A realistic gun at a kids halloween party?
October 24, 2015 12:19 PM Subscribe
Should I include a very realistic looking gun as part of my halloween costume when I go to a party that will be primarily for children?
Of course I shouldn't, right? But I really really want to. Hear me out and tell me how this might not leave me an outcast among hippie Seattle parents forever.
About 8 months ago, I began to have a dream. I had watched Once Upon a Time in the West and was captivated by the costuming. In a short period of time I watched every Sergio Leone spaghetti western, unforgiven, Deadwood and my love affair with dirty cowboy boots and leather dusters only deepened. I began an odyssey that culminates this week.
I began the moustache about 5 months ago and the handlebars are below my chin now and I have 10 days' of trail stubble over the rest of my face. I researched and visited actual horse tack stores and secured the right chaps, spurs, and gloves. I trolled ebay for months looking for just the right leather duster and tried on 60 different Stetsons. I hiked and gardened for weeks in my cowboy boots to build up the right scuff and dirt.
And of course, as much as I would like it to be, my vision is just not complete without the right sidearm. Actually, I wanted a rifle like one of the bad dudes in the opening sequence of Once Upon a Time in the West ("Looks like we're shy one horse" "You brought two too many") but walking around the city on Halloween with a rifle seemed like an invitation to disaster. After passing on any toy guy, I settled on this non functional model of a Colt 45. And I have to say, despite being a peace loving, gun-phobic zealot, when that 5 pound six shooter is weighing down the hand tooled gun belt slung low on my thigh, my transformation is complete. I am the lone rider of the apocalypse, I am serving justice in a world gone mad, I am a force known to all and a man no one truly knows. I am Harmonica.
Of course, polling my circle of friends I get nothing but horrified looks. I have not consulted with the hosts of the two kids' parties we are going to, though I plan to. And I get it, I really do. I myself would have words with someone who showed up as a soldier with a machine gun. But, really, how is a cowboy with a six shooter all that different than Darth Vader with a light saber or a Clone with a blaster? For what it is worth, I will be wearing a knee length duster over the gun the whole time and I would not plan on taking it out of it's holster. For any kid who asks, I would need some phrasing about why a true cowboy never unholsters his weapon among friends and the deadly seriousness of guns.
One party will have adults also in costume and this party is among good life long friends I've partied with all my life who all happen to have kids now. The other party is with school mates at the hippie communist alternative school my kids go to. I do plan to be in costume for trick or treating, either giving out candy at my house or going around the neighborhood with kids. Both of my kids have totally non-violent, non-conflict costumes of their own choosing (firefighter and Odd Squad agent). I have no particular adult party plans for late Halloween, but probably will go bar hopping in a safe part of town. I've talked with my kids about the gun and it is hidden away, not to be played with. My wife almost divorced me when it arrived in the mail and while I think our marriage will survive, it underscores that fact that she just doesn't understand how a man truly rides alone on the desert trail with only his courage and morality to guide him.
I do have a battery powered blue plastic gun that shoots bubbles I could carry in the holster, but am I crazy in insisting that authenticity is part of my dream costume? And isn't Halloween supposed to be a little scary and uncomfortable? Help me, I am deep into the grind of parenting and working and need some fantasy in my life.
So while I am open to hearing well thought out advice about why this is a bad idea, I am also looking for ways to justify this to the good liberal gun control card carrying ACLU members in our circle of friends, quick phrases I can use for kids asking about the gun, work arounds that won't compromise the integrity of my costume and an invitation to an adult Halloween party in Seattle where a cowpoke can enjoy his three fingers of whiskey without checking his peacemaker at the door.
Of course I shouldn't, right? But I really really want to. Hear me out and tell me how this might not leave me an outcast among hippie Seattle parents forever.
About 8 months ago, I began to have a dream. I had watched Once Upon a Time in the West and was captivated by the costuming. In a short period of time I watched every Sergio Leone spaghetti western, unforgiven, Deadwood and my love affair with dirty cowboy boots and leather dusters only deepened. I began an odyssey that culminates this week.
I began the moustache about 5 months ago and the handlebars are below my chin now and I have 10 days' of trail stubble over the rest of my face. I researched and visited actual horse tack stores and secured the right chaps, spurs, and gloves. I trolled ebay for months looking for just the right leather duster and tried on 60 different Stetsons. I hiked and gardened for weeks in my cowboy boots to build up the right scuff and dirt.
And of course, as much as I would like it to be, my vision is just not complete without the right sidearm. Actually, I wanted a rifle like one of the bad dudes in the opening sequence of Once Upon a Time in the West ("Looks like we're shy one horse" "You brought two too many") but walking around the city on Halloween with a rifle seemed like an invitation to disaster. After passing on any toy guy, I settled on this non functional model of a Colt 45. And I have to say, despite being a peace loving, gun-phobic zealot, when that 5 pound six shooter is weighing down the hand tooled gun belt slung low on my thigh, my transformation is complete. I am the lone rider of the apocalypse, I am serving justice in a world gone mad, I am a force known to all and a man no one truly knows. I am Harmonica.
Of course, polling my circle of friends I get nothing but horrified looks. I have not consulted with the hosts of the two kids' parties we are going to, though I plan to. And I get it, I really do. I myself would have words with someone who showed up as a soldier with a machine gun. But, really, how is a cowboy with a six shooter all that different than Darth Vader with a light saber or a Clone with a blaster? For what it is worth, I will be wearing a knee length duster over the gun the whole time and I would not plan on taking it out of it's holster. For any kid who asks, I would need some phrasing about why a true cowboy never unholsters his weapon among friends and the deadly seriousness of guns.
