polar-solstice:

polar-solstice:

So I’m seeing confusion about what is and isn’t offensive, so here it is:

• Wearing black: No, its fine, its a color, calm down.
  
• Wearing flowing garb: No, its fine, unless its impractical for what you’re doing.
  
• Wearing a pointy hat: No, its fine. It has origins that are offensive, but at this point, its honestly the least of your worries. Go for it.
  
• Painting your face green: I mean its silly, nobody is green, its fine.
• Wearing a large crooked nose: NO, DO NOT. This is the part that’s offensive, because it was started literally from a stereotype about Jewish people, and its anti-Semitic, and don’t do it, ever, at all. And if you can’t see it, remember when Macklemore got in hot water over a “witch nose” costume? Its pretty obvious, and its in poor taste. Do not do the thing.

We’re rolling up on October very quickly and I’m getting asked again (and I love it, because you remember from last year, because you care), so I’m bringing this post back again. The pointy hat has origins that are debated, and it may be a reference to old Scottish women, or to Jewish people, but my reasoning is that its so separate in time that it has lost its meaning. The green face does have racist connotations, meant to refer to “olive skinned” people, and specifically Jewish people. I give it a pass, though, because people do not (generally) know this, and they don’t associate it with us, they associate it with the Wicked Witch of the West and the Wizard of Oz. It has been stripped of its meaning. I still stand firm on the nose issue. 

DO NOT USE THE WITCH NOSE THIS HALLOWEEN, ITS ANTISEMITIC. DO NOT DO THAT THING.