Let's keep the creepy in Halloween
Fear of clowns has prompted some Canadian retailers and schools to act. In some cases, scary clown decorations and costumes have been yanked off the shelves and costumes have been banned from schools. But Vice's Manisha Krishnan says catering to fear misses the point of Halloween.
Halloween is supposed to be scary, sometimes even creepy.
But Manisha Krishnan thinks this year, perhaps more than other Halloweens past, Halloween has taken a turn for something even worse: sensitivity.
Catering to everyone's sensitivities - especially when that sensitivity is fear - goes against the very principle of Halloween.- Manisha Krishnan
Krishnan, a senior writer at Vice, isn't against the concerns raised around racism or cultural appropriation.
I don't think Halloween should be an opportunity to be a racist, insensitive jerk. But even I have a line. That line is clown bans.- Manisha Krishnan
Krishnan is referring to the recent moves by some Canadian retailers and schools to give in to a wave of fear around clowns.
(If you're interested, The 180 looked at the moral panic around these clowns in September)
While she thinks it's bad enough that some Canadian schools have replaced Halloween with black-and-orange day, Krishnan warns we'll all "be sorry when the only non-offensive costume left is a sexy Bernie Sanders."