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Halloween is coming. This means Trick or Treaters, or would if I was planning to be anywhere near home. Something that the British just don't get.
My understanding of the way this works in the US is that the small kids go around the very local neighbourhood, accompanied by parents or sometime arranged buy schools/community groups with a large group of kids and a responsible adult. The community is expecting this, because it's part of the tradition, so make sure they have plenty of sweets. And it's only the very young kids. Kids over 12 consider it childish.
In Britain we see it on American TV shows, and implement a sort of cargo-cult version. In which much older kids go around on their own, in half-arsed costumes, knocking on the doors of people who have been drilled by the Daily Fail to assume that any teenager only wants to mug them. The fact that they're wearing masks doesn't exactly assuage this fear.
The solution is for the police to warn kids not to do this. This is a really really crappy solution.
Kids want to do this. People seem to have no fundamental issue with this as long as it's organised in advance. Wouldn't it be nice if someone were to organise this as an opt-in thing. Warn the neighbours in advance. Let them put up a poster saying they're participating. Because as far as traditions go it does look kinda fun.
My understanding of the way this works in the US is that the small kids go around the very local neighbourhood, accompanied by parents or sometime arranged buy schools/community groups with a large group of kids and a responsible adult. The community is expecting this, because it's part of the tradition, so make sure they have plenty of sweets. And it's only the very young kids. Kids over 12 consider it childish.
In Britain we see it on American TV shows, and implement a sort of cargo-cult version. In which much older kids go around on their own, in half-arsed costumes, knocking on the doors of people who have been drilled by the Daily Fail to assume that any teenager only wants to mug them. The fact that they're wearing masks doesn't exactly assuage this fear.
The solution is for the police to warn kids not to do this. This is a really really crappy solution.
Kids want to do this. People seem to have no fundamental issue with this as long as it's organised in advance. Wouldn't it be nice if someone were to organise this as an opt-in thing. Warn the neighbours in advance. Let them put up a poster saying they're participating. Because as far as traditions go it does look kinda fun.
