HARRISON – The political correctness of Halloween costumes goes too far
THANK HEAVENS Halloween is done for another year.
Not because the little ghosts and goblins go door to door trick or treating, or head to some fun hallowe’en event, but because of the intolerable killjoys who would ruin everything, those who insist on political correctness to the extreme.
Costumes have become political statements, or are somehow motivated by unhealthy racial stereotypes nowadays.
So we have the spectacle of people forced to apologize for wearing Indian headgear, because apparently dressing up as a historical figure in this country is no longer acceptable.
And while those of us who grew up watching shows like Amos and Andy didn’t turn out to be racists, somehow someone showing up at a Hallowe’en party with a blackened face is guilty.
Presumably dressing as a ninja, or soldier or doctor, or dentist or even a housewife will be offensive to someone because it might glorify violence, or belittle a profession.
It’s not just Hallowe’en. In sports, team nicknames that have been around for decades are suddenly demeaning and are also the product of our racist society. So frowned upon— the Eskimos, the Redskins, the Indians, the Braves. The Saints have yet to be pilloried, but give it time; surely that must offend Christians somewhere.
Think about the Portland school principal who once declared Hispanic or Somalian students might be offended by peanut butter and jam sandwiches that the other kids bring, because that’s not what they eat in their culture, so he recommended equal time and attention to tortillas and pita bread.
An extreme example, yes, but all of this political correctness has us going in an extreme direction— extreme idiocy.
Listen to Jim Harrison’s editorials weekdays on Radio NL, and to the Jim Harrison Show at 9:08 a.m. Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. Contact him at jharrison@radionl.com.
ArmchairMayor.ca 
I wish these folks would have the balls to sign their names.
Wow Jim ol boy! Your piece reeks of ignorance and privlige. The times they are a changin and neither black face nor cheap inaccurate headdresses are ok anymore. You don’t have the right to consume someone else’s culture for fun times, and then completely disregard current colonial violence. At a time when Indigenous people are over-represented in the correctional and foster care systems; Idigenous children are recieving a fraction of educational funding that non-Indigenous children are; the governments in power are working to disprove land claims; and Indigenous women and girls are 4x more likely to be murdered: your priorities are on team names and halloween costumes drenched in stereotypes that work to reinforce said injustices? Why on earth would the right to wear a costume be more important than the lived experience of an entire peoples? Pick up your socks and grow some empathy – it’s no longer acceptable to be socially incompetent and unaware.