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Happy halloween!
October 31st, 2011 01:23 pmThis morning I lost my wallet. I thought I'd left it on the bus, and called the transit office with no luck. Within three hours, though, I got a call from the local highschool -- the wallet had apparently jumped out of my bag while I was walking past the school to city hall, and a student had picked it up and turned it into the office. Thank you, mystery student! It really brightened my day -- more so than if I hadn't lost the wallet to begin with.
In particular, it helped balance out the frustration about the unfortunate amount of race-fail* going around the internet this year in re: Halloween. It's very dispiriting to realize A) that cultural mockery is common enough in halloween costumes that the Culture-not-costume campaign needed to happen at all, and B) that so many people jump on the "you shouldn't be offended' band-wagon. I had no idea the insulting costumes were so damn prevalent -- chalk one up to having an above-average, awesome social circle, I suppose. Cultural stereotyping would never be an acceptable costume choice among my circle of friends. I'll readily admit to having probably over-stepped the appropriation line a time or two -- I certainly didn't mean to, but it can be hard to judge where appreciation crosses over. Most of the examples in question are issues of outright mockery. The meme mocking the campaign is one I can not enjoy.
Still, people should always be allowed to make themselves look like assholes. And everyone else should be allowed to call them on it. And then they're allowed to get all indignant.
Thus the circle continues.
(My costume this year is the mask in my icon, plus switching my wool coat out for my wool cloak.)
*Of course, any amount is unfortunate.
In particular, it helped balance out the frustration about the unfortunate amount of race-fail* going around the internet this year in re: Halloween. It's very dispiriting to realize A) that cultural mockery is common enough in halloween costumes that the Culture-not-costume campaign needed to happen at all, and B) that so many people jump on the "you shouldn't be offended' band-wagon. I had no idea the insulting costumes were so damn prevalent -- chalk one up to having an above-average, awesome social circle, I suppose. Cultural stereotyping would never be an acceptable costume choice among my circle of friends. I'll readily admit to having probably over-stepped the appropriation line a time or two -- I certainly didn't mean to, but it can be hard to judge where appreciation crosses over. Most of the examples in question are issues of outright mockery. The meme mocking the campaign is one I can not enjoy.
Still, people should always be allowed to make themselves look like assholes. And everyone else should be allowed to call them on it. And then they're allowed to get all indignant.
Thus the circle continues.
(My costume this year is the mask in my icon, plus switching my wool coat out for my wool cloak.)
*Of course, any amount is unfortunate.