One party will have adults also in costume and this party is among good life long friends I've partied with all my life who all happen to have kids now. The other party is with school mates at the hippie communist alternative school my kids go to. I do plan to be in costume for trick or treating, either giving out candy at my house or going around the neighborhood with kids. Both of my kids have totally non-violent, non-conflict costumes of their own choosing (firefighter and Odd Squad agent). I have no particular adult party plans for late Halloween, but probably will go bar hopping in a safe part of town. I've talked with my kids about the gun and it is hidden away, not to be played with. My wife almost divorced me when it arrived in the mail and while I think our marriage will survive, it underscores that fact that she just doesn't understand how a man truly rides alone on the desert trail with only his courage and morality to guide him.
I do have a battery powered blue plastic gun that shoots bubbles I could carry in the holster, but am I crazy in insisting that authenticity is part of my dream costume? And isn't Halloween supposed to be a little scary and uncomfortable? Help me, I am deep into the grind of parenting and working and need some fantasy in my life.
So while I am open to hearing well thought out advice about why this is a bad idea, I am also looking for ways to justify this to the good liberal gun control card carrying ACLU members in our circle of friends, quick phrases I can use for kids asking about the gun, work arounds that won't compromise the integrity of my costume and an invitation to an adult Halloween party in Seattle where a cowpoke can enjoy his three fingers of whiskey without checking his peacemaker at the door.
In a world where we're trying to de-mystify the allure of guns, I'd be really insanely pissed if you showed up with a realistic Cold 45 in your holster.
Especially with the rampage of shootings at schools. And the rampage of shooting by kids who see guns as some kind of fantasy power device, and end up shooting themselves or their sibling if they happen upon a gun.
posted by barnone at 12:27 PM on October 24, 2015 [40 favorites]
Especially with the rampage of shootings at schools. And the rampage of shooting by kids who see guns as some kind of fantasy power device, and end up shooting themselves or their sibling if they happen upon a gun.
posted by barnone at 12:27 PM on October 24, 2015 [40 favorites]
Best answer: Super-realistic costumes are boring. But if you walk into that party looking absolutely perfect, from mustache to boots, and you stand in the doorway so people can admire it, and you swagger in like you just got off a three-day ride, and you stare down someone across the room, and suddenly you draw out that blue plastic gun and fire a stream of bubbles?
Out. Fucking. Standing. People will remember that for years.
On the other hand, your perfect-to-every-detail costume? At best, everyone will forget it, because, okay, you were that guy from that movie. But probably they'll remember that time that Slarty brought a very realistic looking gun to the party, what the fuck was that about?
posted by Etrigan at 12:27 PM on October 24, 2015 [157 favorites]
Out. Fucking. Standing. People will remember that for years.
On the other hand, your perfect-to-every-detail costume? At best, everyone will forget it, because, okay, you were that guy from that movie. But probably they'll remember that time that Slarty brought a very realistic looking gun to the party, what the fuck was that about?
posted by Etrigan at 12:27 PM on October 24, 2015 [157 favorites]
Should I include a very realistic looking gun...
HELL NO.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 12:30 PM on October 24, 2015 [21 favorites]
HELL NO.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 12:30 PM on October 24, 2015 [21 favorites]
Given the police environment these days, I wouldn't want to carry something that looks like a real gun anywhere in public, even if there weren't kids around.
posted by primethyme at 12:30 PM on October 24, 2015 [21 favorites]
posted by primethyme at 12:30 PM on October 24, 2015 [21 favorites]
Should I include a very realistic looking gun as part of my halloween costume when I go to a party that will be primarily for children?
This is a trick question, right? Of COURSE not.
posted by Namlit at 12:31 PM on October 24, 2015 [7 favorites]
This is a trick question, right? Of COURSE not.
posted by Namlit at 12:31 PM on October 24, 2015 [7 favorites]
NO. given the current climate of very legitimate fear of 'lone gunmen' attacks and terrible accidents, I would be freaked out by a realistic looking gun if I were one of the other parents at this party.
posted by supermedusa at 12:35 PM on October 24, 2015 [7 favorites]
posted by supermedusa at 12:35 PM on October 24, 2015 [7 favorites]
I won't link to it, but there was an article last week about how accidental shootings between children are on the rise. Similarly, everything everywhere already glorifies violence and killing to an extent that makes it really really hard for parents to explain that guns are a tool with serious consequences and responsibility and not for play....
I can't tell you enough how gross and selfish your description sounds in terms of wanting to show off this way at a children's party.
Is there no reason you can't show off at an adult party? That's what I'm hung up on. That you can't keep adult things to adult venues, and keep it child appropriate at places where children are present or featured.
Incidentally, you will lose a lot of friends if you do this. Alternatively, some stranger who sees you at 7-11 might call 911 on you as you pay for a soft drink, mistaking your gun for real.
Lastly. War and violence sucks and it hurts people. I'm a HUGE fan of Deadwood, spaghetti westerns and Tarantino films, but even I would not do what you're proposing here because I think the reality of what's going on in our own country and elsewhere that guns and violence are hurting real live human beings is not not not to be celebrated or glorified.
I can go on forever about that last part. PM me if you want more convincing.
posted by jbenben at 12:41 PM on October 24, 2015 [20 favorites]
I can't tell you enough how gross and selfish your description sounds in terms of wanting to show off this way at a children's party.
Is there no reason you can't show off at an adult party? That's what I'm hung up on. That you can't keep adult things to adult venues, and keep it child appropriate at places where children are present or featured.
Incidentally, you will lose a lot of friends if you do this. Alternatively, some stranger who sees you at 7-11 might call 911 on you as you pay for a soft drink, mistaking your gun for real.
