Now they're going after Halloween

[Suger Mag]

Again, generalizations with no factual support, particularly your claim "no one cared."

In comparison, the home haunt forums I frequent have lengthy threads where people from across the country who have been doing home Halloween haunts for decades share in detail many prior aborted attempts from years past by local officials to "regulate" Halloween (school event cancellations, setting some date other 10/31 as "Halloween, mandating hours for TOT, etc.) in their communities.

What is different from today is the fact that in almost all the cases shared, the bureaucratic meddling was either completely shot down or significantly limited after residents gave said officials a very strong piece of their mind.

Which is something people in MA were once proudly known for.

[GALLERY=]

[/GALLERY]

 

[soccerdad72]

[GALLERY=]

[/GALLERY]

Hey - only a week left to go!

 

[jalapeno_pretzel]

It's always been a day like any other, maybe cupcakes or a treat in the classroom for my kids, and same thing 30 years ago for me. Kids don't wear costumes to school here. What a pain that must be! If mine wore their costumes to school they would come home dirty and ripped and then I would get to figure out what to do about the costume in the couple of hours before trick-or-treating.

 

[mjkacmom]

It's always been a day like any other, maybe cupcakes or a treat in the classroom for my kids, and same thing 30 years ago for me. Kids don't wear costumes to school here. What a pain that must be! If mine wore their costumes to school they would come home dirty and ripped and then I would get to figure out what to do about the costume in the couple of hours before trick-or-treating.

I’ve had 5 kids wear their costumes to school for the afternoon party and parade, none have come home dirty or ripped, the kids look forward to wearing costumes to school just as much as trick or treating.

 

[Hikergirl]

Hey - only a week left to go!

Then comes the Happy Holidays vs. Merry Christmas thread

 

[because]

I feel you are generalizing based upon your own experiences.- I do not recall hearing media reports about schools officially canceling Halloween celebrations back in the 1990s. Nor were we in an environment then like we are now of hyper sensitive "I am offended by....." which is a comparatively recent trend (As example, the apparent rush to steam clean the entire country of any monuments related to the Confederacy only started in the past year).

I had children in elementary school in the early to middle 90's. I can guarantee you the whole "I am offended" thing was happening in a big way. During the beginning of the decade, there were calls to change Christmas Breaks to Winter breaks, to change many holiday parties to be all inclusive. The first Harry Potter book coming out in 1997 exacerbated the whole thing. There were parent groups calling for the banning of the book, which in turn led to many schools moving to a Harvest Festival instead of Halloween because of the strong movement by a very vocal minority against anything to do with Witches or the Occult.

You don't remember the huge Harry Potter, witches, spells, uproar?

 

[jalapeno_pretzel]

I’ve had 5 kids wear their costumes to school for the afternoon party and parade, none have come home dirty or ripped, the kids look forward to wearing costumes to school just as much as trick or treating.

Ha! I'm sure there are kids that could pull it off ... mine are maybe a bit on the spirited side, while our costumes are usually on the flimsy side. Sooo happy we've never had to deal with that.

 

[luvsJack]

Again, generalizations with no factual support, particularly your claim "no one cared."

In comparison, the home haunt forums I frequent have lengthy threads where people from across the country who have been doing home Halloween haunts for decades share in detail many prior aborted attempts from years past by local officials to "regulate" Halloween (school event cancellations, setting some date other 10/31 as "Halloween, mandating hours for TOT, etc.) in their communities.

What is different from today is the fact that in almost all the cases shared, the bureaucratic meddling was either completely shot down or significantly limited after residents gave said officials a very strong piece of their mind.

Which is something people in MA were once proudly known for.

I can claim it because honestly NO ONE cared. Everyone still happily participates in whatever event is planned. Of course in the 90s we didn't have all these forums for "everyone" to complain and complain and complain.

There are some very good reasons for regulating tot hours or even changing the day. We live in a college town. When the 31st is on Saturday and there is a home football game, the traffic is horrendous. It's safer to switch it to Friday evening.

 

[IAHFTPT]

Someone is quite the master debater.

