# A guy dressed as Frosty the Snowman scares people and they call 911. Really?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-guy-dressed-as-frosty-the-snowman-scares-people-and-they-call-911-really/604797
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
**Created:** [December 2, 2011, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-guy-dressed-as-frosty-the-snowman-scares-people-and-they-call-911-really/604797 "2011-12-02T04:18:07Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 2
### Author:  [@Silver\_Tyger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silver_Tyger)
#### Post date: [December 2, 2011, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-guy-dressed-as-frosty-the-snowman-scares-people-and-they-call-911-really/604797/21 "2011-12-02T17:11:48Z")
In the picture he doesn’t look too bad - just like he’s wearing a bad costume. It may have been different in motion.
Calling 911? Definite overreaction
Being creeped out? YMMV, but definitely possible
Asking him to go the bleep away? Logical reaction
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### Author:  [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)
#### Post date: [December 2, 2011, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-guy-dressed-as-frosty-the-snowman-scares-people-and-they-call-911-really/604797/22 "2011-12-02T17:18:33Z")
Unless he was asking people to suck his candy cane, seems a bit over the top to call 911.
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### Author:  [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)
#### Post date: [December 2, 2011, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-guy-dressed-as-frosty-the-snowman-scares-people-and-they-call-911-really/604797/23 "2011-12-02T18:29:05Z")
> [@tdn](#):
>
> I was on board with this until I saw the picture.
>
> Frosty eats children!
He sure does!
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELxeSadruMI](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELxeSadruMI)
NSFW video. Proto-South Park by Matt and Trey.
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### Author:  [@Earthworm\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earthworm_Jim)
#### Post date: [December 2, 2011, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-guy-dressed-as-frosty-the-snowman-scares-people-and-they-call-911-really/604797/24 "2011-12-02T19:10:45Z")
It’s pretty pathetic that the culture of fear is so deeply ingrained into people’s psyche. “Oh, something slightly out of the ordinary - PANIC!! CALL THE POLICE!!”
I hate people.
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### Author:  [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)
#### Post date: [December 2, 2011, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-guy-dressed-as-frosty-the-snowman-scares-people-and-they-call-911-really/604797/25 "2011-12-02T20:14:57Z")
If he’d actually been dressed as Frosty the Snowman, it would have been just fine. But he’s dressed like an escapee from a mental institution who found a Frosty display in someone’s yard, cut off its head, put it on, grabbed a candy cane from the same display, and concealed a pointy knife in the end of it. Why no, I don’t have an overactive imagination at all… D:
That suit is pretty freakin’ cool in a creepy way. He looks like the monopoly man.
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### Author:  [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)
#### Post date: [December 2, 2011, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-guy-dressed-as-frosty-the-snowman-scares-people-and-they-call-911-really/604797/26 "2011-12-02T20:28:06Z")
Seriously, I love the lapels on the jumpsuit. I would totally wear that. Just not with the Frosty head.
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### Author:  [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)
#### Post date: [December 2, 2011, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-guy-dressed-as-frosty-the-snowman-scares-people-and-they-call-911-really/604797/27 "2011-12-02T20:48:40Z")
Creepy snowman dude is creepy!
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### Author:  [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)
#### Post date: [December 2, 2011, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-guy-dressed-as-frosty-the-snowman-scares-people-and-they-call-911-really/604797/28 "2011-12-02T20:52:23Z")
And I would have gotten away with it if it weren’t for those meddling kids!
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### Author:  [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)
#### Post date: [December 2, 2011, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-guy-dressed-as-frosty-the-snowman-scares-people-and-they-call-911-really/604797/29 "2011-12-02T20:57:51Z")
“Four panicked locals called 911 to report a disguised man with a four-foot candy cane was on the loose, according to the station.”
So, where exactly did they think he was “on the loose” from, and what exactly did they expect the authorities to do about it? To ticket him for creepiness? Arrest him for false impersonation, or failure to register his cane?
And what makes this a disguise, rather than an costume, anyway?
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### Author:  [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)
#### Post date: [December 2, 2011, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-guy-dressed-as-frosty-the-snowman-scares-people-and-they-call-911-really/604797/30 "2011-12-02T21:18:05Z")
> [@guizot](#):
>
> And what makes this a disguise, rather than an costume, anyway?
The fact that it disguises his identity by entirely covering his face. My read on the situation is that if his identity was not diguised, this would have been regarded as amusing and harmless. However, people simply do not go about fully masked in our society without ulterior motive – the exception is a few places where there are incredibly strict controls on their behavior (ie, Disneyland)
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### Author:  [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)
#### Post date: [December 2, 2011, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-guy-dressed-as-frosty-the-snowman-scares-people-and-they-call-911-really/604797/31 "2011-12-02T22:24:36Z")
Yeah, I also agree upon seeing the picture that that is one scary costume.
