In Which I Adore My Husband...

This story is true, and a little weird, and while I SHOULD be angry at him, I have to say, I can't quite manage it.

At the Geek Girl Con, the vibe was so amazing and wonderful that it's easy to forget we still have to live in a real world that ISN'T so supportive and creative and wonderful.

Here's what happened.

Because we go to a lot of conventions, we've made friends with tons of cosplayers, and they have become very dear to us both. Some of them have had problems with attendees, everything from just being hassled or mocked, to upright being groped and otherwise abused.

Because of that, my husband, who is a very sweet, funny, kind guy, is always watching out for people hassling cosplayers and several times he has had to step in when security was either not available or not aware, or simply not interested. At some of the bigger cons, women in particular can get mobbed past their point of comfort, even if the people only mean well and just want to take photos.

But sometimes it gets a little uglier and a couple times he's had to help someone find something else to look at, as it were.

I should add that my husband is a big guy, 6'3" and karate trained, used to have to throw belligerent rednecks out of a packed bar. So he is very sweet, but hates bullies like I can't even tell you.

At the Geek Girl Con, the event was split between two buildings in the Seattle Center, a good ten minutes walk apart, so the whole weekend, cosplayers walked back and forth between the two buildings. You have heard about what an amazing event it was, it was incredibly fun and supportive.

Two con cosplayers that we met that we both adored were there, just outside the main con building, in a public area, with music going on. They were Kyrax2, the famous "San Diego Batgirl," and another girl, who was dressed as Black Canary, complete with wig (she was dressed as Knockout the day before).

Now, they both looked fantastic, absolutely amazing. Photographers were taking pictures of them all day, and they spread joy everywhere they went. They had just done battle poses for the convention photographers. They are incredibly sweet, gorgeous young women, and most importantly for this story, they are both TEENSY. They are both really, really small young women. I'm not that tall and I towered over them both.

They were standing outside, minding their own business, having a great time and making the con even nicer, when some incredible jerk, a middle aged, angry creep with a pony-tail and a down jacket, comes walking towards them quickly, VERY aggressively, not at all in a manner that looked safe. This got my husband's attention.

This was a guy in decent, even expensive clothes. And he's slapping the back of one hand into the open palm of his other hand, loudly, like a gun shot. Again, very aggressively.

And he says to the two cosplayers, who are hurting NO ONE and having a great time, very angrily, like he was threatening to confront them, "Get a LIFE. Why don't you just GET A DAMN LIFE?"

Now, I know cosplayers hear that sort of ignorant thing all the time. But usually, it's mocking and scornful, but insignificant. This guy was angry. Pissed off. God knows why, and he's doing this just a few feet from women half his size, classic bully mover.

So he says it again like he expects them to answer, "WHY DON'T YOU GET A LIFE?"

And he didn't realize my husband was with them. My husband, looks at the guy and loudly smirks, "What, like YOU?"

The guy's eyes go wide, he didn't realize he'd picked on the wrong young women. Even WITHOUT my hubby, there was a packed courtyard of young women who would not take too kindly to this guy's assholery.

So there's a pause, and the guy answers back, "YEAH." Like, yeah, these lovely, talented, funny, intelligent, creative women should get a life like me, a jerk berating people half my size in public courtyards.

So my husband looked at him dead in the eyes and said, "Really? But YOU are just a huge piece of SHIT."

I'm sorry, but I find that highly amusing.  I know there are smarter moves than confronting strangers in the street in Seattle, but like I said, my hubby hates bullies.

The guy slunk away, suddenly losing interest in the conversation altogether.

I know I'm supposed to be mad…he could have just let it go. Sticks and stones, right? 

But I think of some jerk trying to intimidate and berate these two wonderful women for NO REASON and I can definitely see where he was coming from.

Anyway, that would have been a weird story—my husband got in a fight at Geek Girl Con! So, I'm glad it didn't come to that, but maybe that creep will think twice before he tries to bully and insult strangers half his size.

PS. I think, "But you are just a huge piece of SHIT," is pretty funny, given the circumstances.