Class project? What type of class was this for?
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Dork 101
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What a jerk…I’d be willing to bet that more people were laughing with him than at him. Until this idiotic lawsuit at least.
Oh my god! They play that video on the jumbotron at SF Giants games! I always wondered what the hell it was. He’s going to be REALLY pissed when he finds THAT out.
Before we go too far down the “people sue over trivial things” path, here’s a few things to consider:
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The Globe & Mail reports that according to the statement of claim, the youth was so widely mocked at his school that he was hospitalized in a ward of the local hospital specializing in child psychiatry, where he finished his school term. He’s likely to be under psychiatric care for some time. The law recognises serious psychological harm as a ground for civil action.
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According to the news reports, the youth made the video for a class project and did not give consent to the the other four to put it on the internet. If so, that’s potentially a breach of Canadian federal law, the Copyright Act, and carries civil consequences.
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All of this took place in Quebec. Under Quebec law, individuals have a right to privacy, which includes a right of control over images of themselves. A Quebec magazine was dinged a few years ago for publishing a photo of a young woman without her consent, and was liable for damages. The Supreme Court of Canada upheld the damages claim for infringement of privacy: Aubry v. Éditions Vice-Versa inc. (For a discussion of this case and some of the privacy issues it raises, see this thread.)
All the news reports are based on the Statement of Claim, which just contains the plaintiffs’ allegations. They still have to prove those allegations in court, and the defendants may have a different version of events. That said, I can understand why the plaintiffs may think they have a case.
Oh, and with regard to the suggestion that this sort of thing should be settled on the playground, I would agree if the insults/teasing were restricted to the playground. The four youths are alleged to have taken it well beyond the playground, onto the world-wide web. If so, I don’t see why the plaintiff’s reaction should be restricted to the playground.
The above is not intended as legal advice about this matter, but simply to comment on an issue of public interest and discussion.
the story is going international
How long before ‘Star Wars kid’ is the most famous human being on earth?
How long before there’s a giant statue of him in place of the Statue of Liberty?
How long before he becomes a deity?
You know, Lobsang, that picture of Darth Maul just sells it.
Hire an agent instead of a lawyer, and get himself booked into every Star Wars convention in the country. You can’t buy better publicity that he’s getting, and you only get one chance at mining your 15 minutes of fame. He could make a ton of cash on the T-shirt license alone.
The Star Wars crew in Sydney right now are thinking of flying him over for a cameo role. But probably after this they’re reconsidering.
Seriously. He could be on all the talk shows and stuff. I’d rather be famous for acting like a good and being cool about it than throwing a lawyer hissy fit.
Acting like a goof, rather.
After watching this kid and laughing so hard as to cause Pepsi to shoot violently from my nose, possibly causing severe sinus damage not to mention damage to my monitor and keyboard…I must inform you Astro, that my crack team of lawyers will be contacting you soon.
Don’t be too hard on the kid, I would assume it is the parents who are launching the lawsuit.
I can understand their point. To a certain extent what has happened to him is kind of “neat”. However, they may only see it as humiliation – humiliation in front of millions. They would be awfully angry, and civil action is about the only legal recourse.
I’m not sure how they arrive at the figure of $225 000, but civil law has always been a mystery to me.
That would have been the ultimate revenge IHMO. All you who mocked me - FUCK YOU! I’m in a Star Wars movie. Enjoy your anonymity, putzes.
There are some points here I think oughtta be addressed.
If it was ME in the video, I’d be laughing myself sick. Admittedly, I might be a bit irked about having a “private moment” launched across the entire planet… but, then, I’m an adult. I’m an adult with a pretty secure self-image… and NO dignity whatsoever. Anyone who’s read my stuff knows that.
I’d be laughing. “Hey, looka me, I’m Drunken Jedi Master!”
But I’m a 38-year-old man, too. Not a fifteen year old fat kid. Although I could stand to lose some weight. But at least I have the comfort that MOST 38-year-old men could stand to lose some weight.
This kid has no comfort whatsoever.
Sure, I think his video’s funny. I’d have done the exact same thing myself when I was his age, if I’d seen Episode One lately. Hell, I did nearly the exact same thing myself when I was nineteen, in the middle of Sixth Street in Austin, during their Halloween bash.
But there’s a huge difference between fifteen and nineteen, even if us grownups don’t really recognize that.
This kid has taken a kick in the ego that I could not have dreamed about when I was his age. From his perspective, the entire planet is now in a position to see into his psyche and LAUGH THEMSELVES SICK at his expense.
It’s already less funny when I think about how he needs psychiatric care. Hell, I teach special ed. I KNOW about this kind of kid.
Would it be funny if he finally snapped and decided to kill himself over this? Or came to school with a bomb, or a gun or something? Sure, I think it’s funny as hell, and silly, and not serious at all… but I’m an adult.
He’s a kid. This is his whole life, and from his perspective, the entire planet is laughing at him. HE IS THE GREAT ASS OF THE WORLD. And as far as he’s concerned, he always will be. He will spend the rest of his life as “the Star Wars kid,” and things will never get any better.
We know better… but then, we’re grownups. Most of us have had to live down a humiliation or two.
But he’s not a grownup, and he’s still dealing with this, and it has had an impact on him and his life that I think may well go beyond something like getting pantsed in gym class.
Is it a hundred grand worth? I dunno. If I was humiliated publicly, nationally, INTERNATIONALLY… and that incident was going to turbofuck my entire life to some extent… I dunno what I’d do. I suspect my lawyer would have a clue, though.
And no matter what… the people who humiliated me would certainly have some legal hassles to think about. A little payback is better than none, I suppose.
Although ultimately this looks like another one where nobody but the lawyers are going to win.
Ya know Wank-Ka, you certainly have a point. I agree with everything you say, actually. My only question is: Where are this kid’s parents? Their job is not to sue but to help the kid realize that this can be a great thing and he should milk it for all it’s worth. Shit, he learns to enjoy this, not only will he have his 15 minutes, but as an adult nobody will EVER be able to belittle him. That’s why I said he needed a “kick in the ass”. Someone whom he trusts needs to show him how all of this can be a good thing.
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jeezus, what is up with this whole culture of sueing everything that breathes? it’s even beginning to pop up in the uk, people suing others for their own stupidity!
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right, sorry about that…
i’ve seen the vid and actually have (had) a lot of respect for the kid. i thought it was super-shibby. he got the moves! but now hearing he’s done this, he’s just gone waaaaay down in my estimation…
i tell ya, if i sued for every little thing my fellow students did to me at high school i’d be a millionaire by now…
stupid ‘popular’ kids…
Given that his parents named him “Ghyslaine,” it doesn’t seem that they are all that concerned with his mental health. I mean, that’s a name guaranteed to get his ass kicked in school.
gobear, he’s named “Ghyslain” not “Ghyslaine” which is the feminine version of the name. And it is not an uncommon name here.
Ah, thanks for the info.