Culture makes up who we are as people, or as citizens in this country as a whole. Some people in this world really don't consider the feelings of others, and disrespect their cultures by making offensive/ racist comments such as "talking in their accent". Cultures should be respected regardless of race, color of skin, gender, or appearance.
After watching the video, I completely understand why people get so offended by how others portray their culture. Halloween costumes like these become stereotypical and insensitive, and can lead to racist comments. I think that some people don't consider the importance of other's culture and wearing costumes like these that are your "typical" Asian, Hawaiian, Spanish, "Black", or any other culture/race. I feel that these costumes are poor choices of what to wear and celebrate Halloween with and should not be worn.
Making people aware is one of the many ways we could teach the public about not intentionally being racist towards one's culture. We can talk about the fact that it could be harmful and disrespectful. When people become aware, they will then hopefully stop wearing these "costumes." I believe that making people aware is the only way to keep them from wearing disrespectful costumes. The only way to stop them from insulting other's cultures because they do not know that it's wrong.
Halloween is a time where family and friends get together to celebrate. People dress up and go door to door to collect candy, or go out with their friends to party. A few years ago, my friends and I went out, and we saw a kid dressed up as a sumo wrestler. All the kids walking past were laughing and smiling because they thought it was funny, but to my Japanese friend, it actually meant a lot to him. He didn't laugh with the rest of us, nor did he smile one bit. I questioned him on why he wanted to walk a different way and not continue the path we were currently on, but he did not budge an answer. We ended up walking on a different path, but the next day we later found out that he and his grandfather always watched sumo wrestling and attended matches, before he passed away. He also mentioned that the costume that was worn was offensive to him because not all Sumo wrestlers look/act that way in Japan.
After that experience, my friends and I never really looked at Halloween the same. Personally, I haven't experienced any situations where I felt uncomfortable or hurt when seeing another person's costume. But hearing that from my friend, I understood why people feel that way about others wearing their cultures. That is why I think it is important to teach people about the effects of wearing other people’s culture as a costume.
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