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Don radical attire this Feast of Souls
By Zoë Williams
williamz@mscd.edu

As a young atheist, Halloween was the only holiday I could truly enjoy. I had always thought my excitement had something to do with the lack of Jesus references, getting to stay out late and the abundance of dress-up opportunities.

Now I realize I was lured in not just by the face paint, glitter and sin, but by the holiday’s political connotations as well.

Oct. 31 was originally Samhain, or the Celtic New Year. Samhain was celebrated with conversations with the dead, community parties, bobbing for apples and carving turnips. Historical evidence suggests that the tradition of trick-or-treating originated with Irish immigrants after the potato famines of the 1800s. It is said that on Oct. 31, poor immigrant families would go door to door seeking food and money from the rich. When the affluent did not cooperate, their homes were vandalized.

I think trick-or-treating is the most brilliant symbolic custom our society has adopted: a commemoration of militant redistribution of funds. It is terribly unfortunate that the custom has been appropriated by megacorporations to sell candy, cards, toys and costumes that resemble advertisements more that outfits.

Among American families distributing candy to trick-or-treaters, 26 percent give out full-size candy bars. Much of the chocolate comes from cocoa farmed by children in slave conditions on the Ivory Coast.

That’s a damn shame considering that Halloween used to be a day of community and direct action. Leftists are all about reclaiming things: rights, democracies, streets and so on. We might as well take a holiday if nothing else.

This year, we can start small. I am all for baby steps – like costumes. It is my understanding that political costumes, such as Bush administration masks, are on the rise. Why not culture jam your buddy’s Halloween party by rounding up some friends and going as the Axis of Evil? Anyone dressed as Hugo Chavez can surely be my date.

Should you prefer the recent “sexy” costume craze – as in sexed-up witches, nurses and the like, why not try out a run as a sexy Unabomber? If laughable costumes aren’t your bag, why not dress as the sweatshop worker that made everyone else’s?

Another good fallback could be any political prisoner of the past and present, ranging from the Rosenbergs to Mumia Abu Jamal. Surely no other couple would think of coming as Karl Marx and Frederick Engels. What better way could a strong and independent woman go out than clad as Valerie Solanas, also known as the woman who shot Andy Warhol for his sexism?

If you hang out in my circles, why not get really scary and show up clad in a black suit with matching tie, sunglasses and an earpiece that you are caught muttering things into occasionally? I guarantee you that I would be terrified. Should you be visiting my political opponents, a suicide-bomber get-up would certainly have the same effect. Gay clubs could show true class by having Stonewall Riot-themed soirees.

Instead of trick-or-treating, why not go for trick-or-leafleting? Throw on an Al Gore mask and offer information on global warming. Any number of issues ranging from animal testing to fair-trade chocolate to the revocation of civil rights would certainly leave a spooky impression on the houses you visit.

I am really thinking this could get big. The political situation in this country surely isn’t getting any better. It’s about time the hellions, dissidents and rabble-rousers had a day in celebration if we have to spend the rest of the year in struggle.