# Damn PC crap (Halloween related) **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 30, 2002, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-pc-crap-halloween-related/134584 "2002-10-30T18:48:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2002, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-pc-crap-halloween-related/134584/1 "2002-10-30T18:48:35Z")
My daughter is dressing up tomorrow for Halloween at her public school tomorrow. Except she can’t call it a Halloween costume. It a “Character from a Book” costume. Seems she can’t say Halloween because it might [neal boortz voice]oooofffeeeennnnnnddddd[/neal boortz voice] someone. I told her she could call it a Halloween costume, that she has a right to celebrate Halloween, and if the school has a problem with it to have them call me. If you don’t celebrate Halloween, fine. But you have no right to tell my daughter she can’t, or she can’t call her costume a Halloween costume. I’m half hoping she does get in trouble for uttering the dreaded “H” word, then Mommy can go to town and rip someone a new anal sphincter.:mad: :mad: :mad: ---
**Author:** ![Albert\_Rose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9de053/32.png) [@Albert\_Rose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Albert_Rose)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2002, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-pc-crap-halloween-related/134584/2 "2002-10-30T19:03:14Z")
Which school in Orlando? ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2002, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-pc-crap-halloween-related/134584/3 "2002-10-30T19:11:08Z")
I thought that we were required to call things “PC” only when they offended the Left. Hallowe’en would be offensive to (the fringe on the) Right, so we probably have to invent a new term for this rule. I suggest “stupid.” ---
**Author:** ![tisiphone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@tisiphone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tisiphone)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2002, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-pc-crap-halloween-related/134584/4 "2002-10-30T19:17:22Z")
Sigh. Ick. Semi-related rant - try explaining to an eight-year-old why he can’t dress up as an American Indian, with war paint and war bonnet and all the cool stuff that made it fun when I was eight. Yeah, I know it isn’t very accurate (well, then, nobody but actual Cherokee should be wearing ribbon shirts, and watch your beadwork - patterns are particular to specific tribes…). And I still fail completely to see why it is so very wrong. I don’t see the bigotry there that exists in the concept of blackface. I just think it’s another way some severely repressed, overwhelmingly unhealthily guilty people (or viciously bitter ones, takes yer pick) try to suck all the fun and enjoyment out of life. If it’s fun, it must be verboten! And yeah, I **do** happen to be of First Nations descent. Our take on this would be, if allowed, a point of pride. ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2002, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-pc-crap-halloween-related/134584/5 "2002-10-30T19:47:03Z")
That sucks. My son’s school is letting them come in costume. They said (I was there at the time) “not everyone celebrates Halloween, but you can come in your costume if you want to”. They aren’t allowed to come as anything scary, though. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2002, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-pc-crap-halloween-related/134584/6 "2002-10-30T20:34:10Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by AlbertRose \* > \*\*Which school in Orlando? \*\* It’s actually an elementary school in Lake County. Orlando is just the nearest city. Since you live in Mt. Dora, I will say the town starts and ends with an A and leave it at that. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2002, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-pc-crap-halloween-related/134584/7 "2002-10-30T20:48:36Z")
In New York, some Putnam and Westchester county schools[aren’t even allowing costumes](http://www.thejournalnews.com/newsroom/102302/23hallowschool.html)! Of interest to our Wiccan dopers in particular: > [@](#): > > Carrie Vogel, a Mount Pleasant mother of four, has long opposed Halloween in schools. Describing herself as a conservative Christian, she said that Halloween is a celebration of death, a night on which worshippers of Satan kill humans and animals. > > “Witchcraft is very real, and people aren’t educated that there are witches all over the place, including businessmen, teachers — it’s a growing thing and it is out of hand,” she said, adding she learned this information on a videotape, though she could not recall its source. > > “If it was just a Halloween party, we could just keep them home one day — it’s not a big deal,” Vogel said. Her problem is that such activities as chorus have Halloween themes for several weeks, requiring her to take her children out of school several times. ---
