The Force Is Strong In This One’s Lawyer

Published on April 9th, 2006

“Cyber-bulling?”

‘Star Wars Kid’ cuts a deal with his tormentors

As Ghyslain Raza recalled, whenever he walked by his high school’s common areas, other students would jump on tables and chant, “Star Wars Kid! Star Wars Kid!”

There would be a commotion as they shouted and poked at him, trying to get a reaction. “It was simply unbearable,” he said.

An otherwise ordinary teen in this Quebec small town, Mr. Raza had become a worldwide object of ridicule when schoolmates put on the Internet a video of him clumsily pretending to be a Star Wars character.

Three years later, Mr. Raza and his parents this week reached an out-of-court settlement with the families of three former schoolmates they had sued for $351,000 in damages.

The settlement annuls a civil trial set to begin on Monday that would have scrutinized one of the world’s first and most-publicized cases of cyber-bullying.

28 users responded in " The Force Is Strong In This One’s Lawyer "

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# 1 Tod said, on April 9th, 2006 at 7:30 am

BRAVO!!!

As one who was bullied and tormented in school (so much so, I refused to go back, choosing jail {Juve. Hall] over classes) it’s ABOUT TIME!

And don’t give me that bullshit about “tell a teacher”!
Do you REALLY think, in a class of 30 – 40 students, a teacher can actually do much of anything?

Reality is, you say ANYTHING, and you might as well hire a bodyguard 24/7….

# 2 Tod said, on April 9th, 2006 at 7:31 am

YES!!! I have “issues”….

# 3 James Hill said, on April 9th, 2006 at 8:20 am

How about we just admit the kid acted like a moron and got screwed by it?

I agree that there’s a limit, but $300,000 for getting teased about something he wanted to do? Unless they did something unmentionable with his light-saber, I doubt it was that serious.

# 4 Mike said, on April 9th, 2006 at 8:51 am

Darth Vader was a bullied kid, too.

# 5 spacelush said, on April 9th, 2006 at 8:58 am

Nobody is a victim, when everybody is a victim.

# 6 Joe said, on April 9th, 2006 at 9:11 am

Alright, good for this kid.. But I suggest turning this into a positive in the following manner. First of all, let me say that I have respect for this kid, being a Star Wars geek myself. Have I swung a lightsaber around my living room when no one was around? Hell yes, and I continue to do it even approaching four decades on this planet (no I do not live with my Mother, thank you very much).

Mr. Raza should make one or more appearances at major conventions (DragonCon, Comicon), signing autographs for charity. I would not hesitate to buy his autograph for a good cause, and for the chance to tell we’ve all done embarrising things, he just got the unfortunate fate of becoming world famous for it.

# 7 Hey Mac said, on April 9th, 2006 at 9:59 am

I wouldn’t have settled out of court in the hopes that somehow the aholes that assaulted Raza would learn by example and dissuade other budding ‘social terrorists’. As is stands, young offenders learn nothing about real consequences.

On the other hand, I’m glad the parents paid dearly for their own lack of social character and social responsibility, because children learn their character from the examples and guidance of those who raise them.

# 8 stalinvlad said, on April 9th, 2006 at 11:42 am

I would make them fight to the death, whilst all the girls dressed sexy
A second competion would have the girls drown the one (girl) they thought was dressed lest sexy
Ages 6-8, held around easter
PS all the boys would fight naked
PPS Some people call me odd

# 9 blank said, on April 9th, 2006 at 12:59 pm

Bullying, at least in my community, isn’t tolerated at all. In fact, quite a few have been kicked out already from the middle school within the past year. They’re just not putting up with it anymore.

It’s bullshit that being bullied builds character. I want my son to go to school and not have to worry about some moron making his life miserable.

Paul says he was bullied, well, that’s you’re proof right there that it has a negative effect in the long run and actually explains quite a bit. Perhaps he would have actually be a contributing member of society today instead of….I don’t know what he is now.

