I don't know about you, but I find Halloween to be one of the scariest holidays going. I am not trying to be funny about this; I just find the whole holiday, and how it plays out in our modern society, to be pretty creepy.
Kids dress up in costumes as they have for decades, but things are different now. Parents bring their kids to the doors of people that they know, and even if a house is decorated for Halloween, parents won't let their kids go there unless they know the people in the house.
Just the fact that parents are involved with Halloween sends shivers up my spine. This is a kids' event--why are parents at all involved?
It's because our society has gotten creepier as the years have gone by. What was once a relatively safe occasion has become one where caution is the top treat, not candy. You just can't let your kids go where they might want to go anymore, because there are a lot of people out there who consider Halloween their time to be idiots. They don't have to dress the part at all, it is based on their behavior and how they treat the kids who come to their door.
No, it's not safe anymore.
Look, I walked my two kids to doors around our neighborhood on Halloween. I found that you really have to be careful. Not only are some of the houses you go to filled with real-life ghouls. but drivers don't seem to be very cautious either. They drive as if the street was theirs, throwing caution to the wind.
When I was a kid, you had to be careful, too, but I don't think that you had to be that careful. Sure, you would get the occasional apple with pins in it (my sister did, as I recall), but parents could let their kids go it alone, and I think people were just more into the fun aspect of the holiday than they are now.
Sure, we bought costumes, but what did they cost, a couple of dollars? Today, Halloween is a multi-million-dollar industry in itself.
I think the whole problem is that Halloween has been co-opted by us adults. It is now as much our holiday as it is our kids' holiday, and you know what, that is wrong.
I know this rant has been written after Halloween, but I just wanted to see what happened this Halloween and make my observations.
And no, I haven't changed my opinion.
In fact, we left a bowl of candy out on the step, and my son, who is too old to go out anymore, saw two girls take the whole thing for themselves, leaving nothing for anyone else. Happily, we had some more candy on hand, but I am telling you, this type of behavior would not have happened in my day.
Boo on them, and boo on those that have made Halloween into what it is today.
ALthough we decorate the outside really nice, we no longer stay home for the event.None of my neighbors do either. We have something in our area called SAFE STREET and all the kids go there. People that have kids have parties instead after they go to SAFE STREET.We went from havig 230 kids a year down to 28 last year and after that I said 'enough' Besides, with the economy the way it is right now and the price of food, the last thing I want to spend $50 on is candy that will end up on MY hips because it's left over. 30 years ago, I made the wise decision to not have any kids because I knew where society was going.Maybe I'm just getting old; I'm starting to sound like my parents, and their parents before me.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you, Larry. It has gotten very scary indeed. I remember when I was a kid and going out some people would not give you candy but would invite you inside for a soft drink or cup of cocoa--you thought nothing of it then. I quit giving out candy several years ago because we live in an apartment and I was lucky if I had 10 kids. Not worth my time or the money.
ReplyDeleteWe don't get that many kids coming to our door. The ones we get are usually accompanied by their parents. We have had a little trouble, but nothing that bad. I just remember that when I was a kid, there were so many more kids going around trick or treating. I lived in a housing complex, so it was a different experience, but I have heard from those who live where I do that it was so much different years ago. I guess a "Safe Street" idea is a good one, faced with the realities that this holiday ain't what it used to be, so to speak.
ReplyDeleteWe still give out candy, but most of it goes untaken--except this year, when some pigs took whatever we had. And that was sad, because my son saw this happen, and said the kids were "older," probably around his age (14). What can you do?
ReplyDelete