Happy Halloween!

[Project Willow]

Over 50 years old now and yes the triggers are still powerful and the memories still invade.

with help and support, you eventually learn to say of childhood/ritual abuse "it's in the past, it's not happening now."

but on THIS day, this night.... the most horrible part is the reality and certainty that it IS happening now - somewhere, to someone. to innocent people and helpless animals. and you know too well how it all goes down, on this night.

there's a confusing mix of relief and guilt that you got out and lived your life, knowing others were not, or won't be, as fortunate.

Thanks Fugitive, beautifully put. I've thought of you lately after reading old threads. I went full circle too, now back into doing the costume thing and may even go out this night, but not without guilt, or awareness, and wishing I had a video camera, a vehicle, and some leads, but then what to do with the recordings is one escapes?

[Peregrine]

This rousing pagan holiday is currently in such full candy-giving swing at my front door that I can hardly even focus on the pressing issues at hand on the forum. I just ritually presented three tootsie pops to a thirty-two inch tall bumblebee, who said "twika", and left. Boo-yah.

I had such a giggle fit at this...

My daughter was a cute little bumble bee this eve... Maybe it was her... But I don't think she has the "twika" part down quite yet

You know us parents are going out for this just to pilfer our kid's goodie bags... especially when their not quite of age to object!

[Free]

Thank god Halloween's over! A load lifted.

I don't have cable and barely ever turn on the TV, but on Saturday I found myself in a work situation where a TV was on and it wouldn't have been appropriate for me to turn it off. I ended up watching the entire episode of "America's Top Model." The show was beyond belief - they brought the aspiring models to the meat packing district in New York City and made them wear cuts of beef as clothes and pose for photos next to hanging cow carcasses!

Who comes up with this stuff? Are they trying to trigger or install triggers (not sure if it would work) in the viewers? De-sensitize people?

At certain points during the show, they flashed a photo of Tyra Banks on the screen, a photo of her eating a 3 inch thick steak that was in a pool of blood on the plate!

So...I thought Halloween was supposed to be associated with hobgoblins, ghosts and harmless fun. This was a blatant linking of Halloween with blood and sacrifice.

Not sure what to say, (and I'm not even going to address the sexism on steroids) except that, hopefully, our culture is hitting rock bottom and the only way to go is up.

[professorpan]

Oh for fuck's sake! Halloween has always been my favorite holiday. If we're going to get upset about depictions of skeletons, vampire, and witches because of U.S. foreign policy, we might as well give up on all holidays -- birthdays (why celebrate births when so many people are DYING!), Christmas (how can we give presents when so many people are STARVING TO DEATH!), Thanksgiving (see Christmas), etc. etc.

I can't believe the OP isn't satire.

Scary, creepy imagery has been part of human culture forever. Suggesting frightening imagery is intentional "triggering" is just insane. If you don't like it, ignore and avoid it. But don't insinuate that there's anything wrong with people enjoying dressing up as monsters, zombies, vampires, werewolves, or witches and having some fun playing in the shadowy side of the human experience.

EDIT: Let me be clear -- if scary, occult, or other dark imagery is a problem for you because of some trauma in your life, I have complete sympathy for you and I'm sorry that Halloween is full of reminders of your personal trauma. But anyone suggesting that dark imagery or Halloween is essentially *bad* because it celebrates the dark aspects of life, well, please read some Jung and "lighten" up.

[vince]

I ended up watching the entire episode of "America's Top Model." The show was beyond belief - they brought the aspiring models to the meat packing district in New York City and made them wear cuts of beef as clothes and pose for photos next to hanging cow carcasses!

Who comes up with this stuff? Are they trying to trigger or install triggers (not sure if it would work) in the viewers? De-sensitize people?

.

Sounds like they were re-creating The Beatles 'butcher cover'!

[sunny]

Thank god Halloween's over! A load lifted.

I don't have cable and barely ever turn on the TV, but on Saturday I found myself in a work situation where a TV was on and it wouldn't have been appropriate for me to turn it off. I ended up watching the entire episode of "America's Top Model." The show was beyond belief - they brought the aspiring models to the meat packing district in New York City and made them wear cuts of beef as clothes and pose for photos next to hanging cow carcasses!

Who comes up with this stuff? Are they trying to trigger or install triggers (not sure if it would work) in the viewers? De-sensitize people?

At certain points during the show, they flashed a photo of Tyra Banks on the screen, a photo of her eating a 3 inch thick steak that was in a pool of blood on the plate!

So...I thought Halloween was supposed to be associated with hobgoblins, ghosts and harmless fun. This was a blatant linking of Halloween with blood and sacrifice.

Not sure what to say, (and I'm not even going to address the sexism on steroids) except that, hopefully, our culture is hitting rock bottom and the only way to go is up.

http://pseudoccultmedia.blogspot.com/20 ... s-and.html

[Free]

Thanks Sunny, the site looks interesting.

[Pele'sDaughter]

I enjoy halloween because it's the one day I am heyoke/trickster.

[Cordelia]

I ended up watching the entire episode of "America's Top Model." The show was beyond belief - they brought the aspiring models to the meat packing district in New York City and made them wear cuts of beef as clothes and pose for photos next to hanging cow carcasses!

Who comes up with this stuff? Are they trying to trigger or install triggers (not sure if it would work) in the viewers? De-sensitize people?

So...I thought Halloween was supposed to be associated with hobgoblins, ghosts and harmless fun. This was a blatant linking of Halloween with blood and sacrifice.

Not sure what to say, (and I'm not even going to address the sexism on steroids) except that, hopefully, our culture is hitting rock bottom and the only way to go is up.

I agree about the culture, but not sure it will go up.

'Nothing is Forbidden, Everything is Permitted'

~Hassan bin Sabbah~

[barracuda]

Beacause they wore meat dresses on America''s Top Models, you're invoking Hassan bin Sabbah? I thought they did that every year. Meat dresses are the new black anyway.

"If we cancel Halloween, then Satan has indeed won the day."

[Cordelia]

"If we cancel Halloween, then Satan has indeed won the day."

Didn't Hassan bin Sabbah say that too?

[barracuda]

Actually, I don't think he even said the other one.

[SonicG]

I agree with Hilda - Dia de los Muertos is where it's at. I like to blame a lot the US hangups on the Protestant influence of the FEAR of death leading to a death-obsessed culture that is far more culpable than any Hollywood keyword hijacking. For all its faults, at least Catholicism has allowed the blending in of positive "pagan" influences such as admitting death as a natural part of the world - a necessary cog in the wheel of life itself. It is no coincidance that it is tied into harvest festivals and involves symbolically feeding our ancestors since their deaths have given us life in a sense. I don't dislike Halloween although living abroad allows me to miss it quite easily but I do feel sad about how it reinforces the Protestant hiding from death meme.
I lived in Mexico for a few years and was surprised to find a correlation here in Japan with the Obon holiday which although it is held in mid-August, it is considered to be at the start of Autumn. Harvested rice stalks layed out to die in the still-warm early Autumn sun...

[norton ash]

Any Canadian can tell you that meat dresses are like SO 1987. I mean, wake UP, Ty-ra!

Vanitas: Flesh Dress for an Albino Anorectic
Jana Sterbak 1987

mannequin, flank steak, salt, thread, color photograph on paper


http://collections.walkerart.org/item/object/957

[barracuda]

Yeah, but I always thought you weren't supposed to salt your dress before you cook it, or... something.

Anyway, 1987 is coming back, I heard.