SydLexia.com - The Forums :: View topic - Ohio Students against "Racist" Halloween Costumes

Posted: Oct 27 2011 09:22 pm

haha that sarah jessica parker one is hilarious

Joined: Mar 18 2010 Location: Tuonela Posts: 299

After reading this topic, I feel lonely, again.

Those who are not targeted by the alleged racism, are not the ones to ask whether the stuff in question is offensive. "Racism" might be a wrong word in some cases, but the logic is similar.

Stereotypes are twofold. They can be incredibly funny, and I play with them all the time. But I think it's simple-minded to think, that funny stereotypes can't be offensive. A person who comes from a group of people other than our own always knows & feels something we don't. The logic of being offended isn't always easy to grasp for an outsider. That doesn't make it less real.

Now people do overreact, and people are offended by different things. I know a few arabs, who really don't give a shit, even if they're associated with terrorism in the media all the time and in smaller details such as halloween costumes. Then there's japanese girls, who are offended by westerners using geisha-costumes & makeup (should be understandable even for us, if the geisha in question happened to be portrayed as a promiscuous etc.). Well, let's talk about it then. Let's agree what's appropriate and what isn't.

Joined: Dec 06 2007 Location: Connecticut Posts: 11244

username wrote:

haha that sarah jessica parker one is hilarious

I don't get it... there are simply two photos of Jessica Parker... what is the joke?

Joined: Jun 29 2010 Posts: 1818

Well, I for one encourage all the girls to go Brazilian this Halloween. Or always.

Posted: Oct 28 2011 09:17 am

Where do Juggalos stand on this?

Posted: Oct 28 2011 11:04 am

GPFontaine wrote:

username wrote:

haha that sarah jessica parker one is hilarious

I don't get it... there are simply two photos of Jessica Parker... what is the joke?

ZIIIING!

Joined: Aug 04 2009 Posts: 2515

Lol the Hogan one killed me... "brother".

Posted: Oct 28 2011 11:50 am

Vaenamoenen wrote:

After reading this topic, I feel lonely, again.

Those who are not targeted by the alleged racism, are not the ones to ask whether the stuff in question is offensive. "Racism" might be a wrong word in some cases, but the logic is similar.

Stereotypes are twofold. They can be incredibly funny, and I play with them all the time. But I think it's simple-minded to think, that funny stereotypes can't be offensive. A person who comes from a group of people other than our own always knows & feels something we don't. The logic of being offended isn't always easy to grasp for an outsider. That doesn't make it less real.

Now people do overreact, and people are offended by different things. I know a few arabs, who really don't give a shit, even if they're associated with terrorism in the media all the time and in smaller details such as halloween costumes. Then there's japanese girls, who are offended by westerners using geisha-costumes & makeup (should be understandable even for us, if the geisha in question happened to be portrayed as a promiscuous etc.). Well, let's talk about it then. Let's agree what's appropriate and what isn't.

I think if you're insulted by anyone at all who is not a certain ethnicity dressing up as that ethnicity for halloween, you need to relax a bit. I see nothing wrong with someone dressing up as a geisha for halloween.

Geishas are well documented in Japanese history and are still around today. They were "living works of art" who were to be well-versed in music, conversation, and so forth. Men paid absurd amounts to just spend time with some of the best geishas, and yes many of them were also prostitutes, albeit some very well paid ones. Nothing I've just said was racist; it was fact. If someone dresses up and acts out facts, is that racist? Can only a Japanese person dress up as a geisha and pretend to be one for halloween? Aren't you then being racist yourself by saying only Japanese are allowed to wear a geisha's clothing?

I'm not saying you specifically but as a more general "you". I think people are a little too on-edge and taking the whole political-correctness too far. It's Halloween. We dress up and have fun. Relax. Very Happy

Posted: Oct 28 2011 12:08 pm

Perhaps I was a little too critical when I first saw these. I understand the point, but I feel like they did a godawful job of getting it across. The terrorist one would be offensive to someone from the Middle East, but it would probably also offend people who have lost friends and family to terrorism too. The poster, calling it a culture, seems just as offensive as to me. Maybe a better way of showing something like that would be showing that picture and then showing people looking at a destroyed building or a perhaps a little kid looking at a soldier's coffin with the tag "I wonder if they think it's funny." Crass, crude, and a little offensive in of itself? Yes, but also much more likely to be effective.

Also, perhaps someone should explain why the Geisha one is offensive? I don't quite get that one.

Joined: Apr 09 2008 Location: Pennsylvania Posts: 3112

It seems more like a lack of self-awareness. I don't think any of the goobers who wear these truly hate anybody. By showing up looking like one of those cartoon comics that neo-nazis like to hand out, you are unfunny and making everyone uncomfortable because you probably want to start an argument and tell everyone to "lighten up." Nobody wants to have to deal with your shitty sense of humor and childlike warblings about "PC culture." Just throw a sheet over your head and have a good time.

Posted: Oct 28 2011 08:42 pm

semi related...
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/story/2011/10/26/calgary-scary-halloween-ban.html

Quote:

Some parents say a ban on scary Halloween costumes at two Calgary elementary schools is going too far.

