S/O - dressing up as bad people

salt

Mon, Mar 05 2018, 1:44 am

Spinoff from the Vashti costume thread.

I can't put my finger on it - maybe someone can help out.

I wouldn't really have an issue with someone dressing up as Vashti or Haman, but if someone were to dress up as a Nazi, that would be extremely distasteful.

In fact, Prince Harry hit the headlines and horrified the whole of the UK about 10 yrs ago, when he went to some royal fancy dress party dressed up as a Nazi.

The only reason I can see a difference is that the Purim characters are kind of less real to us. More of a story 'character', not a real person.
Whereas more recent Jew-haters speak to us more.

amother

Linen

Mon, Mar 05 2018, 2:00 am

I think you're right that distant history is far less threatening. No one alive remembers the threat of Haman, so dressing up like him doesn't offend, whereas dressing as a Nazi does.

I posted in the other thread about being horrified by boys dressing as Cossacks. Somehow it's considered cute. And yet, if you think about what Cossacks did to Jews, you would never let your child dress up in that costume. If you think a Cossack costume is ok, why not a keffiyeh or a swastika armband?

This Purim, I saw a child in a charedi neighborhood in Yerushalayim dressed as a crusader knight. Unbelievable! I assume that the parents didn't know what it was. And yet I'm sure they'd never let their child dress as a cartoon character.

You could say that dressing as bad guys is a way of mocking them, but I don't buy it. If someone came to your door dressed as Hitler, you wouldn't be amused.

Part of our role as Jews is to remember our history. Looking at these costumes makes me think that we've failed.