# School District Cancels Halloween So As Not To Offend Real Witches
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/school-district-cancels-halloween-so-as-not-to-offend-real-witches/270492
**Category:** The BBQ Pit
**Created:** [October 21, 2004, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/school-district-cancels-halloween-so-as-not-to-offend-real-witches/270492 "2004-10-21T21:23:27Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 2
### Author:  [@duffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/duffer)
#### Post date: [October 22, 2004, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/school-district-cancels-halloween-so-as-not-to-offend-real-witches/270492/21 "2004-10-22T00:05:30Z")
Ya know, a few months ago I would’ve come in here berating **DtC** for something. Hell, anything I could think of. But since trying to get this knee-jerk supressor ™ to work, I see we’re not that far apart.
Oh, **Dio** , we still have fundamental issues we disagree on, but I’m proud to say I’m close to ignoring some aspects while agreeing with most other views you have. I hope you feel the same.
Though I’m not sure if that benefits you or me.
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### Author:  [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)
#### Post date: [October 22, 2004, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/school-district-cancels-halloween-so-as-not-to-offend-real-witches/270492/22 "2004-10-22T00:23:08Z")
Here’s what I wrote to the author of the piece:
> [@](#):
>
> I’ve been a Wiccan for going on six years now, and I think it’s dreadful that anyone would think Hallowe’en has to be cancelled out of some bizarre fear of offending us. Why on earth would I object to candy? I love candy. And costumes. Did any actual Wiccans complain about this, and if so, what were they on? Or did the school district just make this up out of whole cloth?
>
> I’m going to celebrate the sabbat of Samhain in the way I do so - with an appropriate ritual - and then I’m gonna put on a costume and go to a Hallowe’en ball. Halloween is one of the three most fun days of the year – along with your birthday and whatever midwinter festival you celebrate – and I sure as heck don’t want anyone to say my co-religionists and I tried to take it away from little kids.
>
> Seriously, I’m afraid I’m going to have to spend the next ten years arguing with people over ‘those nasty Wiccans who got Hallowe’en cancelled.’ And I really don’t want to have to deal with that.
>
> Please feel free to forward this comment to the school district, if it seems appropriate.
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### Author:  [@Taters](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taters)
#### Post date: [October 22, 2004, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/school-district-cancels-halloween-so-as-not-to-offend-real-witches/270492/23 "2004-10-22T01:14:43Z")
Hah! I _live_ in Puyallup and this is the most assinine thing I have ever heard. One of the news stations even interviewed a Wiccan who found this whole thing stupid. Everyone around here just thinks it’s incredibly stupid. They complain that Halloween parties or parades take time away from the students’ learning. That is just a load of crap. Every Wednesday the kids in the elementary schools have half days. The junior high students are released an hour early on Wednesday. Hello??!! Doesn’t this too take away from the students’ learning time?
Everything is just becoming way too PC.
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### Author:  [@Terrifel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terrifel)
#### Post date: [October 22, 2004, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/school-district-cancels-halloween-so-as-not-to-offend-real-witches/270492/24 "2004-10-22T01:21:58Z")
Something tells me that the Puyallup school district’s justification re: witches is entirely bogus. I’d bet good money that the district itself never recieved a single complaint. Still, it’s nice to know that someone is taking steps in the right direction, just in case there is a large subculture of thin-skinned, easily offended witches in Washington State.
Witch no. 1: So, how are you going to celebrate Halloween this year?
Witch no. 2: I can’t, I’m a Baphomet’s Witness.
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### Author:  [@FisherQueen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FisherQueen)
#### Post date: [October 22, 2004, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/school-district-cancels-halloween-so-as-not-to-offend-real-witches/270492/25 "2004-10-22T01:26:20Z")
When we read “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe” in my English class, a few of my Wiccan students were bothered by the portrayal of the evil witch. We took three minutes of class to draw stick people on the board. “Storybook witch” with black hat, pointy nose, broomstick, wart “=scary.” “Real witch” as a perfectly normal teenaged girl smiling “= not scary.” The little Wiccans laughed.