Staff at the Colonel Walker and Ramsay schools in the southeast, which have the same principal under Michelle Speight, have banned costumes that come with masks, weapons and “gruesome" makeup.

“It is going a little too far, and a lot of parents have been very upset because they just want their children to express themselves,” said Heather Cameron, a student’s parent at Colonel Walker.

Parents of the students are being asked to swap violent or scary costumes for more “caring” outfits instead.

retarded

Joined: Mar 18 2010 Location: Tuonela Posts: 299

BlazingGlory wrote:

Also, perhaps someone should explain why the Geisha one is offensive? I don't quite get that one.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stereotypes_of_East_Asians_in_the_Western_world#.22China_doll.22_stereotype

Of course I agree with everything that aika said.

Joined: Apr 09 2008 Location: Pennsylvania Posts: 3112

The geisha were courtesans, but they were not strictly prostitutes. Most true geisha had to learn how to entertain themselves and others, and usually developed many talents in music, art, and performance. Unfortunately, the average westerner views them either as just random painted women/servants, or strictly as prostitutes, so if you're Japanese and aware of these misconceptions, it may seem doubly offensive, but I doubt most Japanese people would make a fuss over it.

Joined: Apr 13 2011 Location: 127.0.0.1 Posts: 27

username wrote:

semi related...
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/story/2011/10/26/calgary-scary-halloween-ban.html

Quote:

Some parents say a ban on scary Halloween costumes at two Calgary elementary schools is going too far.

Staff at the Colonel Walker and Ramsay schools in the southeast, which have the same principal under Michelle Speight, have banned costumes that come with masks, weapons and “gruesome" makeup.

“It is going a little too far, and a lot of parents have been very upset because they just want their children to express themselves,” said Heather Cameron, a student’s parent at Colonel Walker.

Parents of the students are being asked to swap violent or scary costumes for more “caring” outfits instead.

retarded

Wow, now that is some crazy level of stupid right there.

Posted: Oct 31 2011 07:07 pm

I just hate how people view "being offended" as the one thing that must be avoided beyond everything else in the world. I understand avoiding violence and the like, but what the hell does it matter if someone gets offended? I get frustrated with an assortment of things on a daily basis, but I get the fuck over it. I don't go and campaign against things simply because they might offend me. Heaven forbid anyone ever be offended by anything, could you just imagine how unpleasant that could be?

Posted: Oct 31 2011 11:47 pm

Joined: Mar 18 2010 Location: Tuonela Posts: 299

Buzzed27 wrote:

I just hate how people view "being offended" as the one thing that must be avoided beyond everything else in the world. I understand avoiding violence and the like, but what the hell does it matter if someone gets offended?

Yeah! Why don't we still make ads like this one below. Who cares if somebody is offended!

[/sarcasm]

Posted: Nov 01 2011 04:13 am

So that is how Michael Jackson did it! I knew those tales of a medical procedure were bullshit.

Posted: Nov 01 2011 09:27 am

Buzzed27 wrote:

I just hate how people view "being offended" as the one thing that must be avoided beyond everything else in the world. I understand avoiding violence and the like, but what the hell does it matter if someone gets offended? I get frustrated with an assortment of things on a daily basis, but I get the fuck over it. I don't go and campaign against things simply because they might offend me. Heaven forbid anyone ever be offended by anything, could you just imagine how unpleasant that could be?

I was called a lot of racist names in grade school and middle school, but I didn't realize any of them were supposed to be offensive until I learned what they meant in high school. By that time, people stopped calling me names completely.

Posted: Nov 01 2011 11:59 am

What sort of names did they call you? Creepy janitor? Creepy tall white guy? Creepy improv guy? Lewis?

Posted: Nov 02 2011 02:36 am

I never knew the term "porch monkey" until I watched Clerks 2.

Joined: Apr 09 2008 Location: Pennsylvania Posts: 3112

lordsathien wrote:

I never knew the term "porch monkey" until I watched Clerks 2.

I was one of the few people who cringed when he first said it, before it had to be explained. My family's from the south.

Posted: Nov 02 2011 11:06 am

When I saw I Love You, Man in the theatre, I laughed at the granny-on-a-sybian before it was explained. That was awkward.

Posted: Nov 02 2011 01:01 pm

Greg the White wrote:

lordsathien wrote:

I never knew the term "porch monkey" until I watched Clerks 2.

I was one of the few people who cringed when he first said it, before it had to be explained. My family's from the south.

i also didnt know about the Porch Monkey deal. its easy to figure out, but i never heard it in my life til Clerks 2

Posted: Nov 02 2011 05:45 pm

username wrote:

Greg the White wrote:

lordsathien wrote:

I never knew the term "porch monkey" until I watched Clerks 2.

I was one of the few people who cringed when he first said it, before it had to be explained. My family's from the south.

i also didnt know about the Porch Monkey deal. its easy to figure out, but i never heard it in my life til Clerks 2

Yeah Greg, I'm from the South and I'd never heard of it existing until then.