Comments | britgeekgrrl: On Conventions, Safety, Etc

britgeekgrrl

On Conventions, Safety, Etc - Pt. 2

Jul 29, 2012 14:13

Filter: public

In the comments to my entry of last night, kest reminded me of an anecdote I wanted to share ( Read more... )

Comments 7

rinolj August 1 2012, 02:45:37 UTC

Elsewhere, Deirdre pointed to this and the preceding post. To which I commented, in part:

Joanna lists a few useful signs of someone having a problem situation
foisted onto (usually but not always) her -- revolving around details of
body language and eye contact. Which I for one really appreciate.

FWIW, I heard somewhere a clever idea for what one might usefully do ( ... )

britgeekgrrl August 1 2012, 02:54:23 UTC

...Interesting!

But how do we get the code out to everyone EXCEPT the creeps? They find out about it, the jig is up!

Over on Scalzi's blog, someone (a regular artist at cons) said they'd happily pay for some sort of service whereby if they texted to a dedicated number, ConOps (or event security or whatever) would send a big burly person to the spot marked X and loom/step in as neccessary. This works on the assumption, of course, that a person being victimized has the time/freedom to send a text but, still... A setup for a sort of not-quite-911 to ConOps would be grand.

rinolj August 1 2012, 03:19:26 UTC

The nice thing is, endless minor variations on the subterfuge are possible. Also, the probable-harasser, even if (usually) he smells a rat, isn't likely to say 'You're making that up. There's no bag' and block his inamorata from leaving, if she's playing along. Too incompatible with the 'I'm a nice guy' self-conception. I think the likely worse case is the creep trailing along for a while as you literally progress towards ConOps as far circumstances require.

Yes, a ConOps rapid response would be ideal, as ConOps folks are best trained for this matter -- but for regular attendees to have a devious and smooth ploy ready to hatch on mere seconds' notice strikes me as very useful. Beats clumsy confrontations and the damsel-rescue annoyance six ways from Sunday, anyway.

(The other idea I saw mentioned is for staff in consuite and similar places with adjoining staff-only 'prep' areas to be prepared to offer egress to that staff-only space to any apparent harassee.)

britgeekgrrl August 1 2012, 03:35:39 UTC

If naught else, I might brief my chums and enter into a pact with them. Y'know, we all agree on the code phrase and to step up with it if we think we see a need. "Oh, hey, did you hear that ConOps got that UNIQUE THING X for you. Wanna go grab it?" Maybe something like "found your inhaler" - small, easily lost, plausible... Yeees....

Kind of like the old "The vicar is coming to tea" gambit - a way for one spouse to cue another that something vital was coming unzipped or unbuttoned without causing red faces... :)

Thread 6

sunlit_music June 30 2013, 04:31:09 UTC

Thanks for posting this. This needed to be said. I'm so sorry that happended to you. Nobody deserves to be treated like that. And I agree - people can be clueless and malicious. I've had similar experiences with people who set off my creep-ometer, so I sympathise. It's taken me a long time, but I'm glad I finally realised that I don't have to put up with such behaviour.