Offensive Halloween Costume?

Dr_Noface · Post by **Dr_Noface** » Sun Oct 20, 2013 3:09 pm

Is a white guy wearing whiteface (ie white facepaint, blue eye contacts, and a blond wig) offensive? I don't want to get my ass kicked.

Username17 · Post by **Username17** » Sun Oct 20, 2013 4:08 pm

Dr_Noface wrote:Is a white guy wearing whiteface (ie white facepaint, blue eye contacts, and a blond wig) offensive? I don't want to get my ass kicked.

Sounds like it would mostly draw blank looks, because "white face" isn't really a thing. People would mostly guess you were playing someone in particular, and the joke would probably be totally lost on everyone.

Actually explaining it to people would possibly get your ass kicked, depending on how you drew the "blackface" analogy.

-Username17

Mask_De_H · Post by **Mask_De_H** » Sun Oct 20, 2013 4:44 pm

Yeah, it's too "high concept" for most people to get, and when someone gets it, you're probably gonna get your fucking head kicked in.

Now if you were black, Asian or Latino and did it, you'd make a lot of people want to kick your ass, but feel hogtied by murky race relations.

Dr_Noface · Post by **Dr_Noface** » Sun Oct 20, 2013 6:32 pm

I thought it would be a clever jab at people who think blackface is a good thing. But I guess it makes light of a serious issue?

Chamomile · Post by **Chamomile** » Sun Oct 20, 2013 7:15 pm

There are people who think blackface is a good thing?

Stahlseele · Post by **Stahlseele** » Sun Oct 20, 2013 7:43 pm

probably the same people who think dressing up in a white sheet and a pointy hat and calling it a ghost is a good idea . .

...You Lost Me · Post by **...You Lost Me** » Sun Oct 20, 2013 8:36 pm

People do indeed think blackface is ok. And people also think dressing up as an indian is ok.

Dr. Noface, I think it's funny, but I have thicker skin than most. I would love to see a picture though.

Kaelik · Post by **Kaelik** » Sun Oct 20, 2013 9:10 pm

...You Lost Me wrote:People do indeed think blackface is ok. And people also think dressing up as an indian is ok.

And people think the earth is flat. But the test for whether or not something is a good halloween costume is not "does it mock something that at least two people in the entire world think is okay?" For a costume that exists specifically to mock a group of people, they have to be more than .01% of the population and the people you are wearing the costume around have to know at least one person who falls into that category.

Neither of those is going to be true for people who think blackface is okay.

tussock · Post by **tussock** » Sun Oct 20, 2013 10:46 pm

Halloween's supposed to be about making light of the things that people used to be genuinely afraid of, but that don't actually exist. So even considering there was rather a lot of people killed for being witches, they're not real, so it's a fine costume. Being a slave is not cool at all, because it was real.

Blackface, real thing, no. Secular War on Halloween, not real, but too abstract. NSA checking how much candy you're giving out, uh, well, that's, .... Muslims out to enforce Islamic law in the US, not real, but might get you shot anyway.

But come on, D&D. Pick a random entry in the monster manual, go raiding the villagers. Want to make a political point, make it as an Orc, like they do in Eberron.

...You Lost Me · Post by **...You Lost Me** » Sun Oct 20, 2013 10:47 pm

I assume your .01% figure is based on the people you know, and that makes you weird to me because my figure is something like 40%.

And I'm going out on a limb (REALLY REALLY FAR OUT) and assuming that if someone thinks about a joke, then they probably thought about that joke because they know people to make fun of with that joke. And if they know people to make fun of with that joke, chances are pretty high that their local demographic will also know people to make fun of with that joke.

PhoneLobster · Post by **PhoneLobster** » Sun Oct 20, 2013 11:57 pm

Chamomile wrote:There are people who think blackface is a good thing?

Sure, in Australia we still manufacture and widely distribute the related merchandise products.

You know. In between evacuating or not evacuating all Australian staff from our off shore concentration camps for brown refugees in a quantum state of government secrecy revolving around an unknown event that TOTALLY didn't happen so stop asking about it.

edit: Really Australia? REALLY?

Koumei · Post by **Koumei** » Mon Oct 21, 2013 12:19 am

Yeah, we really need to provoke another country into nuking us, that will at least bury the shame of that shit.

This Halloween, I will apparently be on the "giving candy to Trick-or-Treaters" duty while the others are out (doing the responsible thing where adults accompany kids, because encouraging kids to go on their own to houses of strangers and request sweets is... yeah). Note that:
A) For an Australian who's never been in England, I'm so British I shit the Queen
B) I disapprove of people having fun
C) THIS IS NOT AMERICA

So it's tempting to just shout "THIS IS NOT AMERICA!" and throw things at them.

