I am Benjaman Kyle, an unidentified amnesiac with no memories, and the country's only "invisible person" without a SSN. AMA.

To all those hating on this post saying "it's only for the petition"...well no SHIT. He established that Reddit was "the only source that has made a significant dent in the petition."

So...this man is restricted- "without a social security number, I can't get a job, find a place to live, or functionally exist in the eyes of the government."

NO FUCKING SHIT HE WANTS US TO SIGN HIS PETITION AGAIN FUCKTARDS. CLEARLY OUR COMMUNITY HAS HELPED ONCE AND HE SIMPLY IS ASKING AGAIN. LOUD NOISES.

EDIT Wow my first top comment!! But thank you for upvoting this so we can hopefully help out BK!

Excuse me, but how do you upvote a comment?

I just "Googled" it and found out how.

Just so you know, by the end of this reddit is going to figure out who you are.

Good.

You should talk to Google. They're doing facial recognition and image search research, and I bet they could test their work by searching through old photos on the web looking for your face.

Does anyone know who to contact at Google?

Man if Google can't solve this I don't know who can.

Maybe Valve?

Put Ben's face in HL3 to see who's gonna recognize him

If you need pictures, "Google" "Benjaman Kyle on FaceBook and you will find a bunch.

What is valve. This one I "Googled" before I asked and did not find it.

It is a company that makes and distributes/sells A LOT of games through the internet.

Reddit loves the company, it's more of a cult than anything. But I can't blame them, that company is truly a step forward in the right direction regarding e-goods in my opinion.

Thank you.

Excellent idea.

Yes!

Gentlepesons: I have to sign off now, but it has been a pleasure. Thank you.

If your true identity is ever discovered, do you plan to keep your Benjamin Kyle name or adopt your original one?

I do not know. I have been BK for 8 years. Maybe I will use both.

I will sign your petition. This is a sad story. I think getting your picture out in front of the public, especially in the places that you remember, would be a good thing. Billboards, commercials, newspapers, etc...the more people see it, you are bound to find someone who knows you or knows where you came from. I mean I have never heard of your story before, your story needs be out in the public more.

Thank you. The media has largely not been interested.

I understand you're looking for people to sign your petition. But during the last AMA you ignored every bit of information people gave to you. I just find it weird that a lot of people have identified you being in the restaurant business and you kind of seem to ignore them.

Benjaman Here. We have been talking o several people. in fact through Reddit we found someone who thinks she is related. we are waiting for DNA test.

Best of luck Ben, I really hope this gets figured out.

Thank you.

Filmmaker here. We've been continually trying to get in touch with those people, and they haven't gotten back to us. We're working with Corporate at waffle house to sort through old records as well.

Why haven't you taken this man on road trip? If I had a camera and access to an amnesiac with certain geographical memories, the first thing I'd want to do is drive him to anywhere he can remember and let him wander around familiar spots.

It is in the planning stages.

I see. My bad if I came off strong just from the outside looking in it kind of raised some flags. Best of luck with the petition and everything else.

Thank you.

[deleted]

Are we talking about Mushrooms? I seem to have an aversion to taking drugs. Especially Addictive or "mind altering".

I posted on the wrong one.

I think that eventually they will come back on their own.

Are we talking about Mushrooms? I seem to have an aversion to taking drugs. Especially Addictive or "mind altering".

I watched your documentary. Glad you have a place to sleep and a job now.

Are you worried that who you used to be might be someone you wouldnt like?

I do not think that my basic personalty has changed. I do not act like a criminal. MY first reactions to anything are not how to scam money or to trick people.

Any thoughts as to the possibility of being CIA or some other government agent from our country or another that was wiped of all memories and left for dead? I know it seems far fetched but often times truth is stranger than fiction.

No.

If it's any comfort, there are tons of people who "can't work or exist in the eyes of the government". Take for instance felons, those who owe the IRS a bunch of money, those who owe child support, etc.

You need to find a way to work and exist off-the-grid, there are millions of us, come on in, the water's fine!

I agree.

how is the petition going?

Benjaman Here: Barely halfway.

I just registered, sorry I didn't do it last tie :(

Thank you.

Have you submitted fingerprints or dna to a national database? What were the results?

Null, Negative, and no matches.

That blows. Signed for you and best of luck bud.

Thank you.

Do you think that if the same event(s) happened today, in 2012: with the advent of facebook, twitter, youtube, instagram, etc. that you would have more of a "Web-Presence" thus making you easier to identify?

in 04, myspace was barely coming around. If something like this happened now, social media would solve the puzzle in a few hours. Agree?

When I was found in 2004, no one gave damn. I was not even questioned by the police in the town where I was found until 2007. There was no one to put me in the "Social Media" or to create a "web presence" even if it had existed in more than it's infancy.

Some people don't have any presence in the web though. Except for an e-mail and not much more.