**Author:** ![LurkMeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2002, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-pc-crap-halloween-related/134584/8 "2002-10-30T21:28:45Z")
Got a memo at work the other day informing us of the time and place for the office day care center’s “Harvest Stroll.” This is what they call it when the kids walk through the building in costume (IIRC candy-giving was encouraged). Oddly enough, it’s going to be on Halloween. ---
**Author:** ![Blackeyes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f6c823/32.png) [@Blackeyes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blackeyes)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2002, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-pc-crap-halloween-related/134584/9 "2002-10-30T22:02:34Z")
My schools banned halloween costumes a long time ago. Today for Red Ribbon week (though a week earlier than most schools) we had “Wear a Hat Day”, the person with the witch’s hat had to take her’s off. Why, last week my mother told me of the golden years of the 70s, where at her high school the students tried to outdo one another with costume, and a group of football players wore the full cheerleader’s uniform one year. ---
**Author:** ![iampunha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/74df32/32.png) [@iampunha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iampunha)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2002, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-pc-crap-halloween-related/134584/10 "2002-10-30T22:06:16Z")
> [@](#): > > “Witchcraft is very real, and people aren’t educated that there are witches all over the place, including businessmen, teachers — it’s a growing thing and it is out of hand,” she said, adding she learned this information on a videotape, though she could not recall its source. Jack Chick makes videotapes? ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2002, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-pc-crap-halloween-related/134584/11 "2002-10-30T22:31:56Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by ivylass \* > \*\*My daughter is dressing up tomorrow for Halloween at her public school tomorrow. Except she can’t call it a Halloween costume. It a “Character from a Book” costume. Seems she can’t say Halloween because it might [neal boortz voice]oooofffeeeennnnnnddddd[/neal boortz voice] someone. > \*\* Let’s face it, people choose to take offense for the silliest of reasons. When I was a kid I attended a lot of schools since we moved around a lot and in every one of them we had Christmas and Hanukkah, Valentine’s Day, Halloween, and Thanksgiving decorations and activities at the appropriate time of year. I’ve always thought it took a real tight ass to get upset over some decorations or musical numbers played by the orchestra or band. To many people are overly sensitive. We might laugh at the religious nuts who think halloween will corrupt their children. If so we should also laugh at those who call a Christmas tree a “Holiday” tree. Marc ---
**Author:** ![MissTake](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misstake/32/3189_2.png) [@MissTake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MissTake)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2002, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-pc-crap-halloween-related/134584/12 "2002-10-30T22:37:01Z")
The Halloween party is still on, but there will not be costumes or the customary “parade” at LilMiss’s school. Their reasoning is 1) cost of costumes 2) some children who do not celebrate Halloween and 3) rules out dealing with non-PC costumes. Wonder how much of has to with MissTake at the PTSO meeting telling one Minivan Momma that if my Miss cannot wear her witch costume (cuz it’s the _deeeevvvillll_ yanno), her Kaitlyn cannot wear her angel costume (darned X-tians 😉 ). ---
**Author:** ![Arden\_Ranger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b487fb/32.png) [@Arden\_Ranger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arden_Ranger)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2002, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-pc-crap-halloween-related/134584/13 "2002-10-30T23:05:30Z")
People have just gotten fucking stupid. My grandmother, a shining example of all good things about Christainity, loved Halloween. She either made or helped make our costumes for years, hosted parties and was among the loudest protesting when the Baptist church she had belonged to for years started slamming down on Halloween, saying “the next thing you know, they’ll be telling the kids they can’t play Let’s Pretend anymore.” Damned if she wasn’t right. It’s not PC to play Cowboy and Indians or Cops and Robbers or let your kids run around playing soldiers with plastic guns anymore. Everytime Josh starts playing war with one of the other kids around here some busy body has to come knock on my damn door to inform me that I’m raising a murderer. :rolleyes: No, I’m not. But he might be being raised by one, you stupid bitch. Stupid. They’re all just stupid. ---