Grek · Post by **Grek** » Mon Oct 21, 2013 12:52 am

So. Speaking of inappropriate things to do this Halloween:

I own a tarantula. And, as a result, I happen to have dozens of spare tarantula moltings. Would it be wrong to "offer" children a nice big bowl of spider legs before getting out the candy?

Shrapnel · Post by **Shrapnel** » Mon Oct 21, 2013 1:16 am

No, it would not be wrong, it would be fucking awesome.

DSMatticus · Post by **DSMatticus** » Mon Oct 21, 2013 1:43 am

Spare the young'ins. Actually, spare everyone. Tarantula moltings are horrifying. They look worse than actual tarantulas.

K · Post by K » Mon Oct 21, 2013 3:38 am

Grek wrote:So. Speaking of inappropriate things to do this Halloween:

I own a tarantula. And, as a result, I happen to have dozens of spare tarantula moltings. Would it be wrong to "offer" children a nice big bowl of spider legs before getting out the candy?

Remember that children are stupid and will take whatever is offered. Expect to be punched in the face by an angry parent.

As for "is this racism?", the answer is always "yes" if you feel that you need to ask. Heck, it's often racism when you don't ask.

Dr_Noface · Post by **Dr_Noface** » Mon Oct 21, 2013 4:02 am

I've decided to go as a kitty cat.

Meikle641 · Post by **Meikle641** » Mon Oct 21, 2013 5:34 am

Halloween is my favourite holiday. After age 12 people would refuse to give me candy, but idgaf. I love it just the same. Whether I'm dressing up or handing out candy, I love it. Just wish my street had more kids showing up for candy. But demographics are what they are for the area.

K · Post by K » Mon Oct 21, 2013 5:53 am

Meikle641 wrote:Halloween is my favourite holiday. After age 12 people would refuse to give me candy...

Ask for limes for your tequila. People will do a double-take and then bring you limes. For the tequila.

Although I once got cheesecake instead that I was only allowed to eat while a pretty Brit college girl sat in my lap. That was fun.

Prak · Post by **Prak** » Mon Oct 21, 2013 8:13 am

Koumei wrote:Yeah, we really need to provoke another country into nuking us, that will at least bury the shame of that shit.

This Halloween, I will apparently be on the "giving candy to Trick-or-Treaters" duty while the others are out (doing the responsible thing where adults accompany kids, because encouraging kids to go on their own to houses of strangers and request sweets is... yeah). Note that:
A) For an Australian who's never been in England, I'm so British I shit the Queen
B) I disapprove of people having fun
C) THIS IS NOT AMERICA

So it's tempting to just shout "THIS IS NOT AMERICA!" and throw things at them.

If you throw candy, they're unlikely to mind, but will still be perplexed, and the whole thing will still be hilarious. Bonus points if you say "the colonies" rather than America.

Grek wrote:I own a tarantula. And, as a result, I happen to have dozens of spare tarantula moltings. Would it be wrong to "offer" children a nice big bowl of spider legs before getting out the candy?

The fact that you say spare implies you have some which aren't spare, ie, being used for something...

Shrapnel wrote:No, it would not be wrong, it would be fucking awesome.

+1

Whipstitch · Post by **Whipstitch** » Mon Oct 21, 2013 4:27 pm

I'm trying to come up with a scenario in which people wouldn't think the OP was a mime and failing.

Stahlseele · Post by **Stahlseele** » Mon Oct 21, 2013 4:41 pm

kinda fitting?

Chamomile · Post by **Chamomile** » Mon Oct 21, 2013 5:20 pm

Prak_Anima wrote:
Koumei wrote:Yeah, we really need to provoke another country into nuking us, that will at least bury the shame of that shit.

This Halloween, I will apparently be on the "giving candy to Trick-or-Treaters" duty while the others are out (doing the responsible thing where adults accompany kids, because encouraging kids to go on their own to houses of strangers and request sweets is... yeah). Note that:
A) For an Australian who's never been in England, I'm so British I shit the Queen
B) I disapprove of people having fun
C) THIS IS NOT AMERICA

So it's tempting to just shout "THIS IS NOT AMERICA!" and throw things at them.
If you throw candy, they're unlikely to mind, but will still be perplexed, and the whole thing will still be hilarious. Bonus points if you say "the colonies" rather than America.

Prak, Australia is the colonies. They're just more well-behaved is all.

Koumei · Post by **Koumei** » Tue Oct 22, 2013 5:10 am

Chamomile wrote:They're just more well-behaved is all.

Prak · Post by **Prak** » Tue Oct 22, 2013 6:22 am

I wasn't sure if they were still a colony, what with their own PM and all.

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Offensive Halloween Costume?

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