It’s Halloween night. Everyone is dressed up and excited to get candy. Sounds great and fun, right?

But of course, there will always be that one person in a controversial costume.

Nowadays, many disrespectful Halloween costumes have become popular.

Costumes that consist of strait jackets, in order to play pretend as a “crazy” person, black face, and the inappropriate use of Native American headwear are just a few examples.

Each of these examples is offensive in their own way.

Costumes of “crazy people” are very offensive as they make fun of people who have no control of their condition.

They also put the mentally ill in a bad light, by associating them with negative stereotypes.

Black face is another issue during Halloween. Black face is when someone who isn’t black paints their face a darker color.

Originally, blackface was used by racist people when over exaggerating stereotypes associated with black people, such as larger lips.

It was used in business advertisements, plays, films, and more.

It is insulting to black people and should never be done.

Culture appropriation is also unfortunately prominent during Halloween.

Often times, it is Native American culture that is being used in a derogatory way.

Wearing Native American headdresses, religious headwear like hijabs, painting sugar skulls on your face, or any other attire associated with another culture is offensive.

It is wrong to do because picking and choosing the parts of cultures you want to observe and use for your own benefit diminishes the importance of the culture to someone else.

More recently, company Halloween Costumes put out a costume for Anne Frank, which many people have found disrespectful.

It is exploitative of the young girl killed during the Holocaust. The costume ridicules her and taints her honor.

If you have an offensive costume, the right thing to do would be to not use it.

Instead, come up with last minute costumes. There are many tutorials available that feature the use of simple makeup and everyday household items.