Halloween is stupid

[Bamspeedy]

I feel like the whole razor blade/poisoned candy thing is just an urban legend that got out of hand.

I don't have many curmudgeonly takes on things, but I definitely think we go way too far to protect our kids from stuff like this, or kidnapping, or whatever boogeymen are out there that suburban white parents are using to push their neuroses on their children.

There has been cases of it happening, as shown in my link and snopes even says the razor blades and pins do happen (albeit rarely). Whether that is demented people getting the idea from the urban legend, or it was the kids hearing of the legend and doing it themselves to get attention, I'm not risking my kid eating it if it was obviously tampered with, and I hope you wouldn't let your kids do it either.

That said, my kids don't do the 'house to house' trick or treating (well, the oldest one does now with her friends), our town has a 'downtown business' trick or treating, where the businesses hand out candy. 30 stops by walking a few blocks is nice.

 

[Valka D'Ur]

The local mall has a kids' Halloween event. Participating stores have staff at the doors handing out treats, and kids are encouraged to wear costumes. I even got a couple of pieces of candy one year (guess they didn't have as many kids stopping by as expected so they were giving candy to everyone).

I'm not expecting anyone to stop by tonight (I do have some candy on hand, so I'll share if anyone does come). Otherwise, it's a normal evening of internet stuff, watching Survivor, and getting an early start on NaNoWriMo (one second after midnight, Pacific Time, marks the start of my quest to write a 50,000-word story in 30 days, more details in the thread in A&E).

 

[Farm Boy]

It's a pumpkin and I carved it to look awesome. Why would I take it in? If kids don't smash it squirrels will eat it, it's not hard to clean up either way.

 

[Timsup2nothin]

It's a pumpkin and I carved it to look awesome.

Pix or it didn't happen.

 

[rah]

Our office is already about 75% empty as people have all made excuses to head out.
(my train leaves in about 25 minutes )

 

[warpus]

Children will be knocking on my door, in low effort costumes, and ask for candies.

Don't put up any decorations, turn off your porch lights, and nobody will knock on your door. Or at least that's the friendly neighbourhood etiquette here in Canada. I agree it would be annoying if people did not follow it, but have you tried?

I was just about to ask her whether she's too stupid to understand that the concept of Halloween is to dress up in a scary costume.

I mean, it's not a holiday that has a clear definition. Kids dress up as whatever they want, and girls in their 20s dress up as skanks. That's just what people do *shrug*, I don't see the big deal.

Halloween didn't exist as a holiday where you actually went from house to house in Germany

Wait a second.. When I lived in Germany we celebrated Martin Luther day, which is pretty much like Halloween. I don't think you dress up (from what I remember), but you carry around lanterns, you go from door to door, you sing songs, and after you're done singing you get candy.

Is this only celebrated in some parts of Germany or something? I remember liking it more than Halloween, because the kids actually had to work to get their candy! If you don't sing you don't get any.

 

[Traitorfish]

When I lived in Germany we celebrated Martin Luther day, which is pretty much like Halloween.

Make sense, Luther was a hideous ghoul.

 

[Farm Boy]

It's just a pumpkinmasters pattern thing the kid picked out, still fun to do!

 

[HoloDoc]

Our office is already about 75% empty as people have all made excuses to head out.
(my train leaves in about 25 minutes )

I literally forgot yesterday was Halloween until I saw a bunch of young girls dressed like harlots. Where were they when I was 13? I would have enjoyed it then, but now it just disturbed me.

There were a LOT of drunk people wandering around here last night. Including shouting and swearing at the girls - who are 16-17 years old and about 5' tall - at my local pizza place, to the point where I bluntly told one guy that if he didn't stop shouting and leave the store he'd be leaving on a stretcher. Haven't had to speak to anyone like that in about a decade.

Is getting hammered and acting like a moron part of Halloween in the US? It's never been a thing here before this year.

 

[Timsup2nothin]

I literally forgot yesterday was Halloween until I saw a bunch of young girls dressed like harlots. Where were they when I was 13? I would have enjoyed it then, but now it just disturbed me.

There were a LOT of drunk people wandering around here last night. Including shouting and swearing at the girls - who are 16-17 years old and about 5' tall - at my local pizza place, to the point where I bluntly told one guy that if he didn't stop shouting and leave the store he'd be leaving on a stretcher. Haven't had to speak to anyone like that in about a decade.

Is getting hammered and acting like a moron part of Halloween in the US? It's never been a thing here before this year.

Hmmmm. Hard to answer that really. I know plenty of people who get hammered and act like morons on Halloween, but all of them are equally likely to get hammered and act like a moron on New Year's Eve, or Fourth of July, or any given Thursday, so I don't know if that rightly makes their behavior "part of Halloween."

 

[Ryika]

If you need a holiday to get hammered and act like a moron, you're doing it wrong tbh.