But hey, good times right?

# 10 Jason said, on April 9th, 2006 at 2:02 pm

@ stalinvlad – Yikes man, yikes…

I think the situation here was something fairly innocent that sort of spun out of control.

I think the kids that released the tape were wrong in doing so, since they knew it would cause some level of emberassment for him, and it wasn’t really up to them to post it anyway.

But at the same time, I don’t think there’s anyway they could have known how out of control this would get. Just like the Numa Numa guy (except he posted it himself), I think it was something that was expected to be seen by a few people, not become an internet phenomenon.

Personally, I think Mr. Raza should have at least tried to play along with it a little bit. I think a lot of the people passing this video on were laughing with him to some extent, and it might have made him look a bit better in the end if he acted a bit more cool about it. But, he didn’t ask for any of this, so it’s his right to react to it as he damn well pleases. That’s not up for us to decide.

# 11 Sounds The Alarm said, on April 9th, 2006 at 2:42 pm

I’ve seen a present picture of you now Paul and I doubt the teasing has stopped.

# 12 James said, on April 9th, 2006 at 4:35 pm

I was teased I school, too. I took it without getting hurt feelings! “No, I’m not a whimp. I would be if I cared what YOU thought of me!” and “You’re right. I have a confession to make: I’m short. And ya know what? I don’t care. The only reason you’re pestering me, you pesky little pest, is that you aren’t big enough or strong enough or tall enough to bully someone your own age. So go away!”

Ask a shrink, and you will always be screwed up, because when you are always screwed up, they will always make money! With all these left-wing activist judges, anybody can walk into court, hire a shrink, and claim they were offended, or you lowered their self-esteem. They’re able to be found innocent of a crime or even receive welfare checks on account of their mental/emotional handicaps. With this settlement, it was the same thing: “You hurt my feelings! (sniff) Can I have some money? If not, I’ll sue you!” What a whimp.

These people know nothing about reality. Wake up, America! It’s time to stop playing the victim.

# 13 joshua said, on April 9th, 2006 at 5:33 pm

stalinvlad……I would probably be one of those people.

If I remember correctly, kids, between the ages of about 6 until at least high school are the meanest, most obnoxious SOB’s on the planet.
Mr. Raza’s 300 grand won’t last him ;ong, and one day he will need to find a way to make a living…..and guess what, those *bullies* will now be the bosses of the world, and he won’t know how to handle them either.
Childhood is like boot camp for adulthood. It’s supposed to be as happy as possible, but it’s also to allow you to find the skills to deal with the real world.

We are happy little tykes, until we have to deal with another little tyke, from that day foreward our lives change….we are introduced to taunting, and all the other wonderful things that miniture humans inflict on other miniture humans. Ya gotta deal with it.
Those who try to protect kids from reality(no one fails, no one loses, etc., etc.)are not doing them or the world a favor. Of course we need to stop viscious bullying, but at the same time we need to let nature takes it’s course.

And you do have issues Tod.

# 14 Mister Mustard said, on April 9th, 2006 at 5:50 pm

Oh, boo frickety hoo. They made fun of him!

Hey, just like I say to Paris Hilton and Pamela Anderson, if you’re doing things you don’t want other people to know about DON’T MAKE A F*CKING VIDEOTAPE OF YOURSELF DOING IT. And if you do, DON’T LEAVE IT ON THE SHELF AT F*CKING SCHOOL.

Jeez.

# 15 DJ Ruden said, on April 9th, 2006 at 6:40 pm

I wouldn’t say this kid was “bullied”. This kid is more popular than me and he’s trying to use his popularity as an excuse for being overweight and depressed.

If he would have played up to being a jedi when kids would chant “star wars” at him he could have had crowds eating out of the palm of his hand. Envision this:
He walks into the school cafeteria where all his peers start yelling and chanting at him “hey star wars kid!” – He should have grabbed a broom handle and jumped up on a table. I bet everyone would have loved him.

