It was an all too familiar scene: A gay man was walking along, minding his own business when a car drove by and someone inside called out “fa**ot!!”
Nick Hurley, 27, was headed home in Manchester, UK after a shopping trip. Specifically, a pre-Brighton Pride glitter shopping trip (the biodegradable kind). Inside Hurley’s bag were small tubes of the shiny specks, which are fun when handled with care but a nightmare if spilled.
Related: Say cheese! Gay youth snaps beaming selfie seconds after homophobic attack, now he’s going viral
As the Manchester Evening News reports, Hurley exacted sweet revenge when the car stopped at a traffic light.
How about we take this to the next level?
Our newsletter is like a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.
Through an open window, Hurley emptied a tube of glitter into the car, “horrifying” the two men inside before they sped away.
He shared the story on Twitter, where it quickly went viral:
If you think it’s okay to shout “faggot” at me out of your car window while you drive past, then I think it’s okay for me to empty a tube of glitter through that window when you stop at the traffic lights.
Your casual homophobia has supergay consequences. ??
— Nick Hurley (@nickhurley) August 3, 2018
Related: This adorable photo of a gay couple kissing is making homophobes lose their minds
He told MEN:
“In a moment of creative frenzy I realised I had a bag full of glitter. I opened one tube and reached inside the window.
I thought ‘this might be a bad thing to do’ and launched the tube of glitter in the passenger window.
The traffic lights changed and the guys in the car looked flummoxed, as if to say ‘did that really happen?’
I didn’t expect the Twitter response that followed.
I have had death threats, a glass bottle thrown at me, a brick thrown at my house, all of these things have happened in Manchester.”
In a follow-up tweet, he said:
So this went a bit crazy. I don’t have anything to promote or sell, so while you’re here, why not drop a donation to @stonewalluk?
Text STONEWALL to 70500 to donate £5 ??
— Nick Hurley (@nickhurley) August 4, 2018
Hurley used his sudden online exposure to urge people to donate to the Stonewall charity.
“Out of that terrible thing that happened something nice and positive has come out of it. People have been sharing screenshots of donations,” he added.
You can read more of his account in a blog post he wrote about the incident on Medium.
misterjack
Hahaha! Brilliant!
PLAYS WELL WITH OTHERS
Best glitter bomb EVA!!
Heywood Jablowme
Maybe they were environmentalist homophobes. Glitter is a serious hazard to the environment:
https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/glitter-ban-environment-microbead-impact-microplastics-scientists-warning-deep-ocean-a8056196.html
PLAYS WELL WITH OTHERS
In a follow-up tweet, Hurley specified that he used biodegradable glitter.
GayEGO
Kudos to Nick Hurley! Homophobic guys have mental problems which have been verified by science.
Goforit
I would have loved to be around to see how those homophobes explained why they and the inside of their car were drenched in glitter during the local gay pride week. lmao
lambchopp59
You go, Nick!
Link and copy/paste of similar blurb about this triumph over hate appeared on Democratic Underground yesterday.
I blasted the DU bunch a bit about their underwhelming response to this, something near 200 views of the article had garnered a paltry 8 “recommendations” and the responses consisted of
*crickets… crickets… crickets*. F*ck that complacency.
There’s a disturbingly familiar PTSD producing ring to Nick’s mentions of past bullying reminiscent of those who lacked the integrity to intervene against the bullies even with superior numbers and witnessing acts that were just plain astoundingly ignorant, and that included the adults who are supposed to be policing such behaviors. How convenient so many so-called “christians” conveniently ignore the words of their hero: “What you do to the least of my brethren”.
I revel in any victory over nonsense like that.
daver01
Well done, Nick Hurley. A simple, non-violent but effective way to get your own back on these biggots – as they called you!