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### Author:  [@tiny\_ham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tiny_ham)
#### Post date: [October 22, 2004, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/school-district-cancels-halloween-so-as-not-to-offend-real-witches/270492/26 "2004-10-22T02:03:48Z")
Having known a few ‘witches’ in college with their black lipstick and KORN t-shirts, I’m here to tell you: they = scary
😃
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### Author:  [@danceswithcats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/danceswithcats)
#### Post date: [October 22, 2004, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/school-district-cancels-halloween-so-as-not-to-offend-real-witches/270492/27 "2004-10-22T02:08:22Z")
> [@jarbabyj](#):
>
> Having known a few ‘witches’ in college with their black lipstick and KORN t-shirts, I’m here to tell you: they = scary
>
> 😃
Some females do the whole Goth makeup thing and look _smokin’ hot!_😉
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### Author:  [@pokey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pokey)
#### Post date: [October 22, 2004, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/school-district-cancels-halloween-so-as-not-to-offend-real-witches/270492/28 "2004-10-22T02:20:42Z")
> [@Terrifel](#):
>
> Something tells me that the Puyallup school district’s justification re: witches is entirely bogus. I’d bet good money that the district itself never recieved a single complaint.
I get the same impression from the article. First of all, it says they had 3 reasons for cancelling, the first being that it’s a big waste of classroom time. I think the odds are pretty good that not only was the witch thing a rationalization, but that it was over-emphasized by the author of the piece since two paragraphs about wasting classroom time on parties wouldn’t be spicy enough.
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### Author:  [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)
#### Post date: [October 22, 2004, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/school-district-cancels-halloween-so-as-not-to-offend-real-witches/270492/29 "2004-10-22T02:24:58Z")
This _is_ pretty silly. I’d love to find out why the Board _really_ decided to shut down the parties.
(Any chance that they were prompted by Fundy agitators, but wanted to create scapegoats to blame?)
Of course, there is an object lesson, here, for anyone who decides to invent their own new religion: don’t pick a name for your members that has always meant “evil doer” or “worker of evil on others.” It tends to make it hard to get any respect. It would be as if we created a new religion and called ourselves Trolls or Sockpuppets or Accountants or Programmers.
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### Author:  [@JoeSki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoeSki)
#### Post date: [October 22, 2004, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/school-district-cancels-halloween-so-as-not-to-offend-real-witches/270492/30 "2004-10-22T02:35:33Z")
I swear, twenty five years from now, Public schools aren’t going to be anything more than a place for The Powers That Betm to play a game. The object will be to build curriculums without using any information that could possibly invoke any emotion in anyone. If a child ends up caring about something, the entire teacher and administration commitee is fired.
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### Author:  [@vanilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vanilla)
#### Post date: [October 22, 2004, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/school-district-cancels-halloween-so-as-not-to-offend-real-witches/270492/31 "2004-10-22T02:49:12Z")
I was surprised when my son’s elementary school is having a Harvest Party- no costumes.
I’m going to ask why.
Odd.
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### Author:  [@Terrifel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terrifel)
#### Post date: [October 22, 2004, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/school-district-cancels-halloween-so-as-not-to-offend-real-witches/270492/32 "2004-10-22T02:50:39Z")
> [@Taters](#):
>
> Hah! I _live_ in Puyallup and this is the most assinine thing I have ever heard.
Thanks for weighing in, **Taters** , since it gives me the opportunity to ask the \*real \* question that everyone reading this thread has no doubt been wondering: what the hell kind of name for a place is “Puyallup,” anyway? It sounds like one of those mythical frontier beasts like the jackalope or the hodag. Is it by any chance a Native American term meaning “land of cranky witches?”
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### Author:  [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)
#### Post date: [October 22, 2004, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/school-district-cancels-halloween-so-as-not-to-offend-real-witches/270492/33 "2004-10-22T03:09:44Z")
The problem with opposing the witches, though, is they can turn you into a newt.
Or, they could cast one of those spells that cause you to fall in love with really ugly people. I understand that this is what happened to Angelina Jolie.
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### Author:  [@pokey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pokey)
#### Post date: [October 22, 2004, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/school-district-cancels-halloween-so-as-not-to-offend-real-witches/270492/34 "2004-10-22T05:28:26Z")
They should call the good witches “witches,” and the bad ones “wiotches.”
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### Author:  [@ouryL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ouryL)
#### Post date: [October 22, 2004, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/school-district-cancels-halloween-so-as-not-to-offend-real-witches/270492/35 "2004-10-22T05:30:07Z")
So ban witches instead!!
:eek: :eek: 😃
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### Author:  [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)
#### Post date: [October 22, 2004, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/school-district-cancels-halloween-so-as-not-to-offend-real-witches/270492/36 "2004-10-22T06:03:34Z")
OMFG
:wally
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### Author:  [@Cinnamon\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cinnamon_Girl)
#### Post date: [October 22, 2004, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/school-district-cancels-halloween-so-as-not-to-offend-real-witches/270492/37 "2004-10-22T06:42:57Z")
> [@Diogenes the Cynic](#):
>
> The Puyallup school district in Washington State has decided to [url=http://www.theksbwchannel.com/education/3839571/detail.htmlcancel school Halloween parties because of whining from Wiccans.