He caused his own depression by going into seclusion.

# 16 Greg V. said, on April 9th, 2006 at 8:37 pm

I think we’re mixing a few different issues together.

First of all, I don’t like using a lawsuit to resolve this. I don’t like people going to court and demanding large sums of money any time they’re wronged. Occasionally it’s appropriate. In this case, it was not.

However, some people are extending this into whining about bullying in general. It is NOT a character building experience for most kids, it is NOT boot camp for real life, and it is NOT all about victimhood. Just because some kids can bounce back from this sort of thing doesn’t mean all can, or even most. Kids who are constantly bullied in school are more likely to develop clinical depression and have low self esteem into adulthood. There are kids who have in fact killed themselves over this. Maybe there was something in them that made them more prone to it, as obviously most kids don’t do that, but some have pointed to the high school experience in their suicide notes, not to other things.

Adults tend to minimize it. They use phrases like “picked on” while the kids use words like “torment.” Perhaps they unconsciously whitewash their own past as it gets further away from them and the sitcom version of it slowly nudges out their own version. Or perhaps they were never really at the bottom of the ladder so they don’t know how bad it can really get. I remember reading message boards after Columbine with kids relating their experiences and getting very upset because it brought back some very unpleasant memories. (To clarify: kids everywhere relating general high school experiences, not actual Columbine kids.)

It’s boot camp for real life? It’s nothing like real life! In real life the dicks are easier to get away from. Maybe you have a bad boss or coworker, but not someone who can verbally and physically abuse you every day to the extent the kids can, and with as little recourse. One of the problems that causes the serious depression and possible suicide is that they feel it doesn’t end, that it doesn’t get any better. One of the things the older people on the message boards were trying to impart was that real life WASN’T like this, that it ends, that adults don’t treat each other this way.

All of this is not to be confused with the “let’s never do anything to lower their self esteem” crowd. I don’t buy that. I don’t believe that everyone should get a trophy, that no one should get a bad grade, that kids should be protected from any and every kind of negative experience they could possibly face. But I do think the kind of bullying that some people are subjected to is completely unacceptable. Maybe most people don’t understand what it’s like being at the bottom, so all they have is the sitcom version of it. I wasn’t at the bottom, but I was close enough to it to be miserable, and I shudder to think about how bad it is for people who had it worse.

Does what this kid went through reach that level? I don’t know, it’s beside the point now. What I’m responding to is the people minimizing bullying in general, the “it builds character” or “it’s boot camp for real life” or “it’s all victimhood.” Though rereading Josh’s comment, he does say we need to stop vicious bullying and I agree on not protecting them from every little thing, so maybe we’re not too far apart after all. But that boot camp remark still REALLY rubs me the wrong way. I just think it’s a serious problem and want people to take it seriously. Some schools have, and have started successful programs without getting into the airheaded stuff, and we should be reproducing those programs around the country.

# 17 John said, on April 9th, 2006 at 9:06 pm

What’s the problem? “So he was tormented” Dude’s not bad in the video, he’s not really that fat, and it’s pretty funny when he slips on the yellow towel at the end. And (then) get yourself an invited to a cool radio talk show with lovely ladies.

# 18 BOB G said, on April 9th, 2006 at 9:11 pm

I am 56 and still get teased the same as when I was a kid. If this child does not learn to laugh at himself he is in for a lifetime of misory that no amount of money will fix. Unless i missed part of this story there was no physical threat only his self asteem was hurt. Not something he should have been rewarded for. The other kids have learned to whine now and maybe they will collect some money.

# 19 Zuke said, on April 9th, 2006 at 9:56 pm

Hopefully the $350k will get him enough therapy so he doesn’t relive the horror for the rest of his life and eventually turn into a serial murderer.

