So when does it dawn on you that you’re in the middle of realizing a really bad idea? As you dutifully stitch together the cute little beret? As you attach the shoulder strap to the brown satchel bag? How about when you affix the “destination tag” to that navy blue dress?
At exactly what point do you decide an Anne Frank Halloween costume isn’t such a hot concept after all?
The answer: You don’t — not if you’re the creative team at HalloweenCostumes.com, anyway. The website has come under considerable fire for featuring the “Anne Frank costume for girls,” along with the piping white-hot sales copy that goes a little something like this:
“We can always learn from the struggles of history! Now, your child can play the role of a World War II hero with this girls World War II costume.”
Apparently, it didn’t occur to anyone that this isn’t tasteful attire for young girls who want to go door to door to get their hands on all the Abba-Zabbas.
How about we take this to the next level?
Our newsletter is like a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.
Yeah this seems super uncool. You seen this @carlosgeADL ? pic.twitter.com/uhKS3g9b2J
— Jerod MacDonald-Evoy (@JerodMacEvoy) October 15, 2017
As Twitter weighed in on this misguided business venture, a PR spokesperson magically materialized to chime in:
“Thank you for reaching out. We sell costumes not only for Halloween, but for many uses outside of the Halloween season, such as school projects and plays. We offer several times of historically accurate costumes — from prominent figures to political figures, to television characters.”
— Ross Walker Smith ? (@RossWalkerSmith) October 16, 2017
Well, the costume has now been removed from the website. But as Entertainment Weekly points out, you can still offend friends and strangers alike as a “Chinese Gentleman,” “Snake Charmer,” or “Mexican Serape”. (Actually, that’s sold out.)
Here’s an idea, though:
Oh, and how about this “Recommended Accessory”… ?
And just on a hunch, we searched for a “terrorist” costume, and here’s what we got:
mhoffman953
People are offended by everything nowadays
Juanjo
Well that’s true. Pretty much everyone but you sock puppets think you are a complete douche bag. I have family members who were living in Hungary during WWII in a small village near the Romanian border. They were rounded up and sent to Auschwitz. They did not survive. The idea that someone thinks it is a great idea to dress someone up as a young Jewish girl being transported to Auschwitz is beyond the belief. The fact you think that’s okay says a lot about your moral code.
mhoffman953
@Juanjo (Grandpa John)
If we begin censoring everything that people don’t like or are offended by, then there would be nothing left.
I’m sure you had no problem when Joan Rivers made a joke about Heidi Klum which referenced the Holocaust or when Sarah Silverman mocked the Holocaust by dressing as Hitler in a comedic fashion. Plus, you seem to be silent on here when your friends post anti-Semitic comments
I’m not saying I agree with that costume or that I’d buy it, but that company has a freedom to make whatever they want and we have the freedom to express our emotions to those things.
If you don’t want to dress up as Anne Frank, then don’t dress up as her
Juanjo
It always amuses me when trolls start screaming about censorship and/or freedom of speech. Of course in the USA the Constitution only protect speech in a vary limited manner. The 1st Amendment prohibits the government form prohibiting people from speaking or punishing them if they do speak except in very limited circumstance which do not apply here. That is not an issue here and people criticizing this company for doing this is a lega exercise of their freedom of speech. Apparently this was not covered in your home schooling or your training course in Moscow.
But thanks for the lovely straw man, tu quoque, red herrings and other assorted logical fallacies in your pathetic drivel. Now go jack off with one of your sock puppets.
Gaytaffuk
You’re right, people do get offended a lot these days.
Maybe it’s because they have the right to be offended, just as you have the right not to be offended.
Are you suggesting that we should all merrily pop back to the 1930/40’s and live the more simple life when blacks weren’t entitled to an opinion (or a vote) and Jews and gays were lined up, stuffed onto trains and then fed into gas chambers?
It would be a lot easier for you back then as blacks, Jews and the dreaded gays weren’t entitled to an opinion and so could therefore not criticise your snowflake positions. Would that make you more comfortable, would that stop your sensitive feelings from being hurt by people expressing their opinions?
