After reading about the town that banned clown costumes for Halloween, I started thinking about what kinds of costumes are banned on Halloween. Let’s make a list! Any type of ban is OK, school, family, work, state, etc.
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Adult Clown Costumes Banned from NC Halloween Festival[/ul]
http://www.wfmynews2.com/news/weird/adult-clown-costumes-banned-from-nc-halloween-festival/337154377
I once had to appear in traffic court on Halloween, and quite a few people came before the judge wearing Halloween costumes. They explained to the judge they worked in retail, were required to wear costumes, and were taking time off work to appear in court.
Many universities discourage ethnic costumes, calling them racist stereotypes. Even Donald Trump costumes are suspect at some PC universities due to his proclivities. You can’t buy an Indian headdress or angry clown costume at some local stores.
Probably a good thing, though some claim it takes the fun out of a holiday. I disagree, the least creative costumes are the same ones likely to offend – dress up as something better.
I don’t know if there are laws against it, but dressing up as Hitler or a Nazi officer would undoubtedly offend many people. As would dressing up as a Klansman.
There was at least one case where a high school made a student who dressed up as Jesus go home and change.
I know an elementary school where costumes that required knives, swords, or any toy weapon, were banned. And remember the older brother in E.T.? The one who had a fake hatchet chopped into his head? That kind of stuff is out too.
I think the city’s rule is stupid and an improper infringement on people’s 1st Amendment rights. I hope someone dresses as a clown and fights it in court.
Yeah, Prince Harry found that out.
Do the Brits still have “colonials and natives” costume parties? 
… water into wine?
the list of things the grade school kids cant wear this year in my local grade school district makes me go “why bother?”
No weapons (including star wars lightsabers and guns ) No masks nothing gory … and about 4 or 5 more common Halloween costume things …
This actually came up several years back when I was spending a weekend mid-October with a bunch of LEOs. One inner-city cop said if he saw anything like that he would run the person in for disturbing the peace or inciting to riot; it probably wouldn’t stick but he felt he had to try. Don’t know if he ever got the chance.
I once saw a woman in a long white robe with a purple emblem with an equilateral gold cross on it. It looked for all the world like a Klan robe. But she wasn’t wearing a hood, and she was just in a fast food restaurant ordering something. I surreptitiously (I hoped) got a closer look, and it turned out to be some kind of gi, for a dojo with an unfortunate emblem-- Klan emblems frequently have equilateral crosses. This one actually just turned out to be dividing the purple background into four areas labeled with very non-Klan ideals, like “Respect,” “Discipline,” and something that implied “defense, not offense”; I don’t remember the exact word, and then in words that needed to be bigger “[Something] Dojo of [Indiana city].”
The woman was wearing a down vest, so I could see them emblem on her shoulder and her chest, but I didn’t see her belt right away.
It got me feeling pretty riled, although I would not have confronted her just for wearing the thing (had it really been a Klan robe); however, if she had done anything at all that she needed to be called on, I would have called her out on it, just like I would have done if she hadn’t been wearing the robe/gi. Thing was, she had my attention because of the robe/gi.
How possible is it that a real Klansman would take advantage of Halloween to put on robes and try to hand out literature?
I would probably be less alert to someone in Klan-appearing robes on Halloween, but I’d think they were pretty stupid, and were maybe looking to get beat up, either from people who took them seriously, people who were offended by the costume as a concept, or maybe even KKK members who didn’t like the implication that it was a scary costume.
Al Jolson.
Earlier this year, some college students thought they saw a klansman walking around on their campus. Turns out the guy was a Dominican monk.
Germany announces ‘zero tolerance’ policy against creepy clowns ahead of Halloween
Taking advantage of Halloween to spread information with a pamphlet! How alarming. They might reach 7 people with their message. Lol. Hope they don’t find the internet.
They still stand around in groups trying to recruit one-on-one in Indiana. I don’t know whether they hope to have more success with off-the-grid types who don’t have the internets, or whether the personal touch just helps.
Which is why students in Indiana being more familiar with Klansmen than Dominican monks is entirely understandable.
Plus, of course, they need to raise money. If people were less niggardly, they wouldn’t need to be out there.
How 'bout Aunt Jemima? Won a prize for that one way back when.:smack:
On the last Friday of most months, the excellent Honolulu Museum of Art has an event called Art after Dark. It’s basically a big party in the courtyards of this beautiful building. The galleries and even the gift shop are open. Admission is $25, but the wife and I get in free since we’re Supporting Members of the museum. The one this past Friday night had a Halloween theme of course, and clown costumes were specifically banned along with any toy weapons (real ones too).