People of my generation have much less presence than you youngsters.LOL

I know you have your website, but do you have anywhere where you can (or already do) post little updates as they arise?

http://www.findingbenjaman.com/blog-updates/

If you remembered how to do basic things such as cooking an egg or any other basic examples of things that become second nature after a while, have you tried going into a music store and trying all the different instruments to see if any seem familiar? That probably wouldn't give any real insight into who you are but if you went into a hardware store and looked at tools and parts is it possible you'd recognise something that most people wouldn't to indicate a previous profession? Or perhaps walk through different sections of a book store or library to find things you may have studied or done professionally that became second nature or that you gained an understanding of without remembering about it since?

No music talent at all. except for listening to it.

If we're thinking long term, you should get in touch with the Personal Genome Project, get your genes fully sequenced, and publish your genome online as soon as possible.

As other people start getting sequenced, they will look in the database of genomes to find relatives. I hope you don't have to wait that long, of course.

DNA is in the FED databank and two private ones.

Seeing as you are currently not acknowledged by the US government as a person... can you be charged with a crime?

Of course. It would not surprise me if they weren't trying to find one now.

I find your whole story really interesting by the way. I'm from Norway and have been reading all about your story since I first heard about it. I really hope some of the leads you have turn up some answers for you, I can't really start to imagine what you're going through!

Thank you.

Did you ever end up travelling to Denver and wherever else to see if those places sparked any memories?

That too is in the works. Hopefully in Feb.

Cool! I hope you keep doing AMAs as you do more and more research (after the blood test, traveling). Your story is fascinating, and I really want to see you figure out who you really are!!

If this mess is solved it will make the national news shows.

kudos on being so strong for the past 8 years. how do you plan on spending the rest of your life, whether or not your identity is revealed?

There is no doubt but what I am going to have to work for the rest of my life. I just need the SSN to make things a lot easier.

Signed. Good luck.

Thank you.

I'm sorry of this has been asked before Mr Kyle, but has there been any movies or songs which have triggered memories? Long story short, I suffered from a mental breakdown a few years ago and lost a lot of memories from my youth. Accidently discovered the videos of The Angry Video Game Nerd and began to remember times playing certain video games with my family and friends, thus opening up many more memories.

I really hope you are happy with who you are right now. Love from sunny Scotland :)

I do remember sitting in a movie theatre in Denver and watching a movie.

Long shot, but you could try listening to some 'hits of the decade' compilations, or look up imdb.com's top movies.

If I remember correctly you said you can recall being in Boulder?

Oh, ignore the joke posts. People are dicks these days.

Someone gave me an IPod and I have been listening to a lot of music. I remember the music that I like but it does not bring back any pertinent information.

The Boulder Daily Camera is due to do a follow up interview today. I remember a lot of things about the Denver Metro area.

Who are you spending the holidays with?

In am helping to set up a Xmas dinner for the homeless in Jax Beach.

Have you gone to a hypnotist?

Yes.

Why did you choose Benjaman over Benjamin? And why Benjaman Kyle over any other names that start with B and K like Benjamin Franklin? ^{Edit: Ben Franklin doesn't have the initials B K}

Also, have you ever felt depressed to the point of considering suicide directly because of your current situation (SSN, Amnesia, etc)?

Edit: Also, did you feel like you've discovered your true personality after your incident? Did you found out you were actually shy, or love socializing? Or have your personality remained unchanged since you woke up behind the Burger King?

Benjaman just felt "right". Of course sometimes I feel depressed. When I do, I just find something to do.

I think that I am a Very self contained Person, I do not need people so much that I could not exist without them. I do like being around people and talking to them. Be forewarned: I can't stand fools!

Did you ever turn anything up from the Waffle House lead?

They are checking.

Can you drive a big rig? Do you feel like being a trucker is a possibility? Any memories that suggest that?

No, I am not a "Gear-Jammer"

I have read about you!

Good, Now go sign the Petition. https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/grant-benjaman-kyle-new-social-security-number/m9tgKh14?utm_source=wh.gov&utm_medium=shorturl&utm_campaign=shorturl

What happens if you find out who you are, and it turns out you prefer the person you've become over the past eight years?

What if the real you is not a good person?

I don't think that there will be that much of a difference. although I think that I am a better person for having gone through it.

How important is it to know who you were? I mean, you've been living as Benjaman for the last 8 years. Is is important to you to figure out what happened, or do you feel that someday you will be able to move on and live life as Benjaman now. Is this something that you are uncomfortable with or are you able to say that the past is the past, and hope the best for the future?

The main thing is that I need a SSN so that I can get along with my life. I think my memories will eventually come back. It does sometimes worry me as to how I am going to merge memories from my past life into memories of my present lif.

I actually have a friend with no SSN. He's lived in the US his entire life, he's at least a third generation citizen and he has a driver's license. When he tried to open a second bank account he was informed there was no one attached to the SSN he provided. We joke about how he's perfectly set up to become a hit man.

I have thought about just making one up, but with the FBI involved I would be soon found out. It IS against the law.