Poll: Students launch a poster campaign against racist costume

[karloss01]

My problem with the campaign is that it is racist.

First they don't show anyone making fun of rednecks or any other white stereotype. If it is offensive to dress up like another culture then all cultures should be represented, by the logic of their own argument.


I know that this was designed to highlight minority groups but that's where the problem occurs. Racism can and does effect all races and it wont end until all racism stops not just against minority races.

Personally, I would find it hilarious if someone showed up to a party dressed up in white face and as a redneck.

Pretty much this. I see tons of redneck costumes all the time as well as Roman glad/toga costumes, and other Angloesque shit. But it's ONLY racist if it's against non-whites.

Yes these costumes are in poor taste, but I don't think they are truly racist (racists rarely dress up as the groups they dislike because they usually consider themselves better than said race. Only people who want to get attention or some laughs do this kind of thing).

Agree with both of you, i feel offended that my culture has not been represented in these posters, where is the Gypsy poster (part of my mum's family were gypsy) or the typical British gentleman stereotype?

Should people from Egypt be offended when they see a mummy?
Should people from Romania be offended when they see a vampire or someone dressed as Vlad the impaler?

I think someone should make a counter protest with pictures of white cultures being stereotyped and ask why it seem that minorities are the only ones who can be offended in racial circumstances.

Seriously it why does it feel like white people have to bend over backwards for every other minority but when it comes to our culture we don't get a right. These days racism is racist unto itself.

(oh in case someone calls me racist for expressing my views)

Yes I?m white, and British. I have friends of different genders, backgrounds both cultural and social and of different ethnicities including Polish, Iranian, Japanese and American. I have gay friends and bisexual friends and straight friends.

Yes I do like the odd racist joke, not because it?s offensive but because its funny and my friends laugh at them and tell them too. They?ve called me a ?damn Gypo? and I?ve call them an Arab and Jap, and they don?t care. The difference between this and doing it at a stranger is context. If I said it in a hateful tone then it?s racist but if I say it in a jokingly tone then it not.

The same goes for these costumes; I find those who look for racism to be racists for accusing other of the act.

EDIT: hell my Iranian friend came as a terrorist last year.

 

[Ledan]

as stated before: "It's only racist when you are white dressing like someone else" = Actual racism.

Plus I don't get the pic with the Black girl being offended because a "vampire" is trying to eat her. So vampires are only allowed to drink blood from white girls? That sounds like actual racism, not this made up stuff.

You might as well say that you can't dress as anything from any culture.

Can we even dress as monsters? Cause monsters are from different cultures.... no one is allowed to dress like a kappa unless their asian?

 

[teqrevisited]

Ah, Daily Mail. Last time I checked suicide bombers aren't a race and there isn't a single one ridiculing a white stereotype. And on that point: I'm not going to start a poster campaign if someone dresses up in a suit, puts in a set of novelty bad teeth and runs around with a teapot and a plate of crumpets yelling "BLARGHARGH WHAT HO OLD CHAP!". I mean come on, the bloke dressed up as a bomber looks like he's having loads of fun.

They are in poor taste, but not everyone portraying a stereotype is a racist.

 

[GigaHz]

I think the only appropriate response to something as trivial as this campaign is to somehow combine all these offensive costumes into one. That would REALLY rustle up some feathers.

Are some costumes tasteless? Yes. Stupid? You bet. But to get so offended over something that may or may not be implied is crazy.

What if I wanted to dress up as someone in a Mariachi band? Mariachi bands do exist after all. Am I now banned from dressing up as one simply because I am not hispanic? That to me seems more racist than just simply allowing me to do it.

If I were to dress up as such, how would it reflect that I dislike Mexicans or other hispanics? Mariachi bands dress in colourful, unique and sometimes goofy attire. What if I want to do it just for the sake of being goofy?

Oh sorry, that costume is no longer an option because some over sensitive jerk will believe that it's how I perceive all Hispanics.

 

[esperandote]

Don't dress as a serial killer or you might hurt serial killers feelings. (Thinking of movie series, like Friday the 13th)

 

[Kolby Jack]

Does this mean I shouldn't dress up as Blacula this year?

<-- is white.

 

[Kinguendo]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2053134/Students-launch-poster-campaign-racist-Halloween-costumes.html
I gotta this have to one of the most pointless and trying to hard to be politically correct things I have seen in a while.
While the Arab suicide bomber costume is offensive and probably shouldn't be worn, everything else is quite tame. The geisha outfit, the Mexican outfit and maybe the ghetto outfit.
Personally, I'm Asian and I went to Halloween as a Viet Cong. So people need to get over and have laugh in life or am I being to racially insentive

Do you honestly not see the difference between dressing as the Vietcong and a Mexican?