Lastly. War and violence sucks and it hurts people. I'm a HUGE fan of Deadwood, spaghetti westerns and Tarantino films, but even I would not do what you're proposing here because I think the reality of what's going on in our own country and elsewhere that guns and violence are hurting real live human beings is not not not to be celebrated or glorified.
I can go on forever about that last part. PM me if you want more convincing.
posted by jbenben at 12:41 PM on October 24, 2015 [20 favorites]
Don't bring the gun. This isn't a Civil War reenactment. Nobody at these parties is going to lose respect for you due to the inauthenticity of your costume.
posted by Monochrome at 12:41 PM on October 24, 2015 [4 favorites]
posted by Monochrome at 12:41 PM on October 24, 2015 [4 favorites]
...One might also remember that during the early moments of the recent Swedish school attack (with a sword, but still), some of the school kids took the attacker's outfit for an early Halloween costume and posed with him for photos.
Turned around, one should be very wary not to misguide people into thinking that one's Halloween costume really is something more sinister. So, as stated, no no.
posted by Namlit at 12:42 PM on October 24, 2015 [7 favorites]
Turned around, one should be very wary not to misguide people into thinking that one's Halloween costume really is something more sinister. So, as stated, no no.
posted by Namlit at 12:42 PM on October 24, 2015 [7 favorites]
I agree with Etrigan on the blue plastic bubble gun being a much better choice. It'll be more memorable, plus it will make the costume into a obviously-this-is-all-in-good-fun costume that will let everybody know at a glance they can just enjoy it and talk to you about it without wondering, side-eyeing, thinking they can't even ask you because what if you really are the idiot that brings a real gun, etc.
I appreciate why the real-looking gun would be more fun while you're in a context (like your own house) where you control how people understand it, but once you go out into the world, there are so many possible downsides, so many ways people could receive it wrong. Kids getting the wrong idea in many ways, other parents, random strangers you pass, cops,... At best, given the real-world situation these days, you're unnecessarily introducing this element of uncertainty and worry and thing-to-be-preoccupied-by into other people's (like your wife's) night.
posted by LobsterMitten at 12:43 PM on October 24, 2015 [2 favorites]
I appreciate why the real-looking gun would be more fun while you're in a context (like your own house) where you control how people understand it, but once you go out into the world, there are so many possible downsides, so many ways people could receive it wrong. Kids getting the wrong idea in many ways, other parents, random strangers you pass, cops,... At best, given the real-world situation these days, you're unnecessarily introducing this element of uncertainty and worry and thing-to-be-preoccupied-by into other people's (like your wife's) night.
posted by LobsterMitten at 12:43 PM on October 24, 2015 [2 favorites]
Best answer: If you need to have a real Colt 45, holster a bottle of Colt 45 malt liquor.
posted by ShooBoo at 12:43 PM on October 24, 2015 [44 favorites]
posted by ShooBoo at 12:43 PM on October 24, 2015 [44 favorites]
You could go in your outfit as a living pun, with a pack of Spaghetti in your gun holster.
posted by Namlit at 12:45 PM on October 24, 2015 [13 favorites]
posted by Namlit at 12:45 PM on October 24, 2015 [13 favorites]
(If you decide you do need to bring the realistic gun, and you plan to keep it holstered, maybe you can wrap the barrel/muzzle with bright orange tape, to make it clear that it's fake if you do end up drawing it. Toy guns for kids are required to have orange tips, so seeing a gun without that would make adults wonder.)
posted by LobsterMitten at 12:46 PM on October 24, 2015 [5 favorites]
posted by LobsterMitten at 12:46 PM on October 24, 2015 [5 favorites]
Take some photos or video at home, wearing your perfect costume with the realistic gun. You can always frame one for your wall. Then go out in public with the bubble gun.
posted by clone boulevard at 12:46 PM on October 24, 2015 [6 favorites]
posted by clone boulevard at 12:46 PM on October 24, 2015 [6 favorites]
Is there any way you can permanently mount it in the holster? If it's the weight and the look in the holster that make the costume fun for you, that would be a decent way to take it out in public or to adult parties. I would not take a realistic gun out of its holster anywhere in public. You should still not take it to the kids' party.
posted by Rock Steady at 12:53 PM on October 24, 2015
posted by Rock Steady at 12:53 PM on October 24, 2015
"But, really, how is a cowboy with a six shooter all that different than Darth Vader with a light saber or a Clone with a blaster?"
For one thing, light sabers aren't real, but guns are. I would be disturbed and scared if you brought a real-looking gun to a party, especially a kids' party.
posted by amf at 12:55 PM on October 24, 2015 [19 favorites]
For one thing, light sabers aren't real, but guns are. I would be disturbed and scared if you brought a real-looking gun to a party, especially a kids' party.
posted by amf at 12:55 PM on October 24, 2015 [19 favorites]
I'm a gun owner (i.e. probably out of step and to the right of many in this thread, and maybe even you), and I would not carry a realistic prop gun except as part of an actual re-enactment or the like (and I'm not into that so there you go).
Grey area for me might be an adult cosplay situation. Def. not a kid's party. It's not that I think people would be freaked out, it's just the idea that I'm with the others that kids should not exposed to guns as toys (because kids want to play with toys).
I like the blue squirt gun idea, and another thing that works is simply the empty holster a la Woody in Toy Story.
posted by randomkeystrike at 12:56 PM on October 24, 2015 [10 favorites]
Grey area for me might be an adult cosplay situation. Def. not a kid's party. It's not that I think people would be freaked out, it's just the idea that I'm with the others that kids should not exposed to guns as toys (because kids want to play with toys).
I like the blue squirt gun idea, and another thing that works is simply the empty holster a la Woody in Toy Story.
posted by randomkeystrike at 12:56 PM on October 24, 2015 [10 favorites]
Darth Vader with a light saber or a Clone with a blaster?
