Displaying Diversity Unconsciousness on Halloween

Diversity and humor often don’t mix, especially when they are at someone else’s expense. But when we do this on Halloween, it is somehow OK, at least to some of us.
While Halloween is a time of playful fun for some, it is a time of deep emotional pain for others. Imagine if you will, a knock on your door. Middle-schoolers, dressed as African Americans with a noose around their neck and welts painted on their back, join in a chorus of “trick or treat” when you open the door. Or perhaps you pass a storefront in a shopping mall. A mannequin dressed up as an Indian is directly outside one of the stores. The Indian’s head is bleeding profusely, and the mannequin next to him, a white settler, is triumphantly holding the “redskin’s” scalp. Why do we find these descriptions so reprehensible, and yet, other equally reprehensible Halloween costumes are treated as good-natured fun?
Go online and you can buy, from Amazon, a strait-jacket one size fits all at a pre-Halloween super sale price. Or you can visit another site and peruse “Insane Asylum Costume Ideas.” The marketing pitch is as offensive as the costumes. The ad tries to pull you in by saying, “Thankfully, care of the mentally ill has evolved from its barbaric past. However, you can revive that past in a lighthearted way by adopting costumes inspired by insane asylums.”
Ads and costumes such as these promote and reinforce fears, stigmas, misunderstandings, and stereotypes. Individuals with hidden disabilities such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, are portrayed as something less than human, as creatures to fear and avoid. Unfortunately, many of these images are reinforced by the media, especially around Halloween. There is nothing lighthearted and funny about the mistreatment and violence associate with straight jackets, lobotomies, sterilizations, and the unnecessary confinement of the mentally ill.
A few days ago, my daughter told me about a Halloween display at a restaurant in Washington, D.C. (see video below)  The display, which she felt was “in poor taste,” really upset her. Outside of the restaurant is a man rocking back and forth in a straight jacket. If you happen to pass this restaurant, you might want to tell the owner how this display makes you feel and why. And the next time you encounter a child or adult in a costume that makes fun of the mentally ill, you might want to use this opportunity as a teachable moment. My daughters, my family, and untold others will be thankful you took the time.
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