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XP - Racism and Halloween
I am from Philadelphia and wonder if any other urban (or non-urban) nesties have experienced anything like this:
I have posted about this before but this year brings a new twist.
I live in a Fairmount neighborhood, a few blocks south of Girard, that has a history of ethnic "pockets" and racist attitudes about black people; I say history, because this is mostly clinging on in the households/families who have lived there for years and lived through some very racially charged decades in the neighborhood. Historically there has been some black on white crime that has stuck and real or perceived as to what actually happened in these crimes, it is what it is interpreted to be by some of these neighbors and they'll never let that go. Also there are stories about how one year the neighborhood kids got roughed up by the non-neighborhood kids...
Anyway.
"Traditionally" this neighborhood, my street for about 2-3 blocks and the surrounding side streets have held their "own" Halloween trick or treating the Saturday before the actual Halloween. The "reasoning" behind this was always given to me as, we do this for the working parents who can't get home that early on a weeknight. This is the "nice" story that goes in place of the real story that they like to keep Halloween only to our neighborhood kids and not the "out of neighborhood" kids from Girard and north.
SO, this year Halloween is on a Saturday! So I said to my neighbor, what happens this year, I guess there is only one Halloween since it's on a Saturday (I am becoming annoyed at giving out candy on two nights). Oh no, he says, it's always the Saturday before for the neighborhood kids.
So this year, I think I'm going to say screw it and only hand candy out on Halloween night instead of two Saturdays in a row. I *might* put a sign on my front door for the pre-Saturday that says, "come back on Halloween!" I would love to see the neighborhood integrate this and stop doing the separate Halloweens. I would like to be a more active force in phasing out the pre-Saturday, but I'm really not sure of how to do so and it's not like any of this is affecting MY kids, b/c we have none.
I've been giving candy out on two nights for the past two years and have had ZERO problems with any of the kids who come on Halloween night. Plus, I am happy to have kids who maybe aren't exactly from my neighborhood because lord knows there are some neighborhoods in this city where the kids can't trick or treat at all and I am happy to give these kids a chance to have a fun, safe night and to get some good candy.
Anyone else's neighborhood do something so irritating? How to address this without getting into a full-blown war with my neighbors who I mostly like?
Re: XP - Racism and Halloween
sorry i haven't had to deal with this problem (I'm from Philly too) but I would do what you're thinking and put the note up and only hand out candy on Halloween. There's no need for you to appease people if they are doing things you find racist. And if they say something explain to them that you've never had a problem with kids who trick-or-treat on the actual holiday and maybe you should try it.
Good Luck!
Do you get tons of kids in your neighborhood on Halloween --as in lots that are not from your neighborhood?
Umm.. okay....
Anyway, I say do what you want, but I don't think it's really a racist reason.
I grew up in a super tiny town (everyone was white) and we never had Halloween on Halloween. Too many bad things going on that night (punk teenagers exist even in super tiny towns) and it was safer to have trick-or-treating another night.
I dont live in your area...who am I to tell you whether the reason has anything to do with racism or not?
All I can say is if this is the way you feel...Hand it out on Halloween...Im sure theres no rule that says you "HAVE" to hand it out the Saturday before..
While I understand that the community dynamic is much different there and that you'd like to change it(for the better), I'm not sure if you want to get into a war of sorts with your neighbors. If you are ready for that, then by all means, speak your mind.
I think it's awful that they do this for that particular reason. I'd leave the house during the "neighborhood Halloween" and only give Oct. 31st. It's just heartbreaking that they don't open their doors for certain children.