You do realise that coming onto an opinion forum and expressing a view like that is the night of irony don’t you? Probably not, your prolific tone deaf posts indicate that you have no social awareness and very limited intelligence.
Give it up mhoffman, you are obsolete!
mhoffman953
@Juanjo & @Gaytaffuk
It’s just costumes. Lighten up
Juanjo / Grandpa JohnP can’t reply without throwing insults because that’s all he knows how to do (i.e. “troll”, “Moscow”, “Russian bot” (isn’t that Xenophobic?), “home schooled”). Also, nothing in what I wrote is a strawman, I don’t believe you understand the definition of that term, but you probably seen someone use it once. The examples I gave, I wonder if you find those okay or not. For instance, further down this page, Xzamilloh made a joke about Jews in an oven and you again were silent. That’s not a strawman.
If you want an example of a strawman, read Gaytaffuk’s response. When I said people get too offended easily, he made the strawman argument by saying if I think offensive Halloween costumes are ‘whatever’, he inferred that I also must think we should take away civil rights and live in the 1930s. That’s a strawman.
I think the biggest gripe you two old timers have is not the costumes but because I responded to the post and both of you just wanted to argue with me by taking the opposite side of me. If anyone else said the same thing, we wouldn’t have heard from you two.
Gaytaffuk
mhoffman953
‘It’s just costumes. Lighten up’ – no it’s not. It’s about the intent behind those costumes. A couple pant is trying to make money out of one of the worst examples of genocide in recent times. Would you condone people wearing costumes depicting the Law Vegas gunman, or one of his victims? I doubt it. Would you condone people wearing KKK costumes for halloween – they’re just costumes after all!
‘If you want an example of a strawman’ the definition of strawman’ – ‘an intentionally misrepresented proposition that is set up because it is easier to defeat than an opponent’s real argument.’ Sadly your use of ‘strawman’ is wrong in this context -‘People are offended by everything nowadays’ this is NOT an argument, it’s a statement so your post, as usual, is a waste of everyone’s time!
‘If you want an example of a strawman, read Gaytaffuk’s response. When I said people get too offended easily, he made the strawman argument by saying if I think offensive Halloween costumes are ‘whatever’, he inferred that I also must think we should take away civil rights and live in the 1930s. That’s a strawman.’ that is NOT a strawman’ it’s an extremist ion of the facts to demonstrate an argument.
‘I think the biggest gripe you two old timers have is not the costumes but because I responded to the post and both of you just wanted to argue with me by taking the opposite side of me. If anyone else said the same thing, we wouldn’t have heard from you two.’
Sorry, you seem to be able to see what I’m thinking? I don’t think so. The biggest gripe I have is that a company can be so obtuse that they think it’s acceptable to produce a costume like that (the others shown aren’t much better) and that you think it’s unacceptable that people get, justifiably, offended. I would have responded whoever had made such a shortsighted, ignorant comment, the fact that it’s a dullard like you just makes it all the more appealing!
DCguy
Awwww, how adorable, the person who always defends anti-lgbt bigots, thinks people get offended too easily.
DuMaurier
@Juanjo, of course this isn’t a ‘free speech’ issue (in the sense of the First Amendment) but your rational rebuttal to that was at least slightly undermined by that weirdly off-point “training course in Moscow” thing.
Xzamilloh
I’m just curious as to why this would be a costume idea.
Kieran
They’ll apologize of course. But in the meantime, FREE PUBLICITY.
Texasholdem
At least they didn’t make an adult sexy version of this costume… Not yet anyway
Xzamilloh
With the tagline: hotter than something just out of the oven.
Brian
Tasteless humor is a valid form of humor. Stop trying to ruin it for those of us who enjoy it.
Brody
They get too much of a power surge when they feel they can dictate the behavior of others, so nah, they’re not going to stop, they’re only going to feel more empowered to continue their assault of various offenses.
jhon_siders
Lord its a costume It seems the blacks and Jews just keep digging up the past lets move on people and get a bit thicker skin I could sit and bitch all day to and be offended about every little thing too !
olfwob
Ok then, let`s kill your parents/grandparents and lets move on after that.
JK 1984
Since the “digging up the past” was from the company making the costume, it is hardly the “Blacks and Jews” bringing it up.
