Hallowe'en: The New Slant on Ethics and Political Correctness

Tiassa

Tiassa

Let us not launch the boat ...
Valued Senior Member
Source: Seattle Times
Link: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/editorialsopinion/2002070464_hallowed23.html
Title: "Halloween Grinches"
Date: October 23, 2004

No tricks, no treats, no Halloween fun. The Puyallup School District takes political correctness to an unnecessary low by canceling Halloween costume parades and parties at schools next week.

The School District cited two reasons for terminating Halloween activities during school hours: the need to devote more time to education and the desire not to offend Wiccan religious groups that take umbrage at costumes portraying witches as ugly, scary people with pointy noses and broomsticks. The desire to spend more time on school work is laudable, but in this context makes no sense. Halloween festivities take an hour or two, a small amount of time compared with the fun and student bonding generated.

The Wiccan argument is touchier, yet surmountable. If Puyallup has a lot of people offended by witch costumes, the district could recommend students wear other outfits. Halloween is about a lot more than witch costumes — ghosts, goblins and the latest Disney character. Canceling Halloween activities reveals a lack of creativity and smacks of political correctness run amok.

You should hear the national radio announcers making fun of the decision. (They can't pronounce Puyallup either).

For the sake of the children, school officials should relax a little and put the light back into the pumpkins.

Seattle Times
Click to expand...

(Note: With apologies to the editors of the Seattle Times, the above opinion is reproduced in its entirety.)

First, a word to the pagan community, with which I have many sympathies. Particularly, I would like to whoever is so oversensitive: Shut the hell up! By the Goddess, is this the best you can do?

That said, let me now turn my thoughts to the Puyallup School District: You're kidding, right? Right? What caffeinated moron thought of this riposte?

Maybe I should get some body paint and a loincloth and some chains and go around as a black slave for Hallowe'en. If the local black community for some reason resents that idea, I would hold myself answered.

Look, I understood when it was Disney and Bette Midler and that absolutely stupid film about witches. I understood when it was The Craft, or that obnoxious Sandra Bullock film the title of which thankfully escapes me.

But this is Hallowe'en! This is our time! Grotesques are part of the celebration of the Mystery. To protest at this level makes no sense to me: it is self-invalidating. It's not even the thought of an oppressed group taking up political clout in such a manner--after all, I question those who award you such clout. But I just don't get it: Why not change the cultural paradigm instead of bitching? It's well-known among the pagan community that despite the best of intentions and sentiments, community service ratios are off compared to other social identifications. Certes, witches are not supposed to be evangelical, but for crimineezus sake, people, what could possibly be more evangelical than asserting status and making demands?

How many goth kids dress up as evil Christian preachers each year? Don't we owe it to our Christian neighbors, then, to put a stop to this practice, too?

Of course not. Grotesques are part of the celebration.

Take this attitude against grotesques to Mardi Gras. Head on down to the Big Easy and see what it gets you. Hop a broomstick and spirit yourselves off to Rio for the party. Protest the grotesque, and see what it gets you.

And in either case, if you're lucky, you'll merely be laughed out of town. And in either case, it has nothing to do with political labels, but rather reverence for the Mystery you claim to celebrate.

This goes beyond religion, folks. This is ... well beyond my experience for oversensitivity among pagans. We didn't let the Christians kill Hallowe'en, so what gives this time?

Anyway, further reading, including news and commentary, below.
____________________

Notes:
Seattle Times. "Halloween Grinches". October 23, 2004. See http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/editorialsopinion/2002070464_hallowed23.html​

See Also -
Schram, Ken. "Tricked Out of a Treat". KOMOtv.com, October 21, 2004. See http://www.komotv.com/stories/33612.htm

Reece, Kevin. "School District Bans Halloween". KOMOtv.com, October 20, 2004. See http://www.komotv.com/stories/33602.htm

World Net Daily. "District bans Halloween so witches aren't offended". October 21, 2004. See http://worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=41029​
 
Interesting.
I remember that my primary school had simular restrictions in place, but because of the large number of Christians who were offended by the witch costumes.
 
I swear, I get closer to moving out of this country with each news article I read.
 
The real travesty here is not just that a bunch of kids are being cheated out of a holiday celebration so much as a public body giving any credence at all to wicca!

Take a 50 year old religion who's constituents consist today mainly of angsty teens with victim complexes who wanna' piss off mommy and daddy, and which isn't exactly a single religion so much as an ugly mish-mash and scraps of just about any old dead religion the little cretins could get their hands on, including worship of the Roman and Green pantheons or even still living traditions of eastern religions, add in a lot of haught and bragging and you've got wicca. The fact that they should have any claim to an ideal of witches or dark magic, ideas which were largely created by the Catholic Church is utterly ridiculous. The idea that these wiccans are somehow the spiritual heirs of any other dead religion is pretty ridiculous and quite a stretch to say the least.