>
> This kind of crap is stupid when Christians do it and it’s just as stupid when Wiccans do it.
>
> A Halloween witch costume has fuck all to do with neopaganism or modern witchcraft. It’s not an insult. Its just kids having fun. Get over yourselves. My 5 year old girl already has her witch costume picked out. It has a broom and everything. Suck on that!
Honey, is that you? Trippy. Mr. Cinnamon ( **Norwegian Blue** , respectfully) and I were discussing this earlier today. He said exactly the same as you, pointing out that our 5 year old daughter is also a going to be a witch this year. He (being a pagan) is not in the least offended by this. As a matter of fact, we are quite proud she chose to be as I am a witch every year on this one day (the other 364 I’m just a plain ole agnostic).
I reminded him that her school is not allowing costumes to be worn to school. I was going to let it go, but this is getting out of hand. She’s in kindergarten, fer crissakes! Isn’t she entitled to have an imagination? Dang it all if we can’t get her to stop donning her dress-up clothes on daily basis. (“Oh, why can’t I wear my ballerina outfit to the mall? Why?”)
Now, on the one day it’s supposed to be okay to go out in your dress-up clothes, they won’t let ya? I think maybe we should take her to school in her witch costume anyway. With any luck the principal will have kittens when she see’s the Grim Reaper, a Witch, and a mini-witch with black /pink leggings and a nifty purple sparkle broom gliding proudly down the hall.
This world has gone mad, I tell ya. ☹
> [@pokey](#):
>
> They should call the good witches “witches,” and the bad ones “wiotches.”
OMFG! That slayed me! 😃
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### Author:  [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)
#### Post date: [October 22, 2004, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/school-district-cancels-halloween-so-as-not-to-offend-real-witches/270492/38 "2004-10-22T06:50:11Z")
> [@The King of Soup](#):
>
> I’d point out that Wiccan objections are just the third of three reasons the school district gave for their decision, but someone would just come along to point out that the first two exist every year without having had an effect until now, so are likely just proferred as a smoke screen.
You may very well be right, and the district was likely just looking for as many reasons as it could think of. In any case, this is dumb.
If it’s a waste of class time, cancel the parades and don’t let the kids out early. They won’t like it, but nobody will die.
#2 is just more of the stupid, handicapper-general bullshit we’re seeing more and more of in America today.
#3 is also stupid.
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### Author:  [@Cinnamon\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cinnamon_Girl)
#### Post date: [October 22, 2004, 7:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/school-district-cancels-halloween-so-as-not-to-offend-real-witches/270492/39 "2004-10-22T07:19:04Z")
I just noticed on **Dio** ’s link, there are several links at the bottom right of the page with “more education news.” Here are the headlines:
\> School Afraid Of Offending Real Witches Cancels Halloween
\> Migraines Common In School-Age Children, Survey Says
\> Teacher Wins Right To Lead After-School Religious Club
Is it any wonder our poor kids are copping migraines? They can only be reeling with all these mexed missages.
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### Author:  [@Kallessa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kallessa)
#### Post date: [October 22, 2004, 7:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/school-district-cancels-halloween-so-as-not-to-offend-real-witches/270492/40 "2004-10-22T07:52:50Z")
I have known both Wiccans and Witches that were bothered by the pointy-nosed portrayal of witches (the ones that really got them were the witches that could be stuck on a tree or post so it looks like they flew into it). They felt that Halloween did feed into the myth that witchcraft and/or magic is inherently evil (because ugly = evil), as does all those fairy tales with the witch in the woods. Many Wiccans trace the name (Wicca and/or witch) back to variants of “wise-woman” and point out that many such wise-women, who lived apart from town and were often knowledgeable on the medicinal uses of herbs, were often the targets for medieval witch hunts, mostly because they did not fit the norm. Of course, these same people often claim to be genetic witches, or believe that Wiccan has been practiced in secret for thousands of years.
Our society has replaced the fear of witches that the original fairy tales celebrated, and has turned to scorn and ridicule, and that may be more difficult to accept (for some Wiccans or Witches) than the fear. They can’t, however, complained because society has taken their power by reducing them to a silly stereotype, so they protest instead that such depictions are disrespectful. In reality, Halloween witches are to Wiccans/Witches what Bugs Bunny is to rabbits–and people can love and laugh at Bugs, and still respect real, honest-to-the-Gods rabbits.
So dress your son or daughter in a business suit, complete with cell phone and leather briefcase, with clean, shiny hair and bright rosy faces, adorn them with pentacles of silver and mistletoe wreaths and send them to school as Witches for a New Generation.
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