Vice Dean & Professor of Law, University of Miami
Social Justice/Public Interest Concentration Affiliated Faculty
LL.M. 2008, University of Wisconsin Law School
J.D. 2004, Georgetown University Law Center
B.A. 2001, University of Pennsylvania
Posted on 10/30/2017 1:12:58 PM PDT by Oldeconomybuyer
Blackface is as predictable around Halloween as candy, and by now the outrage in response is also pretty predictable.
Plenty of white people, including parents who watched Disney pull its "Maui" zip-up suit costume from store shelves last year in response to accusations of brownface, are probably wondering when, if ever, it's OK to dress up as a figure of another race.
The answer: It depends. Like most issues involving race in our country, avoiding offense at Halloween requires thinking about not just stereotypes or discrimination but also white supremacy.
One problem with racism is that it advances white supremacy -- not just the notion that white people are superior, but also that they are the baseline, the default, the standard in our society.
The tragedy of white supremacy is that it casts whites as ordinarily and fully human, while those of us outside of ordinary -- behind, ahead, exotic or something else altogether -- are denied full humanity.
All this helps us think a little more clearly about Halloween costumes. Sure, dressing up in a stereotype -- a black person as a rapper or an Asian person with a coolie hat -- is offensive, but those are the easy cases. Going deeper: Does your getup present another group as unusual when compared to whites?
Finally, when in doubt, just don't do it. Dealing with power and white supremacy requires caution, and erring on the side of deference is an expression of power we can all get behind.
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
If the clothes fit, I’m pretty sure they can.
Leftists destroy yet another cultural emblem, in the name of their twisted politics.
Just asking that question is a display of Bigotry and racism.
Of Course the kid can!
Are people on the USA going insane?
Are we regressing to tribalism?
Is a segregated society next?
Please call out these type of questions, ‘concerns’, and PC statements for what they are: the very confused thinking of very bigotted and racist persons.
So, dressing up being a 'rapper' thug, wearing your baseball cap backwards or sideways, with lots of fake bling and your pants falling of is a 'stereotype'?................
Yes.
The end.
Once again, democrat ideas produce the opposite of their claims.
This kind of attitude degrades whatever race or culture it presumes to protect. Because it assumes the particular group is extremely weak and fragile.
Have some respect for black people, Miss Osamudia. Stop expecting so little from them.
Everything equals white supremacy to racists. Even little kids in Halloween costumes.
Can a white child dress as a Halloween character from another race?
Just another black racist.
It comes down to one question : are we under any moral obligation to avoid offending “special snowflakes”?
I say NO!
If a little black girl shows up on my front porch dressed as Snow White - I’m gonna sue her.
Another race? Well of course there’s NASCAR and some other races.
I am dressing up as Al Jolsen.
Try and stop me Mammy!
If the costume is from the Speed race, sure, why not???
Can’t be a stereotype. Wiggers are a very real class of people.
Eminem, Vanilla Ice, just to name a couple.................
Nobody under 60 would know who you were..................
Suppose I dress up like John Wayne playing the part of Genghis Khan.
Suppose I dress up as Peter Lorre playing the part of Mr Moto?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.