 

[rlk]

Tonight Adam Ruins Halloween

http://www.trutv.com/shows/adam-ruins-everything/index.html

 

[roseaster]

My grandmother went to a segregated school. It was a tradition.

Again, people in the minority dictating what the majority will do all this inclusiveness is just ruining the American culture.

I hope all the traditionalists on this thread get extra CANDY for their ARTfully created sock puppets on black and orange day.

 

[because]

Someone is quite the master debater.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I had children in elementary school in the early to middle 90's. I can guarantee you the whole "I am offended" thing was happening in a big way. During the beginning of the decade, there were calls to change Christmas Breaks to Winter breaks, to change many holiday parties to be all inclusive. The first Harry Potter book coming out in 1997 exacerbated the whole thing. There were parent groups calling for the banning of the book, which in turn led to many schools moving to a Harvest Festival instead of Halloween because of the strong movement by a very vocal minority against anything to do with Witches or the Occult.

You don't remember the huge Harry Potter, witches, spells, uproar?

And my school..well really just my english teacher..my sophmore year we read the first Harry Potter book and watched the movie. But I know other schools had issues with the subject matter.

 

[because]

And my school..well really just my english teacher..my sophmore year we read the first Harry Potter book and watched the movie. But I know other schools had issues with the subject matter.

Many schools did go ahead and incorporate the book. But that didn't mean that there was a ton of outrage across the country about the book.

My child's second grade teacher read it to her class. There were many parents who were up in arms, not only for the content but also for the content with second graders, but she just told them their child could go to the library. (Loved that teacher.) So glad she did because that book changed my child from a book hater to a book lover. We still have a costume parade at our schools.

 

[wonder whisper]

You don't remember the huge Harry Potter, witches, spells, uproar?

It got at best minor, peripheral coverage in my area. And I don't recall any schools here banning costumes or cancelling Halloween events.

 

[Hikergirl]

My grandmother went to a segregated school. It was a tradition.

Again, people in the minority dictating what the majority will do all this inclusiveness is just ruining the American culture.

I hope all the traditionalists on this thread get extra CANDY for their ARTfully created sock puppets on black and orange day.

Relax, your American culture is safe. A couple schools deciding to do something other than Halloween so that all the students feel like a part of something is not ruining your precious American Halloween tradition. Those kids are still free to dress up in their costumes and trick or treat and celebrate their holiday after school hours.

And really, someone please tell me what is so bad about doing something for all KIDS?
You all must be so proud to be standing up for your American traditions.

 

[wonder whisper]

[GALLERY=]

[/GALLERY]

 

[wonder whisper]

And really, someone please tell me what is so bad about doing something for all KIDS?

What about the kids whose parents feel "black and orange day" is simply code for heathen, evil, satanic HALLOWEEN?

Oh, and in other Disney news related to Halloween (and to show how insanely - and I mean insanely - politicized it is getting), Redbook magazine just came out with an editorial saying any girl who isn't "of color" who dresses up as Disney's Princess Moana for Halloween is being "racially insensitive" and engaging in "cultural appropriation."

http://www.redbookmag.com/life/mom-kids/news/a52626/moana-halloween-costume-racist/

Yes, the below is absolutely outrageous and Disney must immediately limit sales only to pre-screened customers who meet the appropriate cultural guidelines. And any child who is not of color who tries to wear this to MNSHP must be ejected from the MK.

 

[Hikergirl]

What about the kids whose parents feel "black and orange day" is simply code for heathen, evil, satanic HALLOWEEN?

Oh, and in other Disney news related to Halloween (and to show how ridiculously politicized it is getting), Redbook magazine just came out with an editorial saying any girl who isn't "of color" who dresses up as Disney's Princess Moana for Halloween is being "racially insensitive" and engaging in "cultural appropriation."

http://www.redbookmag.com/life/mom-kids/news/a52626/moana-halloween-costume-racist/

So you've got no answer as to why it is so bad to do something that all kids can participate in then.
At least not one you are willing to admit "in public" anyway.

 

[msjprincess]

It got at best minor, peripheral coverage in my area. And I don't recall any schools here banning costumes or cancelling Halloween events.

Or maybe it did happen but you didn't hear about it because it's not newsworthy.