It may be the most legendary monument to the internet's 15 megabytes of fame - or unintentional infamy: eight years ago, private footage of a heavy-set teenager, spinning nearly uncontrollably while wielding an imaginary-lightsaber, as if in an audition tape for Star Wars, was uploaded to the web and passed around.
Within days it was well on its way to becoming the most popular viral video of all time. It's since been viewed by over 1 billion people. (If, somehow, you haven't seen it, watch here.)
Not as many people know the rest of the story: Ghyslain Raza - or to the internet, Star Wars Kid - didn't feel famous, or funny. He felt harassed, the victim of the most visible bullying in history. Ghyslain dropped out of his Quebec high school, was diagnosed with depression, and checked into a psychiatric ward for children.
Ghyslain and his parents would later sue the families of the three classmates who leaked the video in 2003, for around $250,000. According to the lawsuit, which resulted in a settlement, "Ghyslain had to endure, and still endures today, harassment and derision from his high school mates and the public at large."
But after eight years of laughs at his expense - and a few campaigns in his defense - Ghyslain is back. Now in his early 20s, he's reemerged as the president of the Patrimoine Trois-Rivieres, a conservation society that aims to preserve the cultural heritage of his hometown of Trois-Rivieres.
Revenge of the Sith this isn't, but he's putting his litigious experience to some use, getting his law degree at McGill University in Montreal.
![](http://www.motherboard.tv/system/post_images/assets/000/004/515/149420-ghyslain-raza-president-patrimoine-trois_original.jpg?1275401762"/)
The vicissitudes of the internet are now well known, thanks in parts to tales like Ghyslain's, and Alexey "Impossible Is Nothing" Vayner, whom I interviewed recently in a documentary. But cyberbullying and trolling have only grown more intense since "Star Wars Kid," due to the increasing tendency to share, the decline of privacy, and the morally-fluid culture of anonymity that has grown around message boards like 4chan.
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The fact that he sued kids for publishing a video that he made is pretty lame.
What's the most embarrassing thing you've ever done? Now place that on the internet and let it go viral. And from now on let that image be the first thing everyone thinks of when they first meet you. When you go on a date, apply for a job, or bag your groceries.
That being said, that was one a funny video. With that many views, its too bad he couldn't make money of of it like some people do when their videos went viral.
I wonder how the "I like turtles" kid is holding up?
by no means am I anti-social networking, but I'd like to have someone like him talk to people and explain to them why sharing everything in your life, or everything in someone else's life can be really a terrible thing some times.
Good luck to you Ghyslain
I'm beginning to wonder if the collective human conciousness might not be an a$$hole??
Bullying in any form is torture. And it is a poison to the bully and the victim. I have long wondered why schools -- from elementary on up -- don't simply create a civility pledge that is printed in the school handbook, handed out to every student at the start of the new term to be signed and returned and recited at least once a week in assemblies or in homeroom. A civility pledge that simply says "We pledge to respect ourselves and each other. We will not tease or bully anyone for any reason, especially, because of race, gender, religion or sexual orientation. We will not allow ourselves or anyone else to be harassed and if this happens, we will report it. We will stand together to create a nurturing environment where each and every one of us can learn and grow and flourish."
An hero is reserved for buildings rigged with explosives and other dubious circumstances.
From a person raised in a bad environment but learned early that I did not want to live like that.
You could make several thousand dollars per day giving lectures on cyber-bullying, school bullying and what those things can do to a person. On top of your speaking fee, your transportation, food and lodging would also be paid for in full. This is a BIG topic in America.
I'm sure you could also get a small book written detailing his life experiences and put them on in the Scholastic Book Clubs. When you go to elementary schools, which generally have "Author Days", you can be their guest author and sign your books. Not only do you get your speaking money, but you can sell additional books as well. My kid's elementary school's PTA (Parent Teacher Association) pays between $3-5K an author, plus expenses.
Don't run away from your experiences, instead embrace them and teach others. There will be a time later in life where you will be proud of your childhood fame. You have a chance to do much good and make a decent living doing it.
I also believe that all forms of education should be free to everyone on the planet. From grades K through 12 and beyond into collage and grad schools, trade schools, medical, engineering, all of it should be free. But thats a topic for another thread.
So a fanning for you because of your wisdom and for the awesomeness that is Bruce Campbell.