pashnak Posted August 5, 2013 Share Posted August 5, 2013 http://www.chicagonow.com/portrait-of-an-adoption/2013/08/star-wars-fan-cruelly-targeted-by-teens-while-volunteering-at-charity-event-for-make-a-wish/ By Carrie Goldman, Sunday at 4:15 pm It was the eve of San Diego Comic-Con, and retired naval officer Chris Cecil was doing what he loves best: dressing up as a Stormtrooper for the 501st Legion and volunteering at a charity event. Cecil was working the final leg of the Course of the Force event on Tuesday, July 16. The Course of the Force is a 500-mile relay race from Skywalker Ranch in San Francisco all the way down to San Diego, and all the money raised goes to benefit Make-A-Wish for children facing life-threatening medical conditions. Instead of a relay baton, Course participants carry a lightsaber, and many don Star Wars costumes. The Course of the Force includes most of the major beaches of the coast, and the last leg runs from Pacific Beach to the Hard Rock Hotel, where there is a huge reception and celebration. This is planned to coincide with kickoff of San Diego-Comic-Con. “There were a lot of Star Wars costumers at the Hard Rock Hotel, and we were taking pictures with fans,” Cecil said. “I noticed these three teenagers watching us from across the street. I honestly didn’t think much of it. We had plenty of security around us, including people in soft costumes monitoring the area.” The three skateboarders came over. Two of them pulled up on either side of Cecil, and the third stepped in front of him with a video camera. “I thought to myself, oh, okay, they just want a picture. That’s great, and I got ready to pose with them.” Cecil was wearing his Stormtrooper armor, including the helmet (known as a “bucket” to members of the 501st). As I learned earlier this year when the 501st made my little girl a custom set of armor, it is very difficult to move inside the costume. Sitting is really not possible, which is why the Troopers are always standing at events. Additionally, when the bucket is on, vision is limited. You have no peripheral vision and can only see what is straight in front of you. “I felt something pushing on my leg, and I twisted to see what it was,” Cecil recalled. “Then I turned back around and offered one of the skateboarders the chance to hold my blaster, because people sometimes like to hold the blasters for photos. I didn’t see his hand in front of me and then I felt a huge push in my chest. So my helmet came up and I couldn’t see well.” Staggering under the force of the push, Cecil said that he spent the next few seconds “doing everything I could not to fall down, because if you fall in these costumes, it’s really hard to get up.” The two teens on either side of Cecil disappeared instantly, but he noticed that the third guy with the camera looked shocked, as if he hadn’t been expecting that. A bunch of witnesses immediately came over to Cecil to see if he was okay, and in all the commotion the third guy took off too. “For about twenty minutes, I was steaming,” Cecil admitted, “but I realized that I was there to do an event, that this was about the Make-A-Wish kids, and I decided to calm down and let it go.” He went to the event and reassured people that everything was okay. “The event was amazing,” Chris enthused, “especially the kids. They were so great, you should have seen them!” When Cecil went home, his wife was upset, but she felt better when she talked with him and saw he was okay. They have four children ranging from age 9 to 18, and bullying issues have affected the family before. “I have a daughter with Asperger’s, and a son adopted from China who is limb-different; he is missing the right arm below the elbow, so we have encountered bullying,” Cecil told me, “and I see it all the time with my students.” Cecil teaches Junior ROTC to high school students near LA. “But,” he continued, “I never expected it to happen to me as an adult.” Two days after the incident, a friend of Cecil’s emailed him a link to a video showing the whole thing. Apparently, the cameraman had uploaded it the night it happened, with mocking comments about how Cecil was "cow tipped" and on Twitter bragging how Cecil was "murked.” “That pretty much wiped out my belief that the third guy was innocent,” Cecil commented. “He obviously thought it was funny. When I saw it on the video, I got really upset all over again. My 18-year-old son saw it, and he was extremely worked up by it, which is unlike him, since he is usually a very passive kid. He downloaded it onto his computer, which is a good thing, because after some of my buddies started commenting on the video, the cameraman took it down from YouTube.” This is where it gets very interesting, from my point of view as an anti-bullying advocate. Cecil’s buddies were able to quickly identify the guy who had uploaded the video, because he used the same name on YouTube, Twitter, and all his social media, and they researched him. “And it was this 16-year-old kid, the cameraman was. We haven’t identified the other two guys, including the one who shoved me,” Cecil said. “You know, I’m retired Navy, and I have a bunch of friends in San Diego, and they started getting very angry about this. I didn’t want them to go hunting down these kids. They did something stupid, but I don’t want their lives to be ruined by it. We are not going to sue them; we are not going to keep them from going to college. I’d rather go through the proper channels, so we sent the video to the police and we are having a detective look into it. I DO want the kids to know there are consequences for their actions, but I do not want people turning around and taking it into their own hands.” Cecil grasps a key issue with the Internet – the rapidity with which the attackers can become the attacked when people with understandable outrage get carried away in their response. Being a good bystander does not mean banding together to torment the bully. It means sticking up for the person who was victimized and reporting the attack through the proper channels. Cecil’s friends immediately respected his viewpoint- this is why I SO love the 501st Legion – and they are doing everything they can to support Cecil as he works to resolve this. “I don’t want people to stereotype the skateboarders,” Cecil told me earnestly. “Some of my students are skateboarders, and they are great kids. What this kid did really shows how ignorant he is the fact that the Internet is permanent. It gives us insight into the teenage mind – the way these kids are addicted to social media and they put everything out there without thinking of the consequences. Because he started boasting about what he did on YouTube and Twitter, now we know who he is.” I am hoping that this case is considered as a candidate for restorative justice, which is an excellent option for helping offenders repair the harm done to the victim. What happened to Cecil is important to all of us for several reasons: It shows that people who act like bullies do target adults as well as kids. It demonstrates the very real consequences of sharing aggressive behaviors on social media. It shows that a victim need not seek vigilante revenge in order to find resolution. Buckets off to Chris Cecil for being a stand-up guy in the face of senseless cruelty. May the Force Be With Him as he moves forward. