Image copyright Video reposted by the Nagra Nagra YouTube channel

In an act of defiance against his bullies, a Sikh schoolboy filmed himself facing racist abuse on a school bus in Georgia. The footage has been viewed almost half a million times, and sparked a conversation about bullying in school.

In the film the boy points the camera at his face, while one of his female classmates can be seen behind him shouting "terrorist, terrorist", and pointing an accusatory finger. The boy is wearing a patka, the traditional headdress of Sikh boys. "Kids being racist to me," he explains to the camera. "Quit filming us" the girl says, but the boy refuses. "I can't if you're being racist to me," he replies, before swearing at her and shouting in exasperation "who cares? I don't care".

He reportedly uploaded the footage himself, although the original video has now been set to private. Other YouTubers copied and re-uploaded the film, however, and a string of duplicates have been viewed almost 500,000 times. Below the video is a typically polarised YouTube comment thread. Some expressed sympathy, writing "I love that kid's courage". Many were confused that the girl would accuse a Sikh of being a terrorist, a stereotype not usually associated with the religion: "This kid is not a muslim." The thread is peppered with racism, as well.

The conversation appeared a little more enlightened over on Reddit, where the video has received more than 3,500 upvotes. "Why hello, middle school. I had almost forgotten your warm demeanour," wrote one, which seemed to prompt others to share their experiences of being bullied when they were at school. "What made me sad is that he's putting on a very brave face and saying that he doesn't care, but inside his heart and spirit are dying a little bit... Source: I was the fat kid with a similar brave face," one said. Many said they regretted following advice not to respond to bullies in school, and wish they'd taken more direct action. "I would have rather stood up for myself even if it meant I also got in trouble," said one comment, itself triggering a heated debate.

According to reports the boy attends a school in Georgia, in the southern United States. It is not currently clear why he decided to make the video private.

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