# 20 Sounds The Alarm said, on April 10th, 2006 at 5:22 am

Now Paul,

If you so “over” your teasing, why did my gentle barb piss you off? That’s obviously the reason I planted it.

Maybe teasing isn’t the character builder you might pretend it is? This is of course the point to the whole post. Thanks for being so predictable.

I do so enjoy your posts BTW.

Peace baby.

# 21 Mr. Fusion said, on April 10th, 2006 at 6:36 am

It is easy to see from the above posts who did the bullying or sucked up to the bullyers.

# 22 Moe29 said, on April 10th, 2006 at 6:53 am

i think i remember something about a bunch of people getting together on the net and getting him an iPod… was this the kid?

# 23 david said, on April 10th, 2006 at 7:08 am

“And don’t give me that bullshit about “tell a teacher”!
Do you REALLY think, in a class of 30 – 40 students, a teacher can actually do much of anything?”

Tod, you are exactly right. Part of the problem are Liberals who say that there is no hierarchy of Consciousness therefore teachers have “no right” to enforce discipline, respect and righteousness because bullies have a right to self-expression. Usually, what teachers do is GRANT POWER to bullies by putting the strongest bully in a leadership role to control the class. This is where we get our world leaders today. They get promoted by us. When I was in 8th grade I got punched on the nose by a bully. To this day my nose is crooked and I can’t breathe straight. Well one day he started trouble with a teacher–the wrong teacher. The teacher awed the class by picking up the student bully from his desk and hurling him against the door with a blow that knocked that kid out of his senses. That teacher would not take bullshit from that kid. The BIG difference is that after that day the teacher formed a FRIENDSHIP with that kid. That kid learned to respect this particular teacher although he still beat up on kids outside. The teacher didn’t care about the bully’s outside life but in HIS classroom there was going to be only one ruler–teacher.

# 24 Mister Mustard said, on April 10th, 2006 at 8:38 am

>>Part of the problem are Liberals who say that there is no hierarchy of
>>Consciousness therefore teachers have “no right” to enforce
>>discipline, respect and righteousness because bullies have a right to >>self-expression.

Hoo boy. So the liberals are to blame for this kid making an asshole out of himself and then having to be embarrassed, huh? Personally, I think it’s all Dumbya’s fault, him and his Axis of Evil (Heart Attack, Rove, and Fall-Boy Scooter).

>>This is where we get our world leaders today.

Can’t argue with that. Just look at the White House.

# 25 blank said, on April 10th, 2006 at 1:25 pm

david never ceases to amuse me. I get a chuckle over his non-sense all the time. Him and his alter-ego Mr. Fusion, who happens to be the only person to “defend” david.

But I wonder if david actually believes in his insane rantings, or if it’s some sort of troll. His writing is amateurish rubbish at best, yet it strives to be something that it isn’t. He writes like someone that dropped out of high-school, yet years later is trying to sound like someone of knowledge. The content of his writings betray his actual education though.

# 26 Mr. Fusion said, on April 10th, 2006 at 7:07 pm

29, blank, does this refer to the sum total of what you have to contribute?

# 27 joshua said, on April 10th, 2006 at 9:54 pm

>>>>>Childhood is like boot camp for adulthood. It’s supposed to be as happy as possible, but it’s also to allow you to find the skills to deal with the real world

# 28 john stiles said, on April 11th, 2006 at 2:44 am

Is that you’re standard comeback Mr. Fusion? Tell me, what have you contributed to any of these discussions other than trying to defend david? You’re in favor of some people speaking their mind (david), yet against others speaking their mind (blank for example).

When I read a few weeks ago when david claimed that the real heroes of 9/11 were the hijackers, and the firefighters shouldn’t be thought of as heroes, I almost stopped reading this blog. But I think blank hit the nail on the head, david isn’t playing with a full deck. If only there were an ignore function here as I do enjoy the the discussions and they provide insight. Paul Theodoropoulos being one of the writers I look forward to reading. But I have to wade through comments like davids.

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