This year, a prominent NBC anchor decided that blackface was not a racist costume if it was done from a position of admiration. She was fired a few days later. I personally disagree with Megyn Kelly’s firing from the network, but I can understand the indignation her comment incited. In 2018, it should be a truth universally acknowledged that blackface is racist. Racism should not be tolerated. It is not a, shall we say, nice thing to do. That ought to have been the end of the sound byte.
However, as is often the case with the internet, people are jokingly and not so jokingly asking what can people wear for Halloween costumes without offending anyone? This question is alarming if someone is serious. It should not be surprising that dressing as another race or as a cultural stereotype or group (see terrorist, gangsta, Mexican, American Indian, etc) is problematic. What is surprising is that people who do dress as these things believe themselves to be honoring certain groups through their Halloween costume. If you want to honor or imitate someone why dress as them for a Halloween costume? That’s like cosplaying as an elderly person at your Grandma’s funeral or any other “ironic” statement piece.
When it comes to Halloween, don’t be stupid. When you go to any costume store, there are hundreds of adult costumes. Why go as a stereotype when you can be a sexy nurse, a zombie, a superhero, or Pennywise from “It”? If you are making a homemade costume and think in terms of the most provocative costume you can put together before a party, why are you deciding to be problematic on the biggest party night of the year? Why bother upsetting people when the purpose of Halloween is to dress up and drink?
This is not a “people are being to sensitive” issue. It’s a common decency issue. Do not put people down or use a joke at someone else’s expense. Rationalize it with the Golden Rule, the fear of being called out on social media, or a decent line of rational thought saying “Maybe this isn’t worth it to dress as Nicki Minaj when I have the complexion of a person who has never seen the sunlight.” Sometimes it’s more valuable to be considerate (even just polite) than it is to be funny.  This Halloween, don’t be stupid. If you haven’t been living under a rock, don’t dress in a racist manner.