I was just out looking for a old style Star Wars blaster for my costume, and I couldn't even find that. Anything that was remotely gun-shaped was brightly colored chunky plastic and not really gun like.
I say it's okay at an adults only party if there are people there who appreciate a good costume. But the blaster idea, or a can of Spaghetti-os, would be funny.
posted by cabingirl at 1:08 PM on October 24, 2015
I was just out looking for a old style Star Wars blaster for my costume, and I couldn't even find that. Anything that was remotely gun-shaped was brightly colored chunky plastic and not really gun like.
I say it's okay at an adults only party if there are people there who appreciate a good costume. But the blaster idea, or a can of Spaghetti-os, would be funny.
posted by cabingirl at 1:08 PM on October 24, 2015
You're caught between the forces of law and order and the forces of conventional morality. I think, no gun. But it's really appalling bullshit. A lump of metal in your holster will hurt no one, and I doubt you're going to go Wyatt Earp and pistol whip anyone, even the weird guy in the Peter Whimsey outfit.
That said, the cowboy with a .45 slung low around his waist is a myth created by movies, and the fracas at the OK Corral was all about gun control. You could find a unarmed movie cowboy as a new paradigm. Maybe Shane.
Or, as a last resort, get a life-size Xerox of your SSA, mount it on enough thicknesses of cardboard to give it some stiffness and bulk, cut to the outline. Holster and party.
posted by SemiSalt at 1:09 PM on October 24, 2015 [3 favorites]
That said, the cowboy with a .45 slung low around his waist is a myth created by movies, and the fracas at the OK Corral was all about gun control. You could find a unarmed movie cowboy as a new paradigm. Maybe Shane.
Or, as a last resort, get a life-size Xerox of your SSA, mount it on enough thicknesses of cardboard to give it some stiffness and bulk, cut to the outline. Holster and party.
posted by SemiSalt at 1:09 PM on October 24, 2015 [3 favorites]
Should I include a very realistic looking gun as part of my Halloween costume when I go to a party that will be primarily for children?
No.
There are assholes who pretty much never go out without a real-looking (because it's real) gun, and a lot of them are just waiting for a chance to take theirs out and point it at someone else with a gun. Don't give those assholes an excuse, especially at a party with kids. You die or maybe some parent or kid dies. And the asshole who brought the real gun to a Halloween party walks away.
posted by pracowity at 1:10 PM on October 24, 2015 [5 favorites]
No.
There are assholes who pretty much never go out without a real-looking (because it's real) gun, and a lot of them are just waiting for a chance to take theirs out and point it at someone else with a gun. Don't give those assholes an excuse, especially at a party with kids. You die or maybe some parent or kid dies. And the asshole who brought the real gun to a Halloween party walks away.
posted by pracowity at 1:10 PM on October 24, 2015 [5 favorites]
No. Every time you act like something that looks like a real gun is a toy, you increase the likelihood that a kid will assume that other things that look like real guns -- including real guns -- are also toys. That way lies tragedy.
posted by KathrynT at 1:16 PM on October 24, 2015 [45 favorites]
posted by KathrynT at 1:16 PM on October 24, 2015 [45 favorites]
We just had the anniversary of Marysville. Don't do it.
posted by The corpse in the library at 1:17 PM on October 24, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by The corpse in the library at 1:17 PM on October 24, 2015 [3 favorites]
Would something like a coiled whip offer the same weight + authenticity + power feel you're going for here?
Something I was taught very early when doing theatrical productions is that you use guns sparingly and you take them as seriously as if they were live weapons, even when you know they're just props. If a gun is onstage, the audience immediately locks on and it pulls all the focus towards itself, even if it's just kinda there on a table. The mood in the venue changes a bit, you can feel people tense up until the gun is used or goes away. And they all KNOW it's a fake prop! Doesn't matter.
Point being, do you really want to bring that tension into a party? Because that's what you'll be doing. It's a party foul.
posted by castlebravo at 1:19 PM on October 24, 2015 [19 favorites]
Something I was taught very early when doing theatrical productions is that you use guns sparingly and you take them as seriously as if they were live weapons, even when you know they're just props. If a gun is onstage, the audience immediately locks on and it pulls all the focus towards itself, even if it's just kinda there on a table. The mood in the venue changes a bit, you can feel people tense up until the gun is used or goes away. And they all KNOW it's a fake prop! Doesn't matter.
Point being, do you really want to bring that tension into a party? Because that's what you'll be doing. It's a party foul.
posted by castlebravo at 1:19 PM on October 24, 2015 [19 favorites]
>But, really, how is a cowboy with a six shooter all that different than Darth Vader with a light saber or a Clone with a blaster?
I'm biting the rhetorical bait. The difference is that lightsabers and blasters aren't actually real, so if I am walking down the street and see one, I can be 100% sure that it will not kill me. I can also be sure that no one with a real concealed weapon will take offense at the sight of a perceived real weapon.
How would your cowboy feel about carrying a fake gun where real guns might be, which, in the US, is everywhere? How would your defender of right feel about putting children in danger without a true ability to defend? I like to think your cowboy would leave his piece at home and bring a touch of taciturn amusement to the proceedings.
posted by tchemgrrl at 1:19 PM on October 24, 2015 [4 favorites]
I'm biting the rhetorical bait. The difference is that lightsabers and blasters aren't actually real, so if I am walking down the street and see one, I can be 100% sure that it will not kill me. I can also be sure that no one with a real concealed weapon will take offense at the sight of a perceived real weapon.