Considering there are still people alive today who were in the concentration camps or who lost parents/friends/grandparents/etc. during the holocaust it is hardly ancient history either.
When you and your race/culture have been systemically discriminated against and massacred then maybe your opinion will hold some weight.
DCguy
Interesting, there was literally NOTHING in that article about black people.
And yet you IMMEDIATELY attacked “The Blacks” before any other group that actually WAS named in that article.
Wow, you’re SO bad at hiding your racism you couldn’t even respond to an article that doesn’t mention “The Blacks” without taking an opportunity to attack them.
So, you’re not just racist, you’re also stupid.
mhoffman953
@DCguy
“there was literally NOTHING in that article about black people”
That right there proves that your popper abuse is effecting your reading comprehension. Apparently you missed the pimp costume
Jack Meoff
Better not go to Halloween dressed as a ghost or it might be deemed offensive to the corporeally challenged.
bigguy43055
I feel stupid. The blue coat I mistook for a dress and the beret, I thought it was Monica Lewinsky! How’s that for a funny Halloween?
RoughRugger
My kneejerk was that someone got Paddington Bear’s hat wrong…
Brody
Halloween used to be about funny costumes and good times.
Now, it’s nothing more than a hunting ground for perpetually offended snowflakes looking to make a name as angry SJWs by ruining everyone else’s enjoyment.
Congratulotions on destroying yet another holiday.
DCguy
Says the screename of the account that goes into blind rages of offense whenever anybody mentions Melania, or Don Jr/Ivanka.
Oh, I’m sorry, are we not supposed to point out your hypocrisy?
tham
A Russian named Brody…hmm…
Kieran
Who can forget professional asshole Bill Maher dressing as a bleeding Steve Irwin a few weeks after his untimely death. We can only imagine how his wife and kids felt about seeing that.
Heywood Jablowme
They didn’t see it, because they were in Australia and Maher’s show was only in the U.S.
Or maybe they’re “perpetually offended snowflakes” like Brody just explained. The other right-wing a-holes here (besides you) seem to think no one should ever be offended at anything!
artgolden
Bullshit. I’m Jewish and there’s nothing wrong with this, or any costume, Hitler included. Get a life, folks.
baal61
So you won’t to Virclempted if I goya’ to trot round as a skinny imate from Dacho’ perhaps? Err will d ya’ hiss at me Mashoogana?
Brad
OK Fellas,
This is a “Costume”,, not a “Halloween Costume”.
When I saw this image, did not understand who/what it is. Did not register anything more.
When I read about it in context of Halloween costume = not funny.
But immediately, I thought, oh – school plays and things. This is what I reasoned, before reading anything further. I thought this on my own, because I’m a reasonable person. REASON.
“Everyone is offended by everything these days”.. Let’s get some more reason, it’s all getting boring.
“Making money off of one of the worst events in history…” Yes, It’s called being in business.
“Moral Compass” – Walking around as Anne Frank on Halloween is tasteless, but If I sell pencils, I cannot help what YOU DO with the pencils you bought. REASON
“Censorship” – none of us want censorship. But with freedom of speech – comes idiots who will burn an American flag.. we don’t like it -OK. balance the need for free speech vs. terrible judgement, it’s the dilemma that comes with the territory. Reason it out guys.
“Burning in Auchwitz?” “Slaves”? “Kathy Griffin’s bloody head”? “Steve Irwin”, the list can go on and on. UNLESS you are interested in stirring up sh*t, (which is fine if that’s what you intend) – chill out and start to reason.
The volume of one’s offence taken out on H. Weinstein is in direct proportion to the lack of direct impact it has had on you. Notice the most abused are quiet. The truth is truth. The obvious is obvious. We don’t have to agree with it, or like it, or give it room in our society. But the recent need to “pile on” is really getting old – and in fact if YOU DON’T say something, then you are somehow complicit in the crime these days. Wow. Where is reason?
“Perpetually offended Snowflakes” are getting really boring.
