The Tripod

It comes down to how lazy I am. In regards to my Halloween costume, that is. I kind of fell into being this particular costume my freshman year in high school during an earnest rummaging of the attic for something to wear to a party, and it's stuck. Seven of the last eight years, excluding the fall semester of my sophomore year, where I was assigned a costume during my pledging term, I've been the same thing. I've thought about putting together a new costume, but every year something comes up: I can't find the time, or I don't have any money to spend, or I can't think of anything good, or some other commonplace excuse. So I call up my mom and tell her to bring the old costume up. The thing is, it's a pretty decent costume. I like it because, while it might not win any awards for best costume or draw any rave reviews from the ladies, it's solid enough to have people think I made an effort.

The costume is very simple. There are only two pieces and the rest can be filled out with khakis or jeans and a decent pair of shoes. It takes less than five minutes to prepare and it's easy to transport and store. So, other than being unoriginal, there's no reason for me to switch up this costume. It's worked for eight years. Unfortunately, I don't know how long I can continue to wear it. See, the costume's two parts are a sombrero and a poncho. The sombrero is nothing special, just a weave with some reds and greens and blues. The poncho is a nice looking blend of colors on a light brown frame. When people ask me what I am, I have to honestly tell them, "I guess I'm a Mexican."

Last year, one of my teachers showed me an e-mail being circulated by some professors who had actually taken the time to scour Facebook for pictures of offensive costumes. The main focus of the pictures was people dressed as Indians (Native Americans if you want to be totally P.C.). The first thing I thought when I saw the pictures was that these people had done a pretty good job putting together their costumes. But, of course, the real issue wasn't the creative efforts of these individuals, but the inexcusably offensive nature of their portrayals. When I told my teacher that I had been going out as a Mexican for years, she seemed a bit troubled. I gave her the standard reassurances that I didn't mean any negativity towards the Hispanic community or Mexicans or anything like that, but she was steadfast in reminding me that that didn't matter and that anyone who got their hands on a picture of me could twist it any way they wanted.

What bothered me the most about the whole situation was the aggressiveness with which these professors went after students. Sure, dressing up as an Indian is kind of offensive I guess, but it's significantly less offensive than the majority of what's in the media today, including many works of art, or songs, or films, and their personal expressions that people will defend to the death. It's definitely less offensive than the skimpy costumes that some of the young ladies displayed, however alluring they may have been, though you'll hear nothing more than a few peeps about that. There has to be more important things for an instructor to do with their time (read: educate youth) than going on a witch hunt through an online social service.

My sister had a similar incident occur at her school and tried to tout first amendment rights as a justification for people being allowed to wear whatever costume they want. This doesn't stand up, however. Both of our schools are private institutions and they have the right to regulate what they will. But, as we seemingly make advances in tolerance, I feel that we are losing sight of what really makes the first amendment and tolerance of all speech and thought great. The fight for the acceptance of other perspectives, ethnicities, nationalities, etc., is a crucial issue in all facets of society, including college campuses. But the repression and persecution of the opposite viewpoint is not the way to approach getting rid of ignorance. This just leads to resentment and widens that gap between the two sides. Was the kid who did the blackface last year wrong? He sure as hell was. It doesn't get much more tasteless than that. But to turn that incident into the circus that it became and then have professors form some sort of crusade in the name of tolerance by doing everything short of violating the privacy of students residences lessens the impact of any positives that came from the whole thing. The forum that followed was full of condemnations, not level dialogue. And what good can forcing punishment on someone who dressed up in a slightly offensive costume on Halloween bring?

The prudent thing to have done would have been to switch my costume. I didn't. I went out again in my poncho and sombrero, and I got a few comments and laughs without any other incident. Was it out of some rebellious feeling against the increasing sensitivity of the world? No, again, it was mostly out of laziness and a lack of time and funds. There hasn't been any big commotion about costumes this year either. Does this mean that everyone is taking it a bit easier this year? Or does it mean that no one was offensive enough to start the snowball rolling downhill? I don't know. But I'll probably wear my Mexican costume again next year, come what may.

Article Tools