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'Star Wars Kid' sues, settles
theglobeandmail.com ^ | 4/7/06 | Tu Thanh Ha

Posted on 04/07/2006 5:53:07 PM PDT by SteveMcKing

TROIS-RIVIÈRES, QUE. — 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.

However, documents filed in the case at the Trois-Rivières courthouse give new details about how a mean-spirited high-school prank turned into a global Internet cause célèbre.

Specifics of the settlement remain confidential.

(Excerpt) Read more at theglobeandmail.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Miscellaneous; Political Humor/Cartoons
KEYWORDS: ghyslainraza; starwarskid
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To: 68skylark

Actually there was a rather large petition trying to get this kid a cameo role into SWIII : Revenge of the Sith.


21 posted on 04/07/2006 6:27:08 PM PDT by Centurion2000 (Every man must be tempted, sometimes,to hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats.)
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To: David1
Great link, thanks.

WOW, some of those videos are HILARIOUS. Check out the "Undercover" mix where Star Wars Kid is spliced into a lot of different movies with the movie "Undercover Brother" as the running theme.

That is great! This guy could have really done a lot with this exposure.
22 posted on 04/07/2006 6:28:26 PM PDT by starbase (Understanding Written Propaganda (click "starbase" to learn 22 manipulating tricks!!))
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To: David1
can you provide the link to the video?

Just do a Google search for 'Star Wars Kid' and you'll find as many links as you'd like. Plus you can see the fan films, which are pretty amazing too.

23 posted on 04/07/2006 6:29:03 PM PDT by yhwhsman ("Never give in--never, never, never, never, in nothing great or small..." -Sir Winston Churchill)
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To: SteveMcKing

If the kid were an American capitalist, he'd be making thousands a day at Star Wars conventions signing autographs, selling souvenir "duel" videos, and getting laid every night.


24 posted on 04/07/2006 6:29:18 PM PDT by Atlas Sneezed (Your FRiendly FReeper Patent Attorney)
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To: SteveMcKing
OK, so this kid is a total loser?
Well let me tell you the story of another loser.
<* dodges the flying beer cans *>
25 posted on 04/07/2006 6:33:19 PM PDT by dfwgator (Florida Gators - 2006 NCAA Men's Basketball Champions)
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To: SteveMcKing

Suddenly, teasing the school nerd make you liable for emotional damages...?

I was picked on in school for being a bookworm geek... At my 10-year reunion I showed up in my shiny new luxury car, and the jocks were driving the same pickup trucks from senior year.

Success is the ultimate revenge.


26 posted on 04/07/2006 6:38:34 PM PDT by Lunatic Fringe (http://ntxsolutions.com)
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To: .cnI redruM; 537cant be wrong; 68 grunt; A. Patriot; A_Conservative_Chinese; ...

ping to #13

I hate to say it but some of those clips are pretty funny.


27 posted on 04/07/2006 6:42:23 PM PDT by EveningStar
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To: David1

Reminds me of me at that age--fat and dorky--except I would've racked myself in the nuts with the bar about the second time I tried to twirl it.

"Life is tough, kid. Wear a helmet."

Ain't that the truth.

}:-)4


28 posted on 04/07/2006 6:45:14 PM PDT by Moose4 (Please don't call me "white trash." I prefer "Caucasian recyclable.")
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To: SteveMcKing
It always surprised - and pleased - me, that the Star Wars Kid meme never hit FR.

AYBABTU was bad enough.

29 posted on 04/07/2006 6:48:30 PM PDT by Psycho_Bunny (The MSM is a hate group and we are the object of their disdain.)
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To: Mr Rogers

Awwww, as a kid who moved a lot too, here's a (((hug))).It WAS rough being the new kid sometimes. That poor kid needs to grow a backbone!


30 posted on 04/07/2006 6:48:32 PM PDT by derllak
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To: EveningStar

LOL! Thanks!


31 posted on 04/07/2006 6:48:57 PM PDT by phantomworker ("Nothing will ever be attempted if all possible objections must first be overcome."---Samual Adams)
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To: EveningStar; GMMAC; Pikamax; Former Proud Canadian; Great Dane; Alberta's Child; headsonpikes; ...
ping to #13

I hate to say it but some of those clips are pretty funny.

Image hosting by Photobucket

Good night all.

;-)

32 posted on 04/07/2006 6:50:17 PM PDT by fanfan ( We have become the best/biggest news gathering entity in the whole known history of the world.)
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To: EveningStar; HitmanLV

I've seen it, and I laughed sooo hard - it was one of the funniest things I've seen.


33 posted on 04/07/2006 6:50:32 PM PDT by Victoria Delsoul
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To: namsman; cmsgop

Ping!


34 posted on 04/07/2006 6:50:38 PM PDT by SW6906 (5 things you can't have too much of: sex, money, firewood, guns and ammunition.)
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To: Psycho_Bunny

I took a LOT of crap when I was a kid and it left some scars.


35 posted on 04/07/2006 6:53:04 PM PDT by EveningStar
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To: SteveMcKing
All right, who do we sue? Image hosting by Photobucket
36 posted on 04/07/2006 6:59:26 PM PDT by dynachrome ("Where am I? Where am I going? Why am I in a handbasket?")
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To: Sir Gawain; BrooklynGOP

ping


37 posted on 04/07/2006 6:59:50 PM PDT by Texaggie79 (Did I just say that?)
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To: David1
If a camera on a tripod could feel fear, that one would have run out of the room.

Shades of Gary Brolsma and "Numa Numa!"


38 posted on 04/07/2006 7:00:12 PM PDT by VadeRetro (I have the updated "Your brain on creationism" on my homepage.)
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To: derllak

Being the new kid all the time helped give me a life-long love of reading - not a bad legacy.

Gave me confidence I could give good account of myself in a fight, or take a beating if I lost - another legacy that wasn't so bad.

I'm convinced that life is a series of challenges, that are either opportunities or ball-busters, depending on how you react.

My guess is that Star Wars Kid will find it a series of ball-busters...


39 posted on 04/07/2006 7:00:28 PM PDT by Mr Rogers
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To: David1

I saw the video a long time ago but some of those clips are friggin hillarious!!! The Undercover Brother is great. They remind me of what people have done with that pic of the goofy looking fat chick dancing.


40 posted on 04/07/2006 7:09:40 PM PDT by mowowie
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