This Person Asked If They Were Wrong For Getting Mad After Losing A Costume Contest To A Dog, And People Are Strongly Defending Both Sides
You know about the r/AmItheAsshole subreddit. It's always full of messy, mind-boggling stories.
People basically write in to ask if their behavior in a recent situation is okay or not.
Well, I recently came across one where someone lashed out at a friend after losing a costume contest to a dog. I'll let you read the full story yourself, and then we can discuss it down below:
"I am genuinely losing my mind here. So I love Halloween. I love making costumes and put a lot of effort into it. My friend hosted a big Halloween party at her place and said there would be a costume contest for whoever had the best Halloween costume under $50. Third and second place would win $25, and the first would win $50. So not a huge money prize, but enough to offset the price of the costume, and to me, it was more about the fun of the game. I wanted to win, so I pulled out all the stops and went as Zoro from One Piece and only had to buy $40 worth of material."
"When I got to the party, I saw other costumes. There were some fierce competitors, but honestly, I think I had the best costume. I thought maybe it was too obscure to people who don’t know anything about anime, and that might not go well, but it was a good costume."
"When the winners were announced, I got second. This bummed me out kinda, but hey, I still did well, and again, if I had gone with something more ubiquitous, maybe people would've gotten it. However, the issue arose when they announced first place. In first place was a dog dressed like a pirate in one of those shitty Party City pirate costumes. So, if I had lost to another person, wouldn’t have cared. But I had a few drinks in me, and my inhibitions were lowered, AND IT WAS A FUCKING DOG. So I, out loud, asked the host, 'Really? The dog won?' And she said yes and was gushing about how cute he looked. I said that it was a dog, and it didn’t even have a say in what it was going as. I told her that this didn’t seem exactly fair."
(Not the dog.)
"She told me to lighten up and that it was supposed to be fun. I told her that it’s ridiculous she’s about to give the $50 prize to the owner for spending $20 on a cheap Walmart dog costume when me and whoever was in third place actually made our costumes. She got mad that I called her ridiculous, and things kinda escalated into a full-blown argument that required my friend to break us up. I was then kicked out of the party for embarrassing the host like that."
"So I don’t think I’m the asshole because, like, obviously that’s not fair. If it was a dog costume contest, but having a bunch of people compete and lose to someone’s inbred bulldog is so fucking unfair. I think I was justified in saying what I said. People there said that I should’ve just taken the $25 and called it a day. AITA?"
OK, so people can usually vote four ways — YTA (you're the A-hole), NTA (not the A-hole), ESH (everyone sucks here), or NAH (no A-hole here). This time, most of the votes were between YTA, NTA, and ESH.
Many said the OP (original poster) was in the wrong for acting out the way they did.
"YTA. I respect the work you put into your costume for the money you saved doing so. I also understand that you were frustrated with the whole situation, and the alcohol didn't help, but here's the thing: You lost to a dog. Get over it. Your friend clearly likes dogs over people, and regardless of what the dog was dressed as, it probably would have won anyway. You recouped some of the money you spent. Apologize to your friend, the dog's owner, and anyone else you got into an argument with. There will be other Halloween parties in the future. Maybe just accept the invites for ones that are no pets allowed."
—u/Nerdy_Scot
"YTA. How old are you to be THIS pissed off at coming second place in a Halloween costume contest? You can't be 23. Seriously, people lose to toddlers, dogs, cats — even a plant or two. It's...seriously not a big deal unless you're attending an actual competition, not some fun thing set up in someone's home. If you can't regulate your emotions, then you deserve to be kicked out of every party you attend."
"YTA, and an entitled one for ruining a party. If you want a competition, go to a competition; a house party is not that. Also, grow up. You are taking this way too seriously. I would not invite you to any party ever again, to be honest."—u/DevaOni
Others defended their anger and frustration.
"NTA. You most certainly shouldn't have let things escalate to the point of your friend needing to break up you and the host. And the host herself has every right to ask you to leave after that, obviously. However, everyone else here is talking about how it was just a bit of fun and that you should just get over it. But I think that's missing the point. A cash reward was offered, which is an incentive to spend more on a costume than you might have otherwise. So, for the top prize to go to a dog feels like a copout. Hey, I love dogs, and I'm sure this dog looked cute in its little pirate outfit. But it feels like a fundamental departure from what was proposed by the host, so I understand why you were upset with her. It's the principle of the thing. It's not the dog's fault. It's not even the dog's owner's fault. The host could easily have given the top three places, and the accompanying cash rewards, to her human guests who had put extra effort and expense into their own costumes, which was surely the entire point of having the competition in the first place, and given pirate-dog an honorable mention or something. It's bad form on her part as the host, tbh."
—u/Transit_Hub
"I'm gonna say NTA — it is kind of ridiculous that people voted for the dog, tbh."—u/SpiritedAwhale
"Fun is fun, but $50 is money. Dogs are cute. I love dogs. But a dog cannot compete in a human contest. Would it be fair to allow leopards to compete in Olympic track events? I don't think so."—u/ZealousWolverine
People also found both parties at fault.
"ESH. You, for obvious reasons, namely, making a scene. If you had just left it at, 'Really? The dog won?' then I would have said NTA. And the host because, well, it was a contest with a cash prize for the best costume, not the cutest costume, and the difference between the two is decidedly there. If it were a contest for the cutest costume, then there would be no grounds to complain, but it wasn't. It was for the best, and I'm sorry, but a store-bought costume will never be better than a well-made, hand-made costume. If it was made by someone who should not be left alone with scissors, then there is a high probability that a store-bought costume would be better."
"ESH. You for your tantrum — just accept it and move on. The host for making a contest and letting a dog win. Of course, the dog wins, but why even have the contest expecting people to put effort into making a costume by following the contest rules if a dog can enter."
"ESH — I actually sympathize a bit because it's shit to have a contest where people do actually put in some effort just to have a dog win, mainly because it's a dog. That said, life is unfair sometimes, and you have to recognize the fights you can win. It's worth arguing against the ones you can't where you have to accept, even if you don't like it. This was a definite fight you could never win. Now you look like an AH, and everyone is laughing at you because you got mad the dog won the contest, and you got thrown out of the party."
—u/Slumbermo
Now, I wanna know what you guys think. Was the person right to feel upset? Were they wrong? Tell me in the comments.
Note: Some submissions have been lightly edited for length and/or clarity.
