Please do not dress up for Halloween as blackface, brownface, or yellowface. Don’t be stupid.

Update 10/27/2013: Absolutely heinous, disgusting, and abhorrent. Someone on FB recently posted their 2013 Halloween costume of George Zimmerman and Trayvon Martin – with a gunshot to the chest.

Beyond reprehensible.

So, I’ll say it again. Don’t be racist. Don’t be stupid. [via Gawker]

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Americans love Halloween. In fact, maybe it’s fair to say we go crazy about Halloween. How crazy?

Americans spend $310 million dollars/year on costumes…for our pets. Wow.

In total, Americans spend between $6.5 – $6.86 billion dollars on all things Halloween: costumes, candy, and decoration (2012). Now, it’s up to $6.9B in 2013 [and NOW $7.4 BILLION in 2014].

That 7.4 billion dollars includes 2 billion dollars for Halloween candy and 350 million dollars for pet Halloween costumes.
Yes, you read that correctly. We are collectively going to spend 350 million dollars on Halloween costumes for our cats and dogs.
Overall, spending on Halloween has risen by more than 55 percent since 2005. It just seems like Americans can’t get enough of this particular holiday.

More wowzers. And it’s no longer Americans…many in the global community are adopting the zanyness of Halloween.

So, as the average American consumer spends about $27 on costumes (as of 2012) and $79.03 on all things Halloween (2013), I thought it’s never too early to encourage folks to be careful how they dress up for Halloween…even if it’s “all in the spirit of fun.”

Listen, before you go crazy and call me crazy, a hater, a lunatic, an angry Asian man, or an angry Christian Asian pastor man…I like fun, too. I do. I really do. And while my social life is nearly zilch, I like fun parties but it’s all fun and games until someone shows up at a costume party or…err…at your front door trick-or-treating…in a borderline racist costume.

Yes, it’s not too early to tell people:

Please don’t dress up in a blackface, yellowface, brownface, or any other costumes that stereotype, denigrate, or mock another culture.

Don’t caricature another real culture. Why? Because we’re a culture and not a costume.

I don’t care if you don’t intend it to be racist. It might not be but it’s certainly racial and generally hurtful. I say generally because every single person that chooses to defend their costumer respond by saying:

“I have a ______ friend and he/she is not offended at all. They love it.”

Listen: Even if one of your friends of color say they’re not offended does not mean it’s OK because it’s not.

You see, folks usually respond with defensive words or they choose to place the blame on the “other” person. The usual responses are classic examples of power:

“Why do you have to be a party pooper?”
“You’re taking the subject too seriously. Relax. It’s a costume party!”
“You need to get some thicker skin.”
“This is your issue…your problem.”

You might not be racist but you’d be stupid in dressing up to caricature another culture.

Don’t be stupid.

If you’re dressing as a geisha, a Native American, or in blackface, brownface, redface, or yellowface, don’t knock on my doors in Seattle. I will not be giving you any candy.

Despite the fact that blackface has been offensive since it originated in minstrel shows in the 19th century, some misguided Americans continue covering their face with paint or shoe polish to mimic African-Americans, Latinos, and Asians every year, particularly at Halloween. It’s been nearly a century since D.W. Griffith promoted white supremacy and blackface characters in his film The Birth of a Nation. Can we finally give up on blackface in 2011? [link]

“but I’m trying to honor your culture…”

Really?

Perhaps, I can’t judge your motivation and intent but if you’re trying to honor someone’s culture, why would you wear it on Halloween? By doing so, you diminish both its value, its importance to its culture, and your personal understanding.

You feelin’ me?

Cultural sensitivity and the Christian community.

Cultural sensitivity is a must for the larger culture but it’s especially important in the Church. It’s especially hurtful when this lack of sensitivity is present in the Church because it only makes sense that the Church ought to be safe place – for people from all cultures and customs. During an earlier post I shared about Pete Hoekstra (Senate candidate) and cultural sensitivity, I made this point:

Cultural intelligence is not merely gaining intellectual knowledge about another culture. Just because you like samurai/ninja culture and have seen Kung Fu movies does not mean that you possess cultural intelligence. Instead, a leader with a high cultural IQ has developed a sensitivity to other cultures and handles those cultural contexts with honor and respect.

Without cultural intelligence, a leader runs the risk of caricaturing other cultures, as in the church’s example above. You cannot appropriately represent a culture that you have not taken the time to know or understand. And when you attempt to do so, you not only dishonor those who are a part of the culture you are diminishing, but you also dishonor the One who has created every tongue, tribe, and nation to begin with.

None of us can claim perfect understanding of the wonderful diversity that exists both around the globe and even within our own country. But Christians are called to be ministers of reconciliation, and Christian leaders are the ones who need to step forward in the hard work of developing cultural intelligence.

Black faces are wrong. Brown faces. red faces, and yellow faces, too. They’re wrong every day including on Halloween and they’re especially hurtful in the Church.

So, find a good costume and if you want, you can dress like me. I won’t be offended.