Fear of insulting witches leads to school cancelling Halloween party

[Mike Daniels]

For the love Jesus/Allah/Buddah,

First, I question whether kids are even paying attention during the last 30 minutes of class most days let alone the day before any holiday event.

Second, I guess that means we should feel guilty about exposing kids to MacBeth, "It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown (due to Lucy's costume", "The Wizard of Oz", etc.

Some people have just too much influence in relation to their actual numbers in the general population.

Anyway, here's the link:


http://www.komotv.com/stories/33602.htm

School District Bans Halloween

Let them have their 30 minutes of dressing goofy and having candy," said Silas Macon on the grounds of Puyallup's Maplewood Elementary School Wednesday afternoon.

He'd just learned the grade school tradition of a party and parade in costume during the last half-hour of class before Halloween night won't happen this year in the Puyallup School District for his two daughters.

The superintendent has cancelled all Halloween activities.

A letter sent home to parents Wednesday states there will be no observance of Halloween in the entire school district.

"We really want to make sure we're using all of our time in the best interest of our students," explained Puyallup School District spokesperson Karen Hansen.

Hansen says the superintendent made the decision for three primary reasons. First, Halloween parties and parades waste valuable classroom time. In addition some families can't afford costumes.

It's the third reason some Puyallup parents are struggling with.

The district says Halloween celebrations and children dressed in Halloween costumes might be offensive to real witches.

"Witches with pointy noses and things like that are not respective symbols of the Wiccan religion and so we want to be respectful of that," said Hansen.

[Crowdance]

1. So, it's OK to twist the religion of another if they're a small group?

I imagine from your expletive that the only religions that qualify for your respect are those who conform to the Jesus/Allah/Buddha patriarchal standards. Those who prefer to look at divinity in the form of Dana or Hecate or Gaia needn't even apply, and their holidays deserve no respect?

I couldn't give a hoot what the culture does with Halloween; I find it very amusing that all these folks are out celbrating Samhain all unawares. But I do find your contention that only the major "daddy" religions are worthy of consideration very disturbing.

[politicat]

8. And while I have no prob with Halloween, Xmas and Easter are offensive

to those of us who are not Christian. It's not okay that our kids are forced to participate in Christian Holiday celebrations (St. Valentine's, St. Patrick's - which should be extraordinarily offensive to pagans) and in Christian displays of jingoistic patriotism.

It's not about the majority. It's about protecting the rights of the minority within the larger context of a pluralistic society.

PCat

[RebelYell]

25. Not to mention banks and other businesses are closed

on Christian holidays.

[Mike Daniels]

10. First, Jesus/Allah/Buddah is a something I took from the Simpsons

and isn't meant as an indication that these are the only religions that matter.

Second, I'm sorry, but unless some child or child's family actually filed the complaint, then yes, I think this is a case of political correctness going a bit too damn far especially since the other examples I listed aren't respectful of witches either.

[VelmaD]

11. If you want to prove you're respectful of witches...

change the thread title to reflect the fact that the article DOES NOT mention any witches actually complaining to the school board.

[flamingyouth]

2. I'm a witch and I love that kids celebrate Halloween

This is silly to the nth degree.

[Zuni]

5. Thank you

I say let the kids have a good time. How this would offend anyone is beyond me.

[Selwynn]

7. THANK YOU -- neeener neeener neeener poster number one!

maturity for the win!! :P

[tigereye]

18. you are a very interesting woman FY!

I think we should let the kids be kids and quit making it all so absurd. Sometimes our culture is so easily offended ( and not really for the sake of children at all), that I wonder about us. There is a very cool rant that I heard a radio DJ do here, it is called the Halloween rant or letter by Alan Cox, a local new music DJ, and it talks about this. I'll have to see if I can find it.

[Beaverhausen]

19. I am too and I agree.

I think its funny when some communities won't allow Halloween to be celebrated because of it's close links to our tradition.

[Zuni]

3. This is absurd

just let the kids have their halloween party. People are getting way too sensitive these days.

[jdots]

4. sick sick sick

at my kid's grade school about 10 years ago they couln't go on thier class trip because some neocon paranoid yuppy dickless daddy wan't them to have an armed quard at the motel the kids were going to stay at on thier trip to see the state capital. these fuckheads are all about thier right to take rights away.