 

[HoloDoc]

Hmmmm. Hard to answer that really. I know plenty of people who get hammered and act like morons on Halloween, but all of them are equally likely to get hammered and act like a moron on New Year's Eve, or Fourth of July, or any given Thursday, so I don't know if that rightly makes their behavior "part of Halloween."

I've been celebrating Halloween here for years, because kids, and I have never noticed drunk people before. Last night they were everywhere. And not dressed up, either; just wandering around hammered. Said pizza offender was merely the most belligerent. I've never actually seen that many drunk people out in the wild before; they are usually congregated in specific areas with their fellow drunks.

 

[Timsup2nothin]

I've been celebrating Halloween here for years, because kids, and I have never noticed drunk people before. Last night they were everywhere. And not dressed up, either; just wandering around hammered. Said pizza offender was merely the most belligerent. I've never actually seen that many drunk people out in the wild before; they are usually congregated in specific areas with their fellow drunks.

A possible explanation...

When you were celebrating "because kids" you may have been frequenting different locations and times. People of the "get hammered and act like an idiot" age and inclination are strongly encouraged to go to different places than the sort of places that kids and parents are likely to go. If you were out and about without your kids you may have entered an area with different 'zoning,' or just been out there later.

I vaguely remember one Halloween before my kids were old enough to be interested in much of anything where my wife and I found a babysitter and went to a block party in Honolulu that was...adult...to say the least. It may have been cultural appropriation, but there was this girl in an Indian costume with a big feather head dress and a fringe buckskin fringe outfit that I spent a fair amount of time on; trying to figure out if there was actually anything to other than fringe. It was sponsored by Budweiser and a radio station, had a couple of local bands alternating sets from opposite ends of a closed off city block, and drunken idiocy absolutely reigned supreme by about eleven...and the party ran until four AM when the bars closed.

I'm sure parties like that didn't stop happening just because my kids got old enough that they kept us too busy to participate in them.

 

[GenMarshall]

What’s this? War on Halloween now?

 

[HoloDoc]

A possible explanation...

When you were celebrating "because kids" you may have been frequenting different locations and times. People of the "get hammered and act like an idiot" age and inclination are strongly encouraged to go to different places than the sort of places that kids and parents are likely to go. If you were out and about without your kids you may have entered an area with different 'zoning,' or just been out there later.

I vaguely remember one Halloween before my kids were old enough to be interested in much of anything where my wife and I found a babysitter and went to a block party in Honolulu that was...adult...to say the least. It may have been cultural appropriation, but there was this girl in an Indian costume with a big feather head dress and a fringe buckskin fringe outfit that I spent a fair amount of time on; trying to figure out if there was actually anything to other than fringe. It was sponsored by Budweiser and a radio station, had a couple of local bands alternating sets from opposite ends of a closed off city block, and drunken idiocy absolutely reigned supreme by about eleven...and the party ran until four AM when the bars closed.

I'm sure parties like that didn't stop happening just because my kids got old enough that they kept us too busy to participate in them.

That's a good point, but these drinks were out wandering at about 8pm. That's early for drunken asshattery, no matter what day it is. And the pizza place had multiple kids out the front looking scared of said drunken asshat.

That sounds like the exact sort of outfit I would like. I may need to find this girl, and her seamstress. For research purposes.

 

[Timsup2nothin]

That sounds like the exact sort of outfit I would like. I may need to find this girl, and her seamstress. For research purposes.

<quick calculations>

At a guess she is probably in her mid sixties right about now, and the sexy Indian costume at this point would likely be more of a fright fest candidate.

 

[HoloDoc]

<quick calculations>

At a guess she is probably in her mid sixties right about now, and the sexy Indian costume at this point would likely be more of a fright fest candidate.

I guarantee I've had worse, but maybe I can just steal the outfit and attach it to a younger woman.

 

[Timsup2nothin]

I guarantee I've had worse, but maybe I can just steal the outfit and attach it to a younger woman.

Good move. Frankly, that would have been a good move at the time. Not the younger part, necessarily, but whatever else might have been under the buckskin fringe, there was a really snotty personality. There was a costume contest, which she did not win, and it was pretty clear that in her world she was absolutely owed the prize. Even the people who seemed like they had arrived with her pretty much abandoned her to her gripes.

The guy who won, based on the judge's interpretation of the "best party animal" theme, was a guy who obviously heard "party" at the last minute, drew a smiley face on a paper plate and mounted it to his sunglasses, and hit the place rolling. His antics were hilarious from start to finish, but nearly naked Indian chief girl who never cracked a smile apparently didn't get it.

 

[Farm Boy]

Ok Tim, here you go.

Spoiler :

 

[Timsup2nothin]

Good work!!!!

You're a good dad, @Farm Boy.