In among the fun and debauchery of Halloween weekend, there's obviously a lot of focus on costumes. There are those who go for the easy and cheap option of a white tee, ripped and stained with fake blood, whereas others recreate their favourite TV shows. I went as Steven Gerrard.
Oh, and then there's the people who like to be really close to the bone.
More often than not it's the risky outfits that garner a lot of attention, thus fulfilling their purpose, but it's important to know where that said line is.
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For example, dressing up as say a nun or a priest, is pushing it for different reasons, but you're likely to get away with it because you're not really attacking someone directly. On the other hand, if you're thinking of, or already have, 'blacked up' in the spirit of the fancy dress holiday, you've taken it too far.
People will argue that others are a bit too sensitive when it comes to caricatures or something similar, but the fact that paint is used to completely change the colour of your skin is usually seen as a bridge too far.
Every year 'blackface', makeup used to make a white person appear black, is used by someone who is otherwise unaware that it may have racial connotations, or by someone who is completely cognisant and just wants to be controversial. You know the type - they post a joke about someone on Facebook minutes after they've died.
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Charles 'Brock' Denton, a student in America, made the huge mistake of dressing as Bill Cosby this year for Halloween. Usually, the act of turning yourself black would be bad enough, but given that Cosby is in the midst of a sexual assault trial, it adds an extra element of dissension.
Credit: Instagram
After posting a picture of himself in his costume, he was soon expelled from his fraternity at the University of Central Arkansas, which was also subsequently suspended. Realising the duo of errors he'd made, both on the racial and sexual misconduct front, he posted a redress: "I apologise from the bottom of my heart and absolutely never intended this to happen the way it did. I never EVER would have done this if I'd known the domino effect that [would] follow.
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"I swear to everyone that I have never stereotyped a person based on how they look. It's not me.
"I hope this situation will end without me being killed over a Halloween costume.
"We will never achieve peace if we only react in violence. Please forgive me."
Of course the fact this ordeal resulted in death threats is also too far, but it does outline how offensive it can be.
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According to reports, Denton's frat, Sigma Tau Gamma, issued an apology and said that he was told to remove the face paint at the party and an investigation by the frat's national headquarters is reportedly currently pending on the situation.
Featured image credit: Instagram/NBC
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