Really? REALLY?!

The Vietcong were a military and had a uniform, it is possible to dress as a member of the Vietcong without sterotyping the Vietnamese people. However dressing as "a Mexican" cannot be done unless its a specific Mexican person or recognisable Mexican group... NOT just "a Mexican". What does "a Mexican" even look like? I imagine, wearing normal clothes just like you do every day. How is that even a Halloween costume?

 

[Zach of Fables]

Does this mean that black/Asian/Arab people shouldn't dress up as cowboys?

 

[Kinguendo]

Don't dress as a serial killer or you might hurt serial killers feelings. (Thinking of movie series, like Friday the 13th)

Yes, because Mexicans and people living in a ghetto are equatable to Serial Killers... thanks for clarifying that.

 

[Stublore]

so suicide bombing is thier culture?
then they certainly dont deserve any support

as for being dressed as a suicide bomber being recist? not really, unless the campaigners are trying to say all muslims are suicide bombers? which i myself think as a statement is far more racist

edit to add[in the words of Homer Simpson]
Which proves, in the words of Homer Simpson "You sir are an idiot!!"
Muslims are not a race.
Therefore one cannot be racist against muslims, on the basis that they are muslim!

Its racist against the entire Middle Eastern culture, not the fact that they're Muslims. The costume plays on the stereotype that Middle Eastern people are terrorist and that they're all suicide bombers and honestly, if I was middle eastern, I'd probably be offended by that as well.

It seems some people on this site do not have a basic understanding of the English language.
Middle Eastern Culture IS NOT A RACE.
Therefore one, on that basis cannot be racist against Middle Eastern Culture.
A "race" insofar as the concept exists is based upon DNA, inheritance of certain features etc.
There is no gene for islam, there is no gene for Middle Eastern Culture, so crying racist only shows one's ignorance when claiming it is racist, or at worst is an attempt to shut down discussion by playing the PC bogeyman, race!

I don't believe I ever called it racist. Can you point me where I explicitly said that the image is racist? I was simply pointing out that the image isn't focusing on just Muslims when it refers to middle eastern culture.while you believed it was about Muslims only, when the culture is the entire middle east in general. Besides, not even the people involved in that poster are calling it racist. They call it offensive to their culture, big difference.

That said, please do not insult the entire community. Its only going to get you in trouble.

See that part I bolded:
Its racist

Edit:
Where exactly did I insult the whole community?

 

[SUPA FRANKY]

The one about the suicide bomber was a bit...too much, but otherwise I don't really don't see how anyone gets offended.

 

[Zach of Fables]

Plus I don't get the pic with the Black girl being offended because a "vampire" is trying to eat her. So vampires are only allowed to drink blood from white girls? That sounds like actual racism, not this made up stuff.

Look very very closely at the picture. You'll see the girl is actually a white girl with black makeup all over her. The vampire doesn't factor into it. And yes this one bothered me slightly more than the rest, because blackface has a very ugly history that didn't factor into the other costumes.

 

[Fbuh]

I selected 'No', and here's why:

There is no evidence that any of those costumes are aimed at specific people. The terrorist costume was not a costume that was trying to blatantly call all Islamic or Middle Eastern peoples bomb-wielding terrorists. If I saw a guy dressed as a Viking, I wouldn't be angry or assume that he's trying to make fun of Germanic people. You may as well say that a camo textured tee shirt is aimed at making fun of anyone in teh army. It just doesn't make sense.

 

[maddawg IAJI]

so suicide bombing is thier culture?
then they certainly dont deserve any support

as for being dressed as a suicide bomber being recist? not really, unless the campaigners are trying to say all muslims are suicide bombers? which i myself think as a statement is far more racist

edit to add[in the words of Homer Simpson]
Which proves, in the words of Homer Simpson "You sir are an idiot!!"
Muslims are not a race.
Therefore one cannot be racist against muslims, on the basis that they are muslim!

Its racist against the entire Middle Eastern culture, not the fact that they're Muslims. The costume plays on the stereotype that Middle Eastern people are terrorist and that they're all suicide bombers and honestly, if I was middle eastern, I'd probably be offended by that as well.

It seems some people on this site do not have a basic understanding of the English language.
Middle Eastern Culture IS NOT A RACE.
Therefore one, on that basis cannot be racist against Middle Eastern Culture.
A "race" insofar as the concept exists is based upon DNA, inheritance of certain features etc.
There is no gene for islam, there is no gene for Middle Eastern Culture, so crying racist only shows one's ignorance when claiming it is racist, or at worst is an attempt to shut down discussion by playing the PC bogeyman, race!

