post-halloween ...

hey, brady bravers ... did you have a pseudo-"indian"-free halloween? no little pseudo-"indians" running savage-like in your neighborhood? did you not see that peanuts t-shirt the other day in kohl's department stores on which marcy is dressed up as a witch and her friend peppermint "hey, chuck" patty dressed as an "indian" with single-feathered headband? or how about the sweatshirt at another store with winnie the pooh trick-or-treating as an "indian"? man, winnie, say it isn't so. thought halloween costumes were more about witches' hats, mummy cheesecloth, ghost bed sheets, and teenage mutant ninja turtles, not about faux "indian" pipes, faux "indian" buckskin, faux pocahontas mini-skirts, and faux headdresses. some adults, apparently a couple of faculty and/or staff members, at a major university in ohio didn't get that memo, from what i've heard. they dressed as "indians" like so many others have done and continue to do. must have been a case of post-wahoo-losing blues from not making it to the world series ... again ...

or what about blackface costumes? since 2001, there have been many recorded instances (and no telling how many undocumented) of blackface parties hosted by predominantly white fraternities. the "mummy" costume gets replaced by blackface "mammies." the white sheets for caspar-like ghosts get transmorphed into kkk costumes. from auburn's 2001 party (disturbing pics included) to colorado college's 2007 golf outing (in which four of the players reenacted sitcom characters from family matters) to blackface at yale university last week (and blackface stops in-between at virginia, texas a&m, connecticut, syracuse, etc.), blackface ain't slowing down much. (the bureau here especially encourages brady braves to check out that link to an impressive article from two students at yale.)

and don't forget brownface "south of the border" and twisted "cinco de mayo" gatherings, such as those at university of delaware and uc-santa clara. they remind us, among other things, that racialized costumes aren't limited to appearances on october 31 of each year.

happy post-halloween,

bureau of brady braves

update on nov 6: another instance of blackface, this one with a homeland security employee who won an award for best costume: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21644765/