[INSERT STORMTROOPER HEIGHT REFERENCE HERE]

Pirate-Bartender-Zombie-Monkey — Fri, 02 Nov 2012 11:40:14 -0800

In 2010, 1st grader Katie Goldman was the bullied kid at her school for being a girl who was into Star Wars (which is, of course, only for boys). Geeks and fans across the net rallied to give moral support to Katie ("The Littlest Jedi") for standing up for who she wanted to be. Katie and her mother went on to lead an anti-bullying effort at Katie's school (which now observes December 10th as "Proud To Be Me Day") and Katie became a symbol of geek pride and anti-bullying, standing up at a birthday party for a boy who wanted to have his nails painted like the girls were getting. The experience became the source of book Bullied. In 2012, it was Katie's turn to show geek solidarity. The 501st Legion/"Vader's Fist", who had been so supportive when her story went viral, were now among those being taunted online for their cosplay geekery at a con, and Katie wanted to be a stormtrooper for Halloween to show her support. When the troopers heard that, the 501st's First Imperial Stormtrooper Detachment came together to raise the funds/materials/expertise and build a full-on custom-fitted set of proper stormtrooper armor ('77 movie specs and all), with just days to spare before Halloween, as a gift for the little girl whose courage inspired them so much. The carrying case for the suit is inscribed with the names of all the volunteers who made it happen. When Katie outgrows the armor, she will donate it back to the 501st so they can use it for other Make-A-Wish children. Also, ~~shout out~~ May You Live Long And Prosper to Little Girl Spock for rocking the old-school ears. The 501st previously in MeFi

MetaFilter posts tagged with StarWarsGirl

[INSERT STORMTROOPER HEIGHT REFERENCE HERE]