How would your cowboy feel about carrying a fake gun where real guns might be, which, in the US, is everywhere? How would your defender of right feel about putting children in danger without a true ability to defend? I like to think your cowboy would leave his piece at home and bring a touch of taciturn amusement to the proceedings.
posted by tchemgrrl at 1:19 PM on October 24, 2015 [4 favorites]
The ire of unarmed liberals is one thing, but there is also a risk that you could be shot and killed by responding police officers.
posted by Little Dawn at 1:22 PM on October 24, 2015
posted by Little Dawn at 1:22 PM on October 24, 2015
Batman wants you to bring the bubble gun. (And please post pictures.)
posted by Orange Dinosaur Slide at 1:28 PM on October 24, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by Orange Dinosaur Slide at 1:28 PM on October 24, 2015 [3 favorites]
But, really, how is a cowboy with a six shooter all that different than Darth Vader with a light saber or a Clone with a blaster?
You absolutely know the answer to this. Stop tossing bait.
posted by 26.2 at 1:30 PM on October 24, 2015 [8 favorites]
You absolutely know the answer to this. Stop tossing bait.
posted by 26.2 at 1:30 PM on October 24, 2015 [8 favorites]
The answer to this is obviously not, unless you don't want to have these friends anymore.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 1:31 PM on October 24, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 1:31 PM on October 24, 2015 [2 favorites]
I get why you want to, I think the gun looks pretty spiff myself, I think the odds are overwhelmingly good that no one would be physically or psychologically harmed by the presence of this fake gun. But. Somebody is going to say something to somebody about it. This is going to make more work for your host. They'll have to explain why you're an okay guy, or explain that you cleared it with them, explain why they said it was okay, etc. The host has enough to do. If the question is "should I make extra work for my host?" the answer is always no.
posted by selfmedicating at 1:40 PM on October 24, 2015 [6 favorites]
posted by selfmedicating at 1:40 PM on October 24, 2015 [6 favorites]
I am having a hard time understanding why this is so important. You're going to a party (and as others have mentioned, a party FOR KIDS), not to a convention. Who cares how realistic or spot-on the costume is? No, don't bring the gun.
posted by masquesoporfavor at 1:41 PM on October 24, 2015 [5 favorites]
posted by masquesoporfavor at 1:41 PM on October 24, 2015 [5 favorites]
"But, really, how is a cowboy with a six shooter all that different than Darth Vader with a light saber or a Clone with a blaster?"
Not sure I've seen any news stories about kids being shot by police for brandishing a lightsabre.
posted by EndsOfInvention at 1:42 PM on October 24, 2015 [4 favorites]
Not sure I've seen any news stories about kids being shot by police for brandishing a lightsabre.
posted by EndsOfInvention at 1:42 PM on October 24, 2015 [4 favorites]
Response by poster: This is a good reality check. And seriously, with the wise counsel of all my real life friends and the hive, I'm still so deep into my twisted fantasy that it's hard. This is all about being seduced by and fetishizing something more than a costume. I'm going to send my wife with the kids and I'm going to stay home in costume packing the gun and playing Red Dead Redemption with my trusty cat and plan on going to a dude ranch this summer.
So let me ask you what you think about next year's costume plan: Samurai armor, complete with sword.
posted by Slarty Bartfast at 1:46 PM on October 24, 2015 [5 favorites]
So let me ask you what you think about next year's costume plan: Samurai armor, complete with sword.
posted by Slarty Bartfast at 1:46 PM on October 24, 2015 [5 favorites]
No weapons.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 1:49 PM on October 24, 2015 [7 favorites]
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 1:49 PM on October 24, 2015 [7 favorites]
Stay home then, and again with your sword next year.
posted by TenaciousB at 1:54 PM on October 24, 2015 [9 favorites]
posted by TenaciousB at 1:54 PM on October 24, 2015 [9 favorites]
Is the point to scare kids with weapons, or entertain kids with a costume?
posted by artdrectr at 2:02 PM on October 24, 2015 [7 favorites]
posted by artdrectr at 2:02 PM on October 24, 2015 [7 favorites]
There are all kinds of cowboy reenactment events where a realistic gun (or in many cases a real gun) would be totally appropriate. Wear the bubble gun for halloween, but if you are enjoying the fantasy this much, check out some cowboy events. (I mean, they even have big cowboy reenactment scenes in Germany and Japan. You'll have a lot of fellow travelers, wherever you live.)
posted by Dip Flash at 2:08 PM on October 24, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by Dip Flash at 2:08 PM on October 24, 2015 [3 favorites]
Would your character carry weapons to a party?
Traditionally, lone warriors don't bring weapons to parties. If they do, they leave the weapons at the door.
Your character might carry weapons in a bar in a "rough" area, but carrying weapons in a party with a bunch of kids is breaking character. Unless you're cosplaying Anakin Skywalker (note: please don't cosplay Anakin Skywalker at a party for kids!).
posted by sninctown at 2:10 PM on October 24, 2015
Traditionally, lone warriors don't bring weapons to parties. If they do, they leave the weapons at the door.
Your character might carry weapons in a bar in a "rough" area, but carrying weapons in a party with a bunch of kids is breaking character. Unless you're cosplaying Anakin Skywalker (note: please don't cosplay Anakin Skywalker at a party for kids!).
posted by sninctown at 2:10 PM on October 24, 2015
My comment was deleted I guess because it didn't answer your question. I will try again: It is really weird that you are only considering costumes with weapons. I do not think a samurai complete with sword is a good idea either, especially due to the cultural appropriation aspect.
posted by masquesoporfavor at 2:10 PM on October 24, 2015 [11 favorites]
posted by masquesoporfavor at 2:10 PM on October 24, 2015 [11 favorites]
an invitation to an adult Halloween party in Seattle where a cowpoke can enjoy his three fingers of whiskey without checking his peacemaker at the door
I don't think that's a thing in mainstream 2015. People don't want weapons, or things that look exactly like them, at kids' parties, and they don't want them around when they're trying to relax and get their drink on. In both situations, having to parse whether or not you're an asshole is more work than anybody wants to do, and assuming "asshole" is probably going to be the default for many, including bouncers and law enforcement and anxious parents/drunk jerks looking for an excuse for a fight...