I’m offended. I’m often offended. Then I put it somewhere, and continue to try and spread some good around. Not pile on and create more drama.
fireman452
I am kinda torn here, Ann Frank is a hero, no doubt about it and girls NEED role models like her to understand their importance, but I think as choices go this was a BAD one and I am glad to see the seller is removing the item from their available costumes – at least I think that is what I understand is going on here. Just do not want anyone to get the idea that Ann Frank was anything less than a great hero that should be held in the highest esteem, bar none.
Terrycloth
My first reaction in seeing the picture was oh.is that the new attire for girls who want to join the boy scouts..since it was recently in the news..I thought nothing more
brandon
How is this the headline article in the newsletter? It’s more of an opinion piece than news.
baal61
Bad taste ignorance is bliss’ however’ I can think of some real winners for this year’ applaus’ Ass faced Trump and Pence as a cute’ Gay marriage couple’ err’ how about a threesome’ throw in Putin’ in a Bad puppy outfit? The Times they are a change’n’ backward to public Witch burnings. and Scarlet lettered’ single women.
Bob Scardino
I can forgive them for being insensitive and doltish, but not for missing and apostrophe (‘s):
– “…World War II hero with this girls World War II costume.”
DJRM
Nope…not offended by any of it…as everything (and I do mean everything) is a costume. It’s halloween, so people should be free to dress up as absolutely anything they want. Without exception or apology. We’re all born naked, the rest is drag. So yes, you are a costume.
tham
I think I’m more offended by the way the girl is posing as Anne Frank than there’s a costume of Anne Frank.
For example if a 12 year old wanted to dress up as Anne Frank to school as a somber reminder to other people in her class…I’d absolutely support her.
Really, it’s all about context.
britt69
Imho the costume is very wrong.
darren michaels
I appreciate very much the fact that “Anne Frank” or anything related to such a tragic moment in history should not be celebrated. But like so much else in the world the constant pursuit of political correctness does wear a little thin.
If not for the retailer’s description, no part of the image represents Ms.Frank at all.
A collared dress and beret could very easily be a representation of a French schoolgirl, baguette not included. With the hanging tag suggesting “please look after this little girl” as per the same tag Paddington the Bear never goes with. It should be a thought that hanging tags were not an item of identification used, tattoos were. Anne had A-25063 tattooed onto her arm.
As is the case with most costumes, they are subjective. What one sees will not necessarily be what others see.
Awareness to viewers of who and what the retailer wants this ensemble to be is created well in advance with the title and description before even seeing the image.
Most often what has created the considerable attention and discussion is some random individuals bother. Don’t get worked up and even fewer people will see what needs to be censored.
I can’t imagine many little girls who would have the slightest idea who Ms.Frank is, or if they do wanting to dress up like her doesn’t strike as being an immediate consideration.
At the same time rather than immediately making Anne Frank a representative of tragedy, why can’t she be discussed and held up as a hero? A hero of the resilience and determination of whats good over evil. There are grown men and woman who couldn’t accomplish what Ms.Frank did.
Anne Frank never gave up, on her culture, her ideals, her hopes, or her dreams. The story of Anne Frank represents the determination of a young girl to see something very different through the darkness she was forced to experience. If little boys are able to represent comic book heroes Batman or Superman, why couldn’t Anne Frank, a true life hero, be represented by little girls as well.
She’s a hero whose legend lives on not requiring the mask, spandex or a cape.
Chris
Am I the only person who had to be told who this costume was supposed to represent? Honestly, if I saw some little girl walking down the street in this dress, I’d just think she’s going to school or the store or doing something everyday-ordinary.
doug105
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/76adae1bb773885e8f1de31330bc0a1811f199194a9d99d89c874a5c448d8e18.jpg
Luna1979
When I was in middle school, there was an abstract play about Anne Frank. It was filled with scary ghost-looking monsters and I couldn’t even tell who Anne was. I went away scared, but I didn’t know why. Honestly, if the play had used this costume and showed her as a sweet little girl who tried to survive in horrible circumstances, I could have related. As the company said, the costumes are for plays as well. I don’t think anyone would even know who she was supposed to be if a kid were dressed like this knocking on doors. Girl scout? Partisan? Student? The destination tag would fly over most peoples’ heads. My point is that the costume is useful if in the right setting.