[VelmaD]

6. Disingenuous thread title

I read the article and didn't see anything about actual witches having complained to the school board.

[Rowdyboy]

9. No witches or wiccans complained...Its the school superintendent

CLAIMING to be sensitive to stereotyping. I think she's just being a generic asshole.

[Nay]

16. I think she's a fundie Christian who wants to take Halloween away

for her own reasons (it's worshipping the DEVIL!") and she thought a sneaky way to do that would be to say it offended witches.

[Unstuck In Time]

24. That was my first thought, too. n/t

[Southpaw Bookworm]

31. EXACTLY!

Or, the fundie whackjobs have complained, and the school board doesn't want to offend folks who have the power to make their lives miserable. So, they blame it all on being nice to wiccans, 'cause who's gonna give a fuck if the entire community is mad at them for taking Halloween away.

:eyes:

[Mike Daniels]

12. Thread titled corrected.

Point taken

[VelmaD]

13. Thanks

:)

[yardwork]

14. It's usually the fundamentalist Christians who complain about Halloween

I sincerely doubt that any Wiccan went to the principal and complained. I would bet anything that at least one Christian parent complained.

As the poster above says, the headline (and the reason given by the principal imo) are disingenuous.

I am a Wiccan. I don't complain about kids celebrating Halloween - my kids know that I really enjoy their Halloween celebrations.

However, there are historical reasons for everyone to be offended by the Christian portrayal of witches as scary, ugly, demonic creatures. Over the course of more than a thousand years witches were systematically slaughtered in Europe and their religion was destroyed. As part of the annihilation, their very identity was twisted into something diametrically opposed to what real witches believe.

Anyone familiar with Karl Rove's tactics will see the similarities. Please don't be quick to judge others for speaking up for their rights.

It might be your identity that gets twisted next time. Look at what Republicans have done to the term "liberal."

[AngryAmish]

15. What else floats beside witches?

[skygazer]

20. A duck!

[AlienGirl]

17. How to Generate a Backlash!

Since none of the Wiccans I know have *ever* objected to kids trick-or-treating, and many of them have used Halloween as an opportunity to educate the public about neo-paganism, I find myself wondering whether this is a deliberate attempt by some fundie Christian to stir up anti-Wiccan sentiment.

Am I just too conspiracy-minded?

Tucker

[NorthernSpy]

22. Wiccans should hold a 'We're Not Offended' parade and rally

Invite the media, wear costumes, and throw candy. It would definitely make the news. I mean, how often do you see people rallying because they AREN'T offended?

That would totally short-circuit any backlash, and it would force the Hallowe'en haters to abandon this sneaky tactic.


Mary

[Sabriel]

21. The low-income point is a good one

My daughter's school is very low income (55% free-and-reduced-lunch), yet they still perpetuate the "my costume's better/more expensive than yours" tradition. Ick.

[NorthernSpy]

23. too much commercialization and not enough fun...

...I think that all of our holidays suffer from that.

Hallowe'en is more fun when people make their own costumes. It would be great if your daughter's school devoted some pre-Hallowe'en art classes to costume making. The kids would get a chance to use their imaginations, and that whole 'how much did YOURS cost?' competition wouldn't happen.


Mary

[DrWeird]

26. My wife taught in this district for a couple years.

The policy is several years old now and the inside scoop is that it's really about not offending conservative christians. The Wiccans are a scapegoat.

[miss_kitty]

27. Keeee-rist

Sorry Wiccans. I dressed as a witch one year.

Can't they just have Hallowe'en and say 'No Crones?' 'Glenda types ok?'

I think it does more harm to the Wiccan religion to tell a bunch of kids they can't have Hallowe'en because Wiccans may have their feelings hurt. I think what the kids will hear is No Hallowe'en because of Wiccans.

Kitty costumes very easy to make in class headband w/ triangles taped to it and grease paint nose and whiskers. Maybe some string for a tail

Sheesh. :shrug: The world is no fun anymore. :eyes:

[DrWeird]

28. And have you ever met a Wiccan who didn't like Halloween?

nt

[Bridget Burke]

30. There's no proof any Wiccans actually complained.

The only one interviewed said he wasn't bothered. Further reading of the story indicates some of our more humorless Fundamentalists had problems--as they often do.

[Parche]

29. Insulting

They didnt want to insult Lynne Cheney, the Wicked Witch of the West