If these kids are parented like my kid, they will be ill at ease for the entire time you are there. Cops carry guns; that's about it, everybody else with a gun is a baddie. "Looks real but is somehow simultaneously not real" is not something little kids are going to quickly, easily, confidently parse. My kid is 8 and still mad at me for breaking a promise, which was to never leave our property without her. She caught me backing the car out into the street so I could re-park it towards the sun. By driving into the road, I left the property, thus, I broke my promise, and I am a liar. The finer points don't matter; kids are very literal.
Sarcasm isn't quite the right way to put it, of course, but by way of discussing young kids' difficulties with thinking in shades of gray: “Kids detect sarcasm at about age 6, but don’t begin to see the intended humour until around age 10."
posted by kmennie at 2:11 PM on October 24, 2015 [8 favorites]
I don't think that's a thing in mainstream 2015. People don't want weapons, or things that look exactly like them, at kids' parties, and they don't want them around when they're trying to relax and get their drink on. In both situations, having to parse whether or not you're an asshole is more work than anybody wants to do, and assuming "asshole" is probably going to be the default for many, including bouncers and law enforcement and anxious parents/drunk jerks looking for an excuse for a fight...
If these kids are parented like my kid, they will be ill at ease for the entire time you are there. Cops carry guns; that's about it, everybody else with a gun is a baddie. "Looks real but is somehow simultaneously not real" is not something little kids are going to quickly, easily, confidently parse. My kid is 8 and still mad at me for breaking a promise, which was to never leave our property without her. She caught me backing the car out into the street so I could re-park it towards the sun. By driving into the road, I left the property, thus, I broke my promise, and I am a liar. The finer points don't matter; kids are very literal.
Sarcasm isn't quite the right way to put it, of course, but by way of discussing young kids' difficulties with thinking in shades of gray: “Kids detect sarcasm at about age 6, but don’t begin to see the intended humour until around age 10."
posted by kmennie at 2:11 PM on October 24, 2015 [8 favorites]
If you want to dress up as a high-power character (nothing wrong with that), there are plenty of overpowered lone-wolf characters to choose from that don't carry weapons. "Macho Man" Randy Savage? Goku?? Voldemort???
posted by sninctown at 2:13 PM on October 24, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by sninctown at 2:13 PM on October 24, 2015 [1 favorite]
an invitation to an adult Halloween party in Seattle where a cowpoke can enjoy his three fingers of whiskey without checking his peacemaker at the door
Open carry of a firearm is legal in Washington but you are not allowed to have a gun in a bar. Your fake gun looks real enough that someone might have an issue with it, though I doubt it if you are in costume on Halloween.
posted by Dip Flash at 2:22 PM on October 24, 2015
Open carry of a firearm is legal in Washington but you are not allowed to have a gun in a bar. Your fake gun looks real enough that someone might have an issue with it, though I doubt it if you are in costume on Halloween.
posted by Dip Flash at 2:22 PM on October 24, 2015
DUDE! This is not a Halloween costume. This is a fetish. Stay at home.
posted by a humble nudibranch at 2:29 PM on October 24, 2015 [19 favorites]
posted by a humble nudibranch at 2:29 PM on October 24, 2015 [19 favorites]
Literally nobody besides you will notice or care if you don't include a weapon with your costume. No one. Not a soul. I cannot overstate how unnecessary prop weapons are to Halloween costumes.
People will care if you have an authentic-looking fake weapon, but not in the way you want them to care. More like in the calling-the-cops way.
posted by Metroid Baby at 2:50 PM on October 24, 2015 [2 favorites]
People will care if you have an authentic-looking fake weapon, but not in the way you want them to care. More like in the calling-the-cops way.
posted by Metroid Baby at 2:50 PM on October 24, 2015 [2 favorites]
It's not unheard of for archery and gun ranges to have events when members come in costume (and have a party or a potluck or whatever). Maybe something like that would let you scratch that itch without disturbing people at a more general-themed kids' party.
posted by The corpse in the library at 2:59 PM on October 24, 2015 [4 favorites]
posted by The corpse in the library at 2:59 PM on October 24, 2015 [4 favorites]
Response by poster: DUDE! This is not a Halloween costume. This is a fetish. Stay at home.
Be cool, man. I already pointed this out.
Yes, real looking gun, irresistible fantasy, bad idea. Spent the morning retooling a different belt and holster for the bubble gun and have added loops for extra "cartridges" of bubble solution.
In a land without laws, the bubble becomes the law, and the man who wields the fastest bubble is marshall, judge, and executioner and justice is swift and sudsy.
posted by Slarty Bartfast at 3:01 PM on October 24, 2015 [43 favorites]
Be cool, man. I already pointed this out.
Yes, real looking gun, irresistible fantasy, bad idea. Spent the morning retooling a different belt and holster for the bubble gun and have added loops for extra "cartridges" of bubble solution.
In a land without laws, the bubble becomes the law, and the man who wields the fastest bubble is marshall, judge, and executioner and justice is swift and sudsy.
posted by Slarty Bartfast at 3:01 PM on October 24, 2015 [43 favorites]
But, really, how is a cowboy with a six shooter all that different than Darth Vader with a light saber or a Clone with a blaster?
Maybe think about that question in light of those students in Sweden who were killed recently.
posted by urbanwhaleshark at 3:05 PM on October 24, 2015 [2 favorites]
Maybe think about that question in light of those students in Sweden who were killed recently.
