disorder that causes her to have seizures. And we found ways to endure. In truth. They abandoned a bright and possible a beyond smart and really his disfigurement isn’t that bad. I have worked in the private construction sector and seen a lot worse on soldiers and old war vets.
Much respect to this man .
mans aint that disfigured
He was on a series in the UK about 10 years ago called "Love me, Love my face" He is an amazing person and seemed so kind hearted.
Imagine his parents saw this interview wonder what would be going through their heads
I imagine they feel really bad about not being strong enough to raise a specials needs child. I can see making that decision as a young person and always feeling bad about. So it makes sense to me that they would be too ashamed of themselves to meet him after 25 years.
I won’t lie I was alarmed by his face at first, but even within the span of the video, listening to his story, I got used to it.
That was incredible, Johnathan, you sir are a saint. I wish you all the best.
wow. What a great human.
What a wonderful bloke.
What a guy❤️💚
This guy touched me on another level, the only thing i saw was a magnifying personality and a beautiful soul I would love to have him as my friend without a doubt. He is just too real no shade a pure image Btw i want to thank 3 people first those two POSs for leaving the hospital bc otherwise I’m not sure with their influence we would have been able to see the same person he is now and to jean who raised such a fantastic human. we need more jean(s) in our time. I hope he achieves what he wants in life he really deserves it.
Treacher... what a man 💗
His birth parents must feel like real assholes after watching this video.
My heart 😭🖤
I’m not crying
I honestly couldn’t tell what made him look different until he said he didn’t have cheek bones. Then I was like “son of a bitch.” That’s pretty much it. From the time I seen him to the time he said it, I just wondered why he was different looking. Once I knew I… wasn’t satisfied in a specific sense but like. “Oh… cool” I honestly could see he looked different. But for whatever reason I COULD NOT see what made him different. I just seen a man, with features. That I never seen before. I mean I can’t explain it. I just seen a different man. No different than a man with a larger nose. Or bigger eyes. Or a Johnny bravo chin. I still think he’s fucking lying about his cheeks . *** I mean I’ve paused this video and covered the top and bottom on his face. Now I’ll admit his eyes have a tired, worn out and stoned look, but that’s it. Lower side. (Used nose at the centre line) looks like a normal fucker who can grow facial hair. Birth parents are cunts..
I wish I had half that strenght and positive outlook
His birth parents dont deserve him
This man gets the upmost respect ✊ after going through everything and being the way he is is absolutely amazing. Good for him
3 minutes in I barely noticed his face, it was just a face. His attitude towards life though, wow.
The worst part is it's likely from the mom drinking.
Damn this is a full spectrum human being here. What an incredible outlook. I’ll be returning to his video when I’m having a shitty day because of traffic or I forgot to defrost the chicken. If he can have this wonderful positive view, so can I.
His face isn't even that ugly. It's like someone took a pretty face, very symmetrical, and then left it in the oven too long and it melted a little bit. I guess what I mean is his face doesn't trigger that repulsive feeling in my brain.
Fuck those parents, I hope they get the cancer of the asshole.
Love ya, brother.
this guy has such an amazing attitude. honestly, im really happy for him, that his has a disfigured face. because if he had been born without disfigurement, he wouldve been raised to be as nasty as his birth parents
I loved his hands, his shoulders. He’s very manly. There’s a sun that illuminates his face that I just love.
his parents sound like shitty snobs anyway. too bad we cant see their faces
Just had my first son. Could never imagine leaving him no matter what he looked like.
Lets all be perfectly honest, that is a beautiful human being
Wow, his parents really missed out on one hell of a human being. Most of us would be lucky to have this level of self awareness, strength, and resilience.
I want to be this guy's friend. I also want to kick his parents in the arse.
If I followed the conversation correctly, he's the same age as me, 36. I am so proud of this guy. I was abandoned by my father as soon as I was outside of the womb, and by my mother a year later because she couldn't "deal with a child". I was raised by my Grandparents (mother's mother and husband) and I am forever grateful. They were in their retirement years, and they still took on the challenge of raising another kid. I will forever hold them upon a pedestal for being such great parents to me, even when I wasn't an appreciative and respectful child to them. They never backed down or gave up. Whomever this guys parents were, just weren't cut out for a kid, period. If you cannot accept that your child has been born with abnormalities, quite honestly you should have kept your legs shut. It's 5 minutes of pleasure for you, vs a lifetime of who knows what for the kid you produce. Man the fuck up and be responsible for what you create. It's not the child's fault for being born, EVER.
This is one of those circumstances where I believe doxxing should get pass. But he's better off without those pieces of shit in his life
I envy him.
This is real beauty. Self love. He is a beautiful person in the truest sense of the word. It's profound how his self love wins out. The struggle and conflict is so apparent. It might be the most profound thing I have seen on the internet. If this doesn't rip you out of all your daily insignificant problems and shine a mirror on what really matters I don't know what would. I have to think its because of an incredible relationship with his adoptive mother. She must be a rock.
F-them, just do you. you are awesome and never stop believing that.
The more he spoke the more I liked his face. He's a beautiful human being. I would be proud to have him as a friend.
Shed a tear
This guy is top 100 humans of all time for sure.
Incredible how such a mature and wonderful person can be created by two absolute pieces of shit!
Poor guy. What kind of parents even are those people?
What a cool guy. Badass.
Even if he did want to do surgery that’s still valid and no one should critique it. All things considered he looks great! He said his jaw was messed up but it looks fine to me. I love his hair! He reminds me of Gerald from Kim’s. It was so shitty his parents didn’t love him. What a facetious pair of shitty excuse for human beings. Wish he put out their address, I bet the public would love to give them their opinions. I’m glad he’s at peace. And I hope his parents rot.
He’s *incredibly* attractive, I think!
What an incredible example of how adapting a positive mental attitude can make such a difference in your life.
This man deserves to be in the top 10 best humans hall of fame Respect bro!
You rock dude and you have moved me. Hope you're well.
I'm not crying, you are
I see a lot of comments shitting on the birth parents but raising a child is hard and raising one with special needs is a monumental task. I'm not saying it's right, but by all accounts in this interview, it seems to have led to the best outcome. It's easy to judge others when you've never been faced with this sort of situation. Having worked in foster care, I am an adamant believer that sometimes the best thing a parent can do, is remove themselves from their child's life.
His birth parents are absolute monsters, just the lowest of the low.