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### Author:  [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)
#### Post date: [December 2, 2011, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-guy-dressed-as-frosty-the-snowman-scares-people-and-they-call-911-really/604797/32 "2011-12-02T23:47:53Z")
That’d be a fantastic Halloween costume. Calling 911 is too much, but man, that is only holiday cheer if he’s a sidekick of the Futurama Santa.
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### Author:  [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)
#### Post date: [December 2, 2011, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-guy-dressed-as-frosty-the-snowman-scares-people-and-they-call-911-really/604797/33 "2011-12-02T23:59:01Z")
> [@DrFidelius](#):
>
> Holy shit. I’d call the cops on Frosty the Droog in a heartbeat. They’ll be able to find him easily because he won’t be moving much after I get the shotgun.
Let me guess-he whistled “Singing in the Rain” as he nonchalantly strolled down the street looking for his next victim.
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### Author:  [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)
#### Post date: [December 3, 2011, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-guy-dressed-as-frosty-the-snowman-scares-people-and-they-call-911-really/604797/34 "2011-12-03T00:06:11Z")
> [@Hello\_Again](#):
>
> However, people simply do not go about fully masked in our society without ulterior motive
Well, SWAT teams…
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### Author:  [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)
#### Post date: [December 3, 2011, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-guy-dressed-as-frosty-the-snowman-scares-people-and-they-call-911-really/604797/35 "2011-12-03T01:45:08Z")
> [@Hello\_Again](#):
>
> However, people simply do not go about fully masked in our society without ulterior motive –
Actually, some people do. One of my hobbies is disguises. I use prosthetics, hair pieces and coloring, etc. to alter my appearance such that my acquaintances won’t recognize me. (The challenge is to show up where they are without them realizing your identity.) This is all for fun, the same way people do other seemingly pointless things like geo-caching, etc. There is no ulterior motive to it, and as far as I know, there’s no reason to call the police when I do it.
> [@Hello\_Again](#):
>
> …the exception is a few places where there are incredibly strict controls on their behavior (ie, Disneyland)
Those are not disguises–they’re costumes, and when they put them on, everyone knows that they’re in a costume. Let’s not confuse the two things. The purpose of a disguise is simply to appear different, not to draw attention to oneself, and that’s not what this guy dressed as Frosty the Snowman was doing at all.
The real issue here isn’t about criminality, but rather social norms. The guy was just making people uncomfortable in the same the way someone who talks to himself on the subway does. But do we call the police when that happens? What are the police supposed to do about it? And what if this kind of get-up were to start gaining some marginal popularity during holidays? Would they outlaw it, so as not to make people feel uncomfortable?
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### Author:  [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)
#### Post date: [December 3, 2011, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-guy-dressed-as-frosty-the-snowman-scares-people-and-they-call-911-really/604797/36 "2011-12-03T01:51:11Z")
> [@guizot](#):
>
> …One of my hobbies is disguises. I use prosthetics, hair pieces and coloring, etc. to alter my appearance such that my acquaintances won’t recognize me. (The challenge is to show up where they are without them realizing your identity.)…
Uh huh.
Well you sound like a normal well-adjusted person alright.
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### Author:  [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)
#### Post date: [December 3, 2011, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-guy-dressed-as-frosty-the-snowman-scares-people-and-they-call-911-really/604797/37 "2011-12-03T02:16:24Z")
> [@Leaffan](#):
>
> Well you sound like a normal well-adjusted person alright.
It goes with the intravenous cocaine use and fiddling.
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### Author:  [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)
#### Post date: [December 3, 2011, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-guy-dressed-as-frosty-the-snowman-scares-people-and-they-call-911-really/604797/38 "2011-12-03T02:23:45Z")
> [@Larry\_Mudd](#):
>
> It goes with the intravenous cocaine use and fiddling.
Quick, Larry, the game’s afoot!
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### Author:  [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)
#### Post date: [December 3, 2011, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-guy-dressed-as-frosty-the-snowman-scares-people-and-they-call-911-really/604797/39 "2011-12-03T03:46:28Z")
That’s not Frosty! That’s the guy being slowly digested by Frosty in mid-wave as he’s trying to signal for help! :eek:
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### Author:  [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)
#### Post date: [December 3, 2011, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-guy-dressed-as-frosty-the-snowman-scares-people-and-they-call-911-really/604797/40 "2011-12-03T04:08:26Z")
> [@YogSosoth](#):
>
> That’s not Frosty! That’s the guy being slowly digested by Frosty in mid-wave as he’s trying to signal for help! :eek:
Dear G-d.
I’m sleeping with the lights on tonight.
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