**Author:** ![Albert\_Rose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9de053/32.png) [@Albert\_Rose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Albert_Rose)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2002, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-pc-crap-halloween-related/134584/14 "2002-10-30T23:29:35Z")
I simply do not understand this idea: “Don’t use the word _Halloween_.” I like the idea of dressing up like a character from a book, and I like the idea of keeping the kiddies from caricaturing other cultures, but come now. At another school in Lake County (Mount Dora High), we actually had 15 minutes at the end of the day (cut out of fourth period) where the students went from classroom to classroom, trick-or-treating. Their costumes all fit within the school dress code. It really added inestimably to the education process. I, of course, gave them little tiny math problems to do. Don’t you hate cheapos who do that? “No candy for you. Here, have some baking soda.” ---
**Author:** ![tisiphone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@tisiphone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tisiphone)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2002, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-pc-crap-halloween-related/134584/15 "2002-10-31T00:42:04Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by AlbertRose \* > \*\*I like the idea of dressing up like a character from a book, and I like the idea of keeping the kiddies from caricaturing other cultures, but come now. \*\* Cool. No more Disney Aladdin or Jasmine costumes! No Disney Pocahontas! No ninjas or samurai! Arguably, no pirates, as it shows insensitivity to seafaring cultures! No princes and princesses, as it implies feelings of superiority! No knights, as it reinforces a culture of violence! As I said, I can see banning blackface, but holy smokes, let’s keep some perspective here. Sorry, **Albert**. It’s just that one little part of your post that illustrates my problem with the overly-PC. And for all I know, had little to nothing to do with my whine. ---
**Author:** ![catsix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e19b73/32.png) [@catsix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/catsix)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2002, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-pc-crap-halloween-related/134584/16 "2002-10-31T01:04:18Z")
> [@](#): > > **reposted by Jeff Olsen** > _"Witchcraft is very real, and people aren’t educated that there are witches all over the place, including businessmen, teachers —_ And engineers. Witches are engineers too. And at work, where people have put up things that say ‘Happy Halloween’, I have put up things that say ‘Blessed Samhuinn’. Last year when someone told me that I should keep my ‘Pagan crap out of a good, fun holiday’ I happily informed them that if they keep their ‘Christian crap’ out of it, I’ll keep my ‘Pagan crap’ out of it. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2002, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-pc-crap-halloween-related/134584/17 "2002-10-31T01:16:39Z")
> [@](#): > > Last year when someone told me that I should keep my ‘Pagan crap out of a good, fun holiday’ I happily informed them that if they keep their ‘Christian crap’ out of it, I’ll keep my ‘Pagan crap’ out of it. Oh, God, I can’t stop laughing at that. “Keep your pagan crap out of halloween!” The guy’s probably pissed about the blacks ruining Kwanzaa, or the Jews co-opting Hanukah. Some people are just so _stupid_! ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2002, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-pc-crap-halloween-related/134584/18 "2002-10-31T01:36:32Z")
This seems like a good place to add this link. [http://store.yahoo.com/brandsonsale-store/pimdadsuitch.html](http://store.yahoo.com/brandsonsale-store/pimdadsuitch.html) ---
**Author:** ![hazel-rah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/73ab20/32.png) [@hazel-rah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hazel-rah)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2002, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-pc-crap-halloween-related/134584/19 "2002-10-31T02:00:46Z")
> [@](#): > > Oh, God, I can’t stop laughing at that. “Keep your pagan crap out of halloween!” [http://www.salon.com/books/feature/2002/10/28/halloween/index.html](http://www.salon.com/books/feature/2002/10/28/halloween/index.html) ---
**Author:** ![fizzestothetop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e79b87/32.png) [@fizzestothetop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fizzestothetop)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2002, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-pc-crap-halloween-related/134584/20 "2002-10-31T02:03:08Z")
I just got done baking some Mummy Cookies for the Halloween ‘get together’ in my 3rd grade class (we can’t call it a party because we only get two parties a year and the teacher saves those for Christmas and Valentines Day). There are Halloween themed decorations all over the school (ghosts on one bullitin board, spiders on another, paper Jack-o-Lanterns hanging above classroom doors) and nobody has made a fuss about it yet. Kinda surprising considering I live in the Bible belt and this area is crawling with ‘Good Southern Baptists’. I’m not complainin’ though and neither are the kids. Who would want to blow a perfectly good excuse to have a party at school? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-pc-crap-halloween-related/134584.md?page=2)