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Star Wars Kid Cuts a Deal With His Tormentors
An anonymous reader writes "Ghyslain Raza, who gained instant online fame as the 'Star Wars Kid' settled this week with the families of the three classmates who posted his two minute Lucasfilm screen test on the Internet. No details were released but the suit sought damages of $351,000. A victory for the victims of cyber-bullying, or missed chance by thin-skinned Ghyslain to cash-in as the next William 'She Bangs' Hung?"
It may not be always obvious what the right thing is to do when you're in a situation like Ghyslain's. How was he to know that the reaction to how he and his parents handled his situation would be overall frowned upon. He had a chance to make something that was embarrasing work out really well for him. But nobody likes a whiner. I only hope that other kids can learn from his situation and make the most of their own problems.
I suspect one of Raza's last concerns was how to exploit his new found fame. It seems like he wanted the situation to go away as quickly as possible. I suspect this incident was yet another in a long list of wrongs committed against him by his bullies.
/., it's ironic how most of the comments are against Raza's lawsuit. Blaming Raza for not taking advantage of his situation is fair, I suppose. But people distributed his image without his consent and likely with ill intent in mind, so his lawsuit has plenty of merit.
For all of the privacy advocates on
Self deprecation is a unique quality in that if it's not developed appropriately, it can lead to depression or make existing depression even worse. While Raza certainly still has time to laugh at himself, I doubt the situation he is in is very supportive of such development.
All that said, the video was pretty silly.
I would dare any of these people saying that they've got a thick skin, to post a picture of them, I'd love to edit it on photoshop...
This reminds me of previous story about the difficulties of employers reading personal blogs and making employment decisions based on what they find on the Net.
We're looking at a medium where what is put up will last for many many years (verging on forever, possibly) and while you can control what you post yourself, you can't control what others share. (You can go retroactively to the courts and get mocked mercilessly for it though.) People (even many here on slashdot) don't realize what a powerful medium it is.
I don't think that many people realize the tremendous potential for abuse that the internet holds. Sure the kid got 15 minutes of fame out of the deal, and he arguably didn't make the best use out of it, but this will dog him his entire life. He's one extreme example of how someone can leverage the internet to abuse someone else and cause irrepairable damage.
My guess is that whoever modded the parent funny didn't *really* understand how serious the problem is.
What's in a Sig?
Reminds me of a situation at my old middle school. Our teacher reached up to pull down the overhead projector screen and accidentally pulled down the whole unit form the ceiling. She started laughing, so we joined in. All of a sudden, she turns, glares, and yells "Why are you lauughing at me?" One brave soul said, "Ma'am, we're not laught at you. We're laughing with you." to which she replied, "Do you see me laughing?"
I sometimes wonder if she really was laughing or if we just filled it in to justify ourselves. I could also see her initially laughing to counter shock, then realizing that she could have gotten hurt, sobering up, and changing her memories of what she did or didn't do.
This sig has absolutely no significance and serves only to take up screen space and waste the time of the reader.
Yeah, because he's a little bitch unprepared to deal with the real world. I think we can blame that on his parents, though. Maybe if they'd dialed back the food a little, he wouldn't have been such a tubby little fucker. (I, too, am overweight; unlike this kid, I can handle it.)
Personally, I was anything but invisible. I was six feet tall in junior high, and I was a mama's boy, and I was constantly harassed in most ways possible in a public place; called names, struck, tripped, had posessions stolen, et cetera. But filing a lawsuit? That's ridiculous. The right thing to do would have been (had I had parents who would stand up for me) to go to the adminstration, and then the school board. Of course, nothing can help this kid, since he did something so amazingly lame as to make something like that and leave the tape lying around. I'd have published it, too.
That kid gained so much geek cred that it's literally astounding. Unfortunately, his parents must have taught him to focus on the negative and not the positive, in the only way that matters with kids - by example.
As far as I understand, he was mostly just the target of endless mockery. I got that, plus constant physical abuse. Sorry, but I have only limited sympathy for him, and absolutely none since he decided to contribute to the mountains of unnecessary litigation in our society.
Very true. Being a teenager was as close to hell as I've ever been. (I dropped out of school at 15 and took the CHSPE, the California High School Proficiency Exam, because I couldn't handle going there any more.) But is this really the answer? Now he's adding derision from adults who don't like the overly-litigious nature of our society to the pile on top of him.
If it was not criminal, why is the law involved? That's my basic problem with this whole thing. This whole thing was an opportunity. With a little creativity and some willingness to be mocked (they say that one of the signs of intelligence is self-deprecating humor...) he could have made his publicity into opportunity.
If there should be consequences, they should be limited to suspension from school at the most. Still, the film was made in a public place with public equipment. If the agreement with the school does not provide him with copyright, then the material must necessarily be considered to be in the public domain - at which point, he has no valid complaint.
