Tolerance Topics for October

Then I realized it hadn't been updated for 6 years. I don't want to give the impression that the companies they scolded then are still in trouble this year. However, it's still true, as their old press release said, that Halloween haunted houses and costumes often adopt mental illnesses as a theme-portraying people with mental illnesses as monsters, ghouls, or whatever else may go bump in the night. (NAMI is the National Institute on Mental Illness. Their site is interesting, but the Halloween resource is out of date.

Okay, I get the author's point about racial stereotypes, although I think some concepts, like say, the ninja, which are fantasy characters in one culture are fair game for costumes, especially as the ninja idea has been gleefully exported into our own, anyhow.

My problem with the article stems from the following bit:

"And I cannot count the many variations of the "evil witch" costume I see in stores each year. Those who practice Wicca, an ancient religion with tenets of spirituality and respect for the earth, see these wart-nosed, green caricatures as harmful and offensive representations of themselves and their beliefs. They also are a painful reminder of times when witches, or those thought to be, were persecuted and killed."

Why does this bug me, especially given that I'm nominally Wiccan? Frankly, I'm not a witch, at least not by the original freakin' English definition which has been in effect for hundreds of years, whilst the folklore character has been around much, much longer. Whilst many modern pagans proudly proclaim themselves witches, those persecuted during the witch hunts certainly wouldn't have done so. After all, they were being persecuted as malevolent sorceresses in league with the devil. THAT would be the meaning they held of the word 'witch', not some recently concocted, fuzzy bunny, 'white wizard' meaning now being demanded by many of my fellow pagans.

To give a true understanding, I'll use a more contemporary folklore character, the axe murderer. Now say some group of survivalists develop their own version of tree worship and start calling themselves axe murderers. In fact, they insist on being called such. Are we supposed to think that they are really just harmless survivalists living a life of freedom in the woods? Hell no! Why? Because we have a very definitive image of what an axe murderer is, that being some homocidaly sociopathic individual with a penchant for hacking up people with an axe. As such, it would be rather ridiculous for these 'Axe Murderers' to not only expect the rest of the world to think of axe murderers as benevolent foresters, but then to take umbrage at the production and enjoyment of slasher horror films, which 'clearly exploit' the 'stereotype' of the axe murderer, instead portraying axe murderers as they 'truly are'.

With this in mind, I am NOT going to take umbrage at some little kid (or even big kid), who decides to don some green make up and a pointy hat so they can dress as the malevolent sorceresses of European folklore. Those are part of MY culture and tradition and I refuse to abolish them simply because some recently arisen fringe culture (whether I'm part of it or not) is attempting to redefine a word, that has been in use for centuries, for the purpose of their own propaganda.

(Wow! I bet you didn't expect THAT rant coming, huh? :-p )

You know, I am with you, the vulture. There is too much PC in the world and most of it is so "sensitive" to everyone that it creates more trouble than anything else. A city council in London banned workers from asking for Black Coffee in their canteen cos "it might offend someone." Black thick bin bags fr garden or decorating waste have been banned as their color is "offensive" Yeah, right.

I don't think we should be "offended" for other ethic or religious minorities. I mean, there are graveyards in England who decided ALL people should be henceforth buried facing Mecca in case they offended those who believe this is the right thing to do! I kid you not. now that offends me.

The article had me remembering a friend I had locally when my son was 3-4 and we both took our kids to the same Mum & Toddler group. She said she wanted her son kept away from all violent TV and would never let him play with weapons, and gave me a long discourse on that. I listened to her and nodded sagely and then pointed to where the 2 boys were playing with the large Toddler Lego.
"Is that safe then?" I asked.
"Of course!"
"Love the swords they have made,"I said and pointed to what they had made - yep, 2 swords.
You cannot isolate him from TV or violence. He will get it in school, fro the outside world. Instead you gotta bring him up to see the good and bad of it. This is the same woman who praised her son for kicking the table when he tripped over it, for catching his foot and making him trip!
More real harm is done by those imagining insults to ethnic minorities than is actually done to them!

Literally for the gods' sake, let's leave Hallowe'en alone and let the kids enjoy themselves! At least here in the USA unlike the UK and Scotland where I grew up the church hasn't branded it Evil and prevented shops and schools from celebrating it! Remember what it is, a time to celebrate the last harvest of the year with a feast, to welcome the friendly dead to the hearth, and chase the evil ones away by dressing up and carrying lanterns. Don't burden children with messages of political correctness when they are young. They can't understand it, their brains just are not developed enough under 12 to understand those concepts. Teaching by example works far better.
Yes, another rant, sorry, but as a parent and as a teacher, I hate discrimination and those who would rob children of innocence and childhood, and having fun. If you are there to keep a finger on the pulse of what they do, they'll have the right attitudes without the PC rubbish.

Well, I wouldn't quite say completely disregard other cultures, even under 12. However, having said that, our own shouldn't be disregarded EITHER. And that's the issue with being too politically correct in this situation; in trying so earnestly to respect everyone else's traditions, we neglect our own.