Mobile phone images of the suspect show a man in a helmet resembling that used by the Nazis, holding a sword and wearing what was described as a Star Wars mask. According to several witnesses, he allowed himself to be photographed with students, who took it to be a Halloween prank.What you're proposing is a bad idea for this and all those reasons people have laid out in their answers.
posted by urbanwhaleshark at 3:05 PM on October 24, 2015 [2 favorites]
Mod note: This is sorta feeling like asked-and-answered at this point and has been sort of weird in the process, so short of any sort of formal shutting down mechanism for Ask I'm gonna suggest maybe we collectively call this good at this point, asker and answerers alike.
posted by cortex (staff) at 3:06 PM on October 24, 2015 [18 favorites]
posted by cortex (staff) at 3:06 PM on October 24, 2015 [18 favorites]
Hold on there, pardner, there's one more thing.
But if you walk into that party looking absolutely perfect, from mustache to boots, and you stand in the doorway so people can admire it, and you swagger in like you just got off a three-day ride, and you stare down someone across the room, and suddenly you draw out that blue plastic gun and fire a stream of bubbles?
No. You need at least two highly visible elements on your costume to indicate your gun blows bubbles.
It's a party and people are having a jolly time and you will get a few appreciative glances at your awesome cowboy outfit. But people won't really take in every single element of your costume.
And you pull out ANY gun* and start a-shooting, you will scare the shit out of at least one person. Yes, you know it's a bubble gun, but not everyone will immediately cotton onto that and just in that split second of, "WTF is he doing??!!" you're going to freak some people out.
I suggest you have AT LEAST TWO HIGHLY VISIBLE elements to indicate you're a BUBBLE COWBOY. Bubble wrap on your hat? White balloons all over you? A Mr. Bubble t-shirt? I don't know, but it's a bad assumption that everyone will immediately register your blue bubble gun for what it is.
*It may be an even better idea to have NO GUN, and one of those gigantic bubble blowing wands in one holster and a jar of bubble blowing solution in another. Then you can stare someone in the eye, draw out your wand and solution slowly, and start blowing bubbles from your mouth. Maybe just NO gun.
posted by kinetic at 4:56 AM on October 25, 2015 [5 favorites]
But if you walk into that party looking absolutely perfect, from mustache to boots, and you stand in the doorway so people can admire it, and you swagger in like you just got off a three-day ride, and you stare down someone across the room, and suddenly you draw out that blue plastic gun and fire a stream of bubbles?
No. You need at least two highly visible elements on your costume to indicate your gun blows bubbles.
It's a party and people are having a jolly time and you will get a few appreciative glances at your awesome cowboy outfit. But people won't really take in every single element of your costume.
And you pull out ANY gun* and start a-shooting, you will scare the shit out of at least one person. Yes, you know it's a bubble gun, but not everyone will immediately cotton onto that and just in that split second of, "WTF is he doing??!!" you're going to freak some people out.
I suggest you have AT LEAST TWO HIGHLY VISIBLE elements to indicate you're a BUBBLE COWBOY. Bubble wrap on your hat? White balloons all over you? A Mr. Bubble t-shirt? I don't know, but it's a bad assumption that everyone will immediately register your blue bubble gun for what it is.
*It may be an even better idea to have NO GUN, and one of those gigantic bubble blowing wands in one holster and a jar of bubble blowing solution in another. Then you can stare someone in the eye, draw out your wand and solution slowly, and start blowing bubbles from your mouth. Maybe just NO gun.
posted by kinetic at 4:56 AM on October 25, 2015 [5 favorites]
Response by poster: Kid party #1 report: Huge success. (this was a party where every kid and adult knows me well). I brought the bubble gun with the extra cartridges of bubble solution. I generally took Etrigan's advice about my entrance and had arranged it ahead of time with the host of the party as my intended target.
We showed up late, so as to have a good audience .My kids entered the party unaccompanied first. A few minutes later, I threw open the door with the theme from The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly blaring from a bluetooth speaker hidden in my duster. All eyes on me. I saw the host, but quickly changed plans when I saw my old buddy CJ there in a cowboy hat. I walked deliberately, slowly toward him with my spurs jangling until I was face to face with him. I pulled open the duster, revealing my weapon.
"The last time I saw you in Reno, you had a 5th Ace up your sleeve and 2 bullets in your chest. Now, say your prayers, and dig your grave." And I pummeled him with bubbles, as he dramatically played along.
About twenty 6 and 7 year old ninjas, firemen, police officers, dragons, Minions, and astronauts go apeshit. The entire rest of the night is spent with all of them trying to steal my hat, my phone, my bubbles while I stay in character. I loaded up my iphone with menacing music (Battle Without Honor or Humanity, Thunderstruck, Mama said Knock You Out, O Fortuna, Immigrant Song) which played as I deliberately stalked the kids trying to get my stuff back. At one point, stuffed animals were taken hostage, I stole the host child's piggy bank, parts of his costume including his light saber, and the whole thing ended with a pile of kids on top of me dispensing their own frontier justice and putting me in "jail."
All the other adults enjoyed having the freedom to talk to each other and my kids fell asleep in the car on the way home. It was fucking awesome.
posted by Slarty Bartfast at 7:41 PM on October 25, 2015 [30 favorites]
We showed up late, so as to have a good audience .My kids entered the party unaccompanied first. A few minutes later, I threw open the door with the theme from The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly blaring from a bluetooth speaker hidden in my duster. All eyes on me. I saw the host, but quickly changed plans when I saw my old buddy CJ there in a cowboy hat. I walked deliberately, slowly toward him with my spurs jangling until I was face to face with him. I pulled open the duster, revealing my weapon.