Complaining about this video being published is like going outside naked and then complaining when people look at you. Don't want people staring at your wabbly bits? Wear clothes. Don't want people looking at a video of you looking like a retard? Don't make one.
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
"When you feel alienated from school and everyone laughs at you, you DON'T CHOOSE to drop out. You HAVE TO."
Why?
I'll be waiting patiently for your answer as to why someone would be forced to leave school because they are embarassed.
And keep in mind, every answer you give won't change that he is reacting to other people.
"Of course, you haven't been ridiculized in public or bullied so what the heck do you know."
Exactly the opposite, actually.
Funny how you responded though, attack me because I'm not compassionate enough for you. Is that how you demonstrate how compassionate you are?
"The government grants you rights, not the other way around."-- beav007. Yes, these people really exist...
No, he didn't waste the courts time. The little morons took something that wasn't theirs with the intent to cause harm to "Star Wars Kid" (Ghyslain Raza). They and their parents deserved to be slapped silly in the courts. You just want to stick up for the little thieves because you liked the video and are glad they stole it so you could have a laugh at Ghyslains expense.
7F23: "When Flanders Failed"
http://www.snpp.com/episodes/7F23.html
I am not a crackpot.
No, I'm sorry, this is all idiotic and stupid.
A) School sucks. People ridicule you. You get embarrased. Then you grow up and realize that apart from the education itself, none of it matters AT ALL. If there's one thing I'm going to pound into my kids' head as they're growing up, it's this. I learned this, everybody learns this. Granted, this is on a different scale, but it's the same principle. (And I doubt that now he even looks anything at all like he did three years ago so he can't fall back on that, "but I'm ruined for life" excuse.)
B) Just what do you THINK is going to happen when you make a tape of yourself being an idiot an leave it lying around for anybody to find? He should sue HIMSELF for negligence. My friends and I made plenty of tapes JUST LIKE THIS and far worse when we were teens, but in our case, we showed them off to family and friends who laughed at us for being dorks. We laughed with them, because it was true. If Star Wars Kid can't laugh at himself, he's always going to have major confidence issues and $300,000 of someone else's money isn't going to fix that.
C) Why hasn't anyone yet brought up the fact that he had to have used the school's studio equipment WITHOUT authorization? (I'm dead certain he never asked a teacher or principal if he could use the studio to record himself being an idiot for a few minutes.) In most schools these days, one can easily get suspended and expelled for expressing an original idea, but apparently not for deliberately misusing the school's taxpayer-provided property to entertain a childish fantasy one boring afternoon.
I've been a victim of bullying almost my entire life. From grade school to work to the Internet. If some bully cannot dig up dirt on me, they just make stuff up. Now that I am an adult I can handle it better and decide not to be a victim and let it get to me, yet the damage has already been done.
This boy didn't ask to be bullied, and he apparently did the screen test and didn't want anyone else to see it. The bullies stole the video and released it on the Internet, now they are paying for it.
Not everyone can handle bullying, and it puts a lot of emotional and psychological damage on a person. It takes a lot to learn to be a survivor rather than a victim as well. For me, it was well over 30 years before I finally came to terms with it and started to try to be a survivor. Only to suffer mental and physical illnesses so bad that I cannot work for a living. I only hope to heal up and get better and get back to work one day.
Remember, Slashdot does not have a -1 disagree moderation, and no, troll, flamebait, and overrated are not substitutes.
Why weren't they prosecuted if they were thieves? That's a criminal court's jurisdiction, not a civil court's.
Lets see. Hmmmm. I can't find a damn thing that says that if a criminal act is committed it precludes a civil suit. Next non sequiter please.
What harm? He was embarassed
He spent time in mental institutions. Yes, some peoples grip on sanity is that tentative. That doesn't give the morons that did this some right to do it. Besides, it wasn't their video. they did not have a legal right to use it in any way, and simply for that they should be punished.
frankly, if you think that's worthy of wasting a CIVIL court's time, then I'm wasting my time with you.
Obviously you are wasting your time then. Also, the lawyers for the defendants must not have thought it was a waste. They weren't able to get the charges dismissed, and they settled out of court. If there was no case they would have simply carried it through. I doubt it would be cheaper to settle than get an aquittal, but can't say for sure since the settlement is sealed.
You might not like it, and you can make up all the stupid justifications for why you feel how you feel, but all you've done is support a rich spoiled brat abusing the courts to get something his parents never gave him and can't buy him. Self respect.
You have your opinion, and I have mine. I don't need to make up any "stupid justifications", my opinion is just as valid whether you like it or not. Apparently our difference of opinion comes down to the fact that I feel that they were in the wrong and deserved to be punished for their actions, and you think it was funny and cool.