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Man Attacks Caitlyn Jenner But Gets Amazing Lesson In ‘Ironic Twist’

Caitlyn Jenner

(Photo : REUTERS/ANNIE LEIBOVITZ/VANITY FAIR/HANDOUT VIA REUTERS) Caitlyn Jenner, formerly known as reality television star and former Olympic athlete Bruce Jenner, poses in an exclusive photograph shot by Annie Leibovitz for Vanity Fair magazine and released by Vanity Fair on June 1, 2015.

A man attacked Caitlyn Jenner on Facebook recently, pointing out that Jenner lacked "real American courage, heroism, and bravery" after he compared her to a black and white photo of World War Two soldiers. As it happens, the man learns an amazing lesson in an "ironic twist" upon learning the photo's backstory.

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Jenner recently came out as a transgender woman on Vanity Fair this week in hopes of helping other people struggling with gender identity. While many have hailed her for her courage with regards to her public transformation, plenty others still sought to focus on hate.

For Terry Coffey of Oregon, it was hate at first, but in an ironic twist of events, he quickly changed his mind about Jenner.

Coffey posted a photo on Facebook Monday of two World War II soldiers, one firing his gun at enemies as he was carried to safety by the other soldier.

His post spread quickly that it has been shared more than 75,000 times, according to CNET. However, in a Raw Story report, Coffey reportedly realized in the end that the photo's history had a story of courage, and was in line with the LGBT community as well.

The photo's initial caption read:

"As I see post after post about Bruce Jenner's transition to a woman, and I hear words like, bravery, heroism and courage, just thought I'd remind all of us what real American courage, heroism and bravery looks like!"

As I see post after post about Bruce Jenner's transition to a woman, and I hear words like, bravery, heroism, and...

Posted by Terry Coffey on Monday, June 1, 2015

The spread of Coffey's first post was around the same time that rumors circulated that ESPN chose Jenner for the Arthur Ashe Courage Award over an army veteran who lost both his arm and leg in combat, according to KTLA.

Coffey later researched the photographer of the photo he randomly took from the internet, and the results, needless to say, gave him the shock of his life.

He found out that the photo he posted was taken by Mark Hogancamp, who used toy figurines in an exercise managing his pain after nearly being beaten to death by five men in New York in 2000. The reason - he was a crossdresser.

Due to the beating, Hogancamp suffered serious brain injuries as well as post-traumatic stress disorder. After realizing the photographer's story, Coffey followed up his original post the next day. The post read:

"This is the photo I shared yesterday in the spirit of spotlighting 'true bravery.'"

"This photo that accompanied my words, was chosen from a quick image search. Just wanted something to fit my words. I wanted to find out who the photographer was, so I could credit his work."

"In an ironic twist, I have discovered that the photo is part of a documentary created by a man who was beaten nearly to death outside of a bar in 2000. After spending 9 days in a coma, suffering severe brain damage and being unable to walk or talk for a year, he chose to try and cope with his pain from the tragic event, by creating a world of stories and characters and photos set in WWII. The image I chose, was one of those created for an upcoming documentary. Why was he nearly beaten to death by 5 strangers?"

"Because he was a cross-dresser. I could have chosen one of hundreds of other photos. But I didn't, I chose this one. Do I think it was an accident? I don't."

"What happened to this man was wrong, cruel, and unforgivable. Hate helps nothing. Love wounds no one. and God heals all. (and irony makes us think)"

This is the photo I shared yesterday in the spirit of spotlighting "true bravery." This photo that accompanied my...

Posted by Terry Coffey on Tuesday, June 2, 2015

The post comes as a surprise and a touching story as Coffey decided to follow up his post when he could have just kept mum altogether.

Coffey mentioned an "upcoming" documentary in his second post. It was actually released in 2010, available on the Sundance Now Doc Club, reported The Huffington Post.

Watch the trailer for the documentary below.


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