"The last time I saw you in Reno, you had a 5th Ace up your sleeve and 2 bullets in your chest. Now, say your prayers, and dig your grave." And I pummeled him with bubbles, as he dramatically played along.
About twenty 6 and 7 year old ninjas, firemen, police officers, dragons, Minions, and astronauts go apeshit. The entire rest of the night is spent with all of them trying to steal my hat, my phone, my bubbles while I stay in character. I loaded up my iphone with menacing music (Battle Without Honor or Humanity, Thunderstruck, Mama said Knock You Out, O Fortuna, Immigrant Song) which played as I deliberately stalked the kids trying to get my stuff back. At one point, stuffed animals were taken hostage, I stole the host child's piggy bank, parts of his costume including his light saber, and the whole thing ended with a pile of kids on top of me dispensing their own frontier justice and putting me in "jail."
All the other adults enjoyed having the freedom to talk to each other and my kids fell asleep in the car on the way home. It was fucking awesome.
posted by Slarty Bartfast at 7:41 PM on October 25, 2015 [30 favorites]
It sounds like you might be looking for Cowboy Action Shooting. Except that they aren't about Halloween parties. But with your costuming fascination, I'm not sure why you would limit yourself to only this time of year, so perhaps that will be of interest to you.
posted by yohko at 7:14 PM on October 28, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by yohko at 7:14 PM on October 28, 2015 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: More follow up. Kid party #2 with the parents of Hippie Socialist Academy of Learning Through Sensitive Feelings. This party was being held because the school disallows Halloween (Not sure why. Out of respect for families that don't celebrate Halloween?) and some parents wanted the kids to have a chance to get together in costume. Of course went with bubble gun, but I barely know these people so I was too introverted to make a big spectacle in a stranger's house.
So I'm making small talk over the veggie tray and quinoa salad and people are asking me about the costume and I admit to almost making my Terrible Mistake with the gun. This led to an absolutely hilarious moment of bonding where everyone admitted their own politically incorrect decisions. "I own a fur coat that never comes out of the closet." "I take the kids to McDonald's once a week." "My husband played Grand Theft Auto with our 6 year old."
I got to scratch my authenticity itch going out trick or treating with the kids, I wore the Colt 45 in its holster and because it was cold and rainy it was covered up with my ankle length duster all night so the only one who knew it was there was me.
Something eye opening happened surrounding the adult party I went to. A few days before the party, I remembered one of my friends (who would be at the party) had been abducted and sexually assaulted at gun point as a teenager. Because I am stupid and insensitive And stupid I had forgotten all about this and a week ago I happened to mention to her that I had bought this thing was trying to decide whether I should wear it. Without reminding me of her personal history, she very politely explained that she thought this was a Bad Idea. She was the first person I ran into at the party and the first thing she said to me with a smile was "You decided not to use the gun!" I told her I had thought hard about what she'd said and thanked her for being such a good friend and I was so so sorry for being such an idiot for even thinking there was some possibility this might be an ok thing to do. I probably still ruined that friendship, but I'm a little bit wiser now.
So yeah, further data point for anyone thinking of doing something that glamorizes firearms: it's very likely that someone you know has had a past traumatic experience with gun related violence.
Now I get to finally shave off this stupid mustache.
posted by Slarty Bartfast at 12:11 PM on November 1, 2015 [5 favorites]
So I'm making small talk over the veggie tray and quinoa salad and people are asking me about the costume and I admit to almost making my Terrible Mistake with the gun. This led to an absolutely hilarious moment of bonding where everyone admitted their own politically incorrect decisions. "I own a fur coat that never comes out of the closet." "I take the kids to McDonald's once a week." "My husband played Grand Theft Auto with our 6 year old."
I got to scratch my authenticity itch going out trick or treating with the kids, I wore the Colt 45 in its holster and because it was cold and rainy it was covered up with my ankle length duster all night so the only one who knew it was there was me.
Something eye opening happened surrounding the adult party I went to. A few days before the party, I remembered one of my friends (who would be at the party) had been abducted and sexually assaulted at gun point as a teenager. Because I am stupid and insensitive And stupid I had forgotten all about this and a week ago I happened to mention to her that I had bought this thing was trying to decide whether I should wear it. Without reminding me of her personal history, she very politely explained that she thought this was a Bad Idea. She was the first person I ran into at the party and the first thing she said to me with a smile was "You decided not to use the gun!" I told her I had thought hard about what she'd said and thanked her for being such a good friend and I was so so sorry for being such an idiot for even thinking there was some possibility this might be an ok thing to do. I probably still ruined that friendship, but I'm a little bit wiser now.
So yeah, further data point for anyone thinking of doing something that glamorizes firearms: it's very likely that someone you know has had a past traumatic experience with gun related violence.
Now I get to finally shave off this stupid mustache.
posted by Slarty Bartfast at 12:11 PM on November 1, 2015 [5 favorites]
good liberal gun control card carrying ACLU members in our circle of friends
Those are my circles, too, and one thing I've noticed when I ask if they have any guns in the house before letting my kids go over to play: yup. Plenty of guns out there in the liberal parts of the PNW, often in liberal hands (or liberal gun safes).
posted by The corpse in the library at 1:49 PM on November 1, 2015
Those are my circles, too, and one thing I've noticed when I ask if they have any guns in the house before letting my kids go over to play: yup. Plenty of guns out there in the liberal parts of the PNW, often in liberal hands (or liberal gun safes).
posted by The corpse in the library at 1:49 PM on November 1, 2015
This thread is closed to new comments.
Agreed.
posted by Sfving at 12:27 PM on October 24, 2015 [34 favorites]