Sara Varela
Editor-in-chief
With Halloween around the corner, we are about to witness a whole lot of nonsense in the media about some celebrity who was “insensitive” with their costume selection. We will also see all these random stories taking a 2-minute chunk of our local news broadcast on how these “offensive” costumes affect people and bla, bla, bla.
And in the Trump era, these kinds of debates really just contribute to a public growing tired of hearing “wolf!” for so long and it being false that when the real wolf comes along they discard it as more of the same. Also, making a big fuss out of some ridiculous Halloween costume when there’s so much more important things going on, not only seems stupid but it really is dangerous. Wondering why so many Americans say they dislike the media? Well, this is one of the reasons.
Besides, can costumes really ever be offensive? I don’t think so. Halloween is a silly holiday meant for people to have fun and, in today’s world, forget about the crazy news for a few hours. The last thing people need is to be chased down for their costume choice. First, when we hear about an “offensive” costume we should ask: offensive to whom?
I’m sure most of us remember Chris Hemsworth, aka Thor, apologizing last year for his “offensive” Indian costume, which to be honest, I thought it was ridiculous of him to apologize. Why should he regret wearing a costume? Do Native Americans really care? Why do people assume that wearing a costume is offensive rather than a sign of admiration? And lastly, why was he the only one attacked when, in the photo, so many other people are wearing similar costumes?
This whole environment of overly-apologetic people does not help in any sense. It goes from politics, to liberties, to rights, to so many aspects of life that are being distorted by this idiotic trend of celebrities and people on TV apologizing for everything. I swear, I know the day will come when people will apologize for ‘breathing too much’ or something of that sort.
Just out of curiosity, I decided to research online about costumes deemed “offensive” and found a Cosmopolitan article that I still can’t believe. According to Cosmopolitan, a “Bollywood Dancer,” a “Voodo Doll Princess” and a “Sexy Shooter” make the list of the 17 most offensive costumes. Really? Are we seriously so sick in the head that we can’t even handle a joke? Ever heard of a thing called sense of humor, or sarcasm, or just plain irony?
Who has the right to say a costume is offensive and tell people not to wear it? Nobody, that’s who. Also, it’s funny to see that the people that take this seriously aren’t usually those supposedly “affected” by it.
And just to be clear, if you consider something “offensive” or “insensitive” doesn’t mean everyone else does too. Also, you have the right to have an opinion and that should be respected. Now, if you are going to attack other people based on your opinion alone, then you’re out of line. If nobody is attacking you personally, you have no right to chase down somebody else for their Halloween costume and that’s it.
Finally, I believe it’s time a lot of people take a chill pill and learn how to choose their battles. Are you really willing to waste your time on nonsense or just be smart and know when you should really speak up on a real issue? I think we all should understand that it’s time we focus on stuff that really matters.