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SCRIBBLER Posted August 5, 2013 Share Posted August 5, 2013 Chris is one of the Troopers in our Garrison and this sickens me everytime I read this story or ones similar to it. This is what we always try to prepare for, but these situations always come out of the blue. There are times where I just want to attend an event as a Wrangler, just so I can look out for my Brothers and Sisters. I'll have to admit that it's so tempting to just take off my bucket and shut down one of these inconsiderate Jabronis with the business end of a T-21, but we all have to practice restraint. Sigh... But...if I do recognize one of those guilty faces out in the open somewhere? Hmmm...lol Anyway, please be careful out there, Troops! Thar be monsters... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtyBoy Posted August 5, 2013 Share Posted August 5, 2013 It so sad how things are...people just seem to not respect others like they used to. Hopefully these kids will understand what they did was wrong and learn from it. Glad he's ok... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blacktip Shark Posted August 5, 2013 Share Posted August 5, 2013 So sad reading this.. He was so kind about it even after the fact. I honestly don't understand what gets into people to "bully" anyone for any reason. I never understood what kind of satisfaction a person can get from trying to put someone else down. Someone with that kind of mentality is absolutely out of this world. They are lucky he isn't going to sue them. I really hope they do get punished in some way. They need to learn from their mistakes... I hope they grow up and extreme props to Cecil for having to endure that andhow he handled it. Be safe out there troopers. We've all witnessed this bullying so just be there for each other! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RETNUHHA Posted August 5, 2013 Share Posted August 5, 2013 Its really sad, im just happy Chris wasn't hurt, i must say tho.. he is handling it alot better then i would have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BadGunman Posted August 5, 2013 Share Posted August 5, 2013 Bucket off for our brother and his righteousness Thinking about him and his family, I hope those bullies will learn something. There is no excuse for no bully. Fortunately, when this happens, anywhere, we know what to do, we know how to be united and to denounce those comportments. Finally, we remember why we aren’t bullies ourselves and why we won’t ever be. Hope this will end one day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
THE TROOPER Posted August 5, 2013 Share Posted August 5, 2013 It is unfortunate what happened to Chris, but what i admire the most, is his most "excellent attitude" towards the whole situation. He remained calm, cool, and collective. If you have ever been in the military, then you know this general order...i will not quit my post until properly relieved....and thats exactly what he did. Hats off bro, and you get my nomination for trooper of the month. TD-10127 reporting for "M E P D" News. Goodnight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Versku Posted August 6, 2013 Share Posted August 6, 2013 Thanks for posting this up. Hope those kids one day read that and understand. It would be their only salvation as otherwise they'd be damned to ignorance and their own personal ****. Big salute to Chris. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
longboard8 Posted August 6, 2013 Share Posted August 6, 2013 I don't mind going after bullies, in general, but i'm a Christian so I don't suppose I would in the end. And the skating aspect has little to do with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blaster 8266 Posted August 6, 2013 Share Posted August 6, 2013 Chris is a member of my squad and I must say he is one of the most dedicated and one of the most awesome people I have ever met. The San Joaquin Squad salutes you sir. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
longboard8 Posted August 6, 2013 Share Posted August 6, 2013 I would also add that Chris is obviously a real hero. If I meet you, dinner is on us, the Carters. Read his post again about his children. Let that sink in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dutchy Posted August 6, 2013 Share Posted August 6, 2013 Chris did a great job by keeping it on a professional level here. I know it is tempting to take of your helmet in situations like these.. I have had a similar experience a while ago with a dude that thought that he was Jackie Chan and he was also making unwanted hand gestures towards a fellow trooper. I on the other hand told him to get out..otherwise I really would've kicked his sorry a$$ down the street as I told him.. The sad thing is that these "kids, youngsters" think that there are geeks in the suits and therefor an easy target..but they'll be up for a nasty surprise when the helmet comes off and they see there is a bad a$$ trooper in it. I personally would say and advice, never do a troop without a wrangler...and always keep an eye out yourself as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smally Posted August 6, 2013 Share Posted August 6, 2013 I echo whats already been said... Sad that people like this feel the need to ruin others fun. Well done for keeping your cool though mate, just wished i'd have been there when it happened.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dutchy Posted August 6, 2013 Share Posted August 6, 2013 I echo whats already been said... Sad that people like this feel the need to ruin others fun. Well done for keeping your cool though mate, just wished i'd have been there when it happened.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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