Maybe next they'll have highschools dropping psychology 101 from their curriculums so as not to offend the Scientologists, that'd be a hoot.
 
A wiccan getting offended at the image of a which is like me deciding to call myself a centaur and getting pissed off every time someone points out that I am missing half of a horse. They co-opted the idea of a which that Christians created. They are being disrespectful to the Christians stupid beliefs, not the other way around.
 
Mystech said:
The real travesty here is not just that a bunch of kids are being cheated out of a holiday celebration so much as a public body giving any credence at all to wicca!

Take a 50 year old religion who's constituents consist today mainly of angsty teens with victim complexes who wanna'...
Click to expand...

Thank you.
I didn't have the patience to say all of that.
 
A wiccan getting offended at the image of a which is like me deciding to call myself a centaur and getting pissed off every time someone points out that I am missing half of a horse.
Click to expand...
As a connisseur of fine analogies I must give my props for that one.
 
You'd think
They'd have no milk, they'd
Have no honey
You'd think
They would prefer - petroleum
You'd think
they'd have rat's eyes
Not like Aunt sally
Yeah - you'd think
They wouldn't smile - just like your mum

Tanita Tikaram
"Feeding the Witches"​
 
Anyhow, as far as this whole issue goes, I can't help but wonder if the whole "offensive to Wiccans" excuse is as hoaky as it seems. It would seem to me that they might end up getting more flack from right-wing religious Christians who are upset that this Halloween falls on a Sunday. If the school wanted to dodge all the nastiness of dealing with those people by giving into their demands, perhaps they figured it'd be easier to find a scapegoat then walk into a different bullet by making it seem as though they're a publicly funded institution who's letting a religious group call the shots for them. Opting instead to go for the lesser controversy of allowing political correctness to take one more ridiculous step forward. Kind of a loose-loose situation in any case. . . one would think that just going along with Halloween celebrations as usual would have been the easiest path.
 
One thing is for sure. If you want to create future anomosity for your religion use it as a tool to infringe on others way of life. ...way to go wicca..you just made an important step in creating distrust and stored anger in your religion that will maybe last a lifetime for some people.
 
("He's simple, he's dumb, he's the pilot")

We also have to blame poor people.

Further reading on this leaves me wondering what Wiccans actually complained.

I'm thinking about locating the school official responsible for the decision and watching where he goes on Saturday or Sunday. But that might constitute stalking, even though all I want to know is whether he attends a Circle or a Church.
 
Last edited:
It seems rather odd that there might be some sort of outcry over Halloween from the Neo-Pagan community. They're usually so quiet and polite, and just stick to posting "Never another burning time!" animated gifs on their Angelfire hosted websites.
 
From the further reading listed above:

It's an ogre wearing a superintendent's costume who made the decision.

He comes with the improbable name of Tony Apostle.

Having what can only be described as an irrational sensitivity to witches and Wiccans, Apostle has plunged his young charges into the dark pit of political correctness.

Hiding behind some dribble about making sure the district is using time in the best interest of the students, the Apostle edict is actually one more step toward a sanitized society in which no one does anything out of fear that if may offend someone.

The irony is that I'm hearing from Wiccans who say they are indeed offended -- by Apostle, for using them as a lame excuse to ban Halloween! . . . .

. . . . When it came to choosing a costume, the lawyers and the superintendent couldn't decide who would be the horse's ass.

(Schram)
Click to expand...
_____________________

Notes:
Schram, Ken. "Tricked Out of a Treat". KOMOtv.com, October 21, 2004. See http://www.komotv.com/stories/33612.htm​
 
Meanwhile, across The Pond . . . . BBC: Town pardons executed "witches".

Dozens of "witches" executed in a Scottish town more than 400 years ago are to be pardoned to mark Halloween.

Prestonpans, in East Lothian, will grant the pardons under ancient feudal powers which are about to disappear.

Descendants and namesakes of the 81 people executed are expected to attend Sunday's ceremony.

More than 3,500 Scots, mainly women, were executed during the Reformation, for crimes such as owning a black cat and brewing up home-made remedies.

BBC
Click to expand...
____________________

BBC News Online. "Town pardons executed 'witches'". October 29, 2004. See http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/3965965.stm
​
 
Oh yeah, someone at a wee castles meeting mentioned that. I think you can buy baronies in Scotland, and they are only just getting rid of the old legislation about baronial courts, and as such they can do what they are doing, but it has no wider legal effects.
PLus, at the time of the witches killings, I think the local lairds still had jurisdictional powers, and thus could do what they did, and ultimately, the baronial court is exceeding its remit, in my opinion.
 
I'm sure that this news will give great comfort to those people executed 400 years ago. They may not be able to hear the vindication of their own names, but at least the apologies are still timely and relevant, and not a piece of holiday inspired kitch.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top