Halloweekend is upon us, and this just doesn’t mean what it used to. In our grandparents’ day, Halloween was a celebratory event for devil worshippers and heathens. In our parents’ day, it was a time for children to dress up in costumes and collect candy from strangers–the very thing they told us not to do the other 364 days a year. In my day, it was a chance to dress up in the funniest and/or sluttiest costume I could find and get wasted. But now? Now it’s merely an event for people to dress up in a costume they view as harmless and wait for people to tell them it’s offensive. It’s like Halloween is just getting more and more fun over time.
People want to villainize each other. Take these members of the University of Arizona’s student organization Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlán (MEChA) for example. They caught a bunch of girls in Delta Delta Delta dressed up as mariachi dancers, and they took it upon themselves to show up to the sorority’s house and protest…with a sign and a camera. They were expecting the girl who answered the door to say something stupid. They were expecting her to yell at them. They were expecting to make headlines and take down Tri-Delt.
But they didn’t.
No matter how much the camerawoman egged our sorority diva on, or how many times they pressed that her chapter was insensitive, the Tri-Delt kept her composure, remained calm, and simply handled it like a fucking badass–all while wearing a sexy jungle cat costume.
One of the worst things you could ask me to do with whiskers on my face would be to handle adversaries. Others would include telling my father I was pregnant and going on a job interview. The leopard dress and ears just don’t scream, “Take me seriously, I’m an adult.” In any case, brava, Tri-Delt. Your member handled this like a champ, and the only headline anyone has is “MEChA Protested On Tri-Delt’s Front Porch–Sorority Was Very Agreeable.” Nicely done..