I don't believe I ever called it racist. Can you point me where I explicitly said that the image is racist? I was simply pointing out that the image isn't focusing on just Muslims when it refers to middle eastern culture.while you believed it was about Muslims only, when the culture is the entire middle east in general. Besides, not even the people involved in that poster are calling it racist. They call it offensive to their culture, big difference.

That said, please do not insult the entire community. Its only going to get you in trouble.

See that part I bolded:
Its racist

Edit:
Where exactly did I insult the whole community?

Huh, guess I missed that part when I typed it. My bad.

As for where you insulted the community, I bolded it in your post. Its the part where you basically infer that the whole site has problems with the English language.

 

[Stublore]

so suicide bombing is thier culture?
then they certainly dont deserve any support

as for being dressed as a suicide bomber being recist? not really, unless the campaigners are trying to say all muslims are suicide bombers? which i myself think as a statement is far more racist

edit to add[in the words of Homer Simpson]
Which proves, in the words of Homer Simpson "You sir are an idiot!!"
Muslims are not a race.
Therefore one cannot be racist against muslims, on the basis that they are muslim!

Its racist against the entire Middle Eastern culture, not the fact that they're Muslims. The costume plays on the stereotype that Middle Eastern people are terrorist and that they're all suicide bombers and honestly, if I was middle eastern, I'd probably be offended by that as well.

It seems some people on this site do not have a basic understanding of the English language.
Middle Eastern Culture IS NOT A RACE.
Therefore one, on that basis cannot be racist against Middle Eastern Culture.
A "race" insofar as the concept exists is based upon DNA, inheritance of certain features etc.
There is no gene for islam, there is no gene for Middle Eastern Culture, so crying racist only shows one's ignorance when claiming it is racist, or at worst is an attempt to shut down discussion by playing the PC bogeyman, race!

I don't believe I ever called it racist. Can you point me where I explicitly said that the image is racist? I was simply pointing out that the image isn't focusing on just Muslims when it refers to middle eastern culture.while you believed it was about Muslims only, when the culture is the entire middle east in general. Besides, not even the people involved in that poster are calling it racist. They call it offensive to their culture, big difference.

That said, please do not insult the entire community. Its only going to get you in trouble.

See that part I bolded:
Its racist

Edit:
Where exactly did I insult the whole community?

Huh, guess I missed that part when I typed it. My bad.

As for where you insulted the community, I bolded it in your post. Its the part where you basically infer that the whole site has problems with the English language.

I only "insulted" people by pointing out their lack of basic English skills.
That's not insulting, it's a fact.
Again it seem you fall into this group, note for clarity I said some not as you seem to have conjured all. Some and all have two very different meanings, I suggest you consult a dictionary to discover the difference.
Please learn to read and comprehend what is actually written before making replies to posts, even though you prove my point about not understanding basic English

 

[Asmundr]

Yeah, we know most middle eastern people aren't suicide bombers. Which is why we don't dress up as them. We dress up as SUICIDE BOMBERS. It doesn't matter what your skin color is, as long as you're wearing dynamite.

This.
Besides its Halloween as well. Lighten up and enjoy the celebration and if not that, then at least the atmosphere.

For a Halloween Party that took place at my college last year I went as a stereotypical terrorist and no one was offended. Even the veterans and campus security there got a laugh out of it.

 

[Rin Little]

So what am I supposed to get pissed over every person who dresses as a leprechaun for Halloween because I'm Irish? Sheesh people, grow a backbone.

 

[justnotcricket]

I go back to my example above - am I not allowed to wear a kimono that I find beautiful because I'm somehow mocking a minority culture?

Only if your intention is to perpetuate a belittling stereotype.

I've seen many, many white girls in Kimono. It's kind of a ritual when you homestay in Japan that your host family will dress you in kimono at one point. The kimono is not the problem, and I'm amazed so many people reading this can't see that.

But if you're just looking for 'me so horny' submissive asian girl sex appeal by dressing as a Geisha, well, maybe consider how it might feel for someone who actually lives under those kinds of stereotypes. Why not dress like a prostitute from your own culture, not a culture which didn't actually exists and was just made up by horny American novelists with a bad case of yellow fever.

Oh dear. Well, I guess you didn't *have* to actually read my post before quoting me, but never mind, these things happen. If you have another try, you might see that that was the point I was trying to make; if you dress as a 'whore in a kimono' then, yes, you are in the wrong. If you wear a kimono in traditional and tasteful fashion, then I don't see that there should be a problem.