The joys of Halloween.
Not told off face to face as such, but in print, by a lot of people. In explanation, one of our local newspapers has a weekly column whereby people are invited to write in voicing an opinion on whatever topic they choose. I (dare I say) naively wrote in voicing an opinion about Halloween, and about how its slow but steady emergence in the country I call home, Australia, was in my opinion, getting out of hand and that we were becoming way too Americanised. I waffled on about how the parents were unwittingly contributing to this bit of nonsense, by encouraging their children to go around the neighbourhood at dusk, trick or treating to a generally unenthusiastic public. It galled me to no end that the little blighters were ringing doorbells expecting a handout of confectionary, and for what may I ask, because their mothers had dressed them up in some brainless costume and that it was Halloween? Give me a break.

Unexpectedly it seems, I struck a nerve …. not in favour of my opinion mind you, but against it. Oh so against it. In the newspaper column for a few weeks leading up to, during and after Halloween, my opinion was criticised and attacked from sun up to sun down. I was abused within an inch of my life and told I was a halfwit and that I should pull my head in. I was described as a moron, a mental defective, you name it, I was called it. My character was sarcastically ridiculed and mocked. Suffice to say my spirit was in tatters when the dust finally settled. In looking back now on that whole sorry episode though, all I can say is that thank Christ I had the foresight to chose to remain anonymous by requesting the newspaper to withhold publicising my name and suburb, otherwise I might have received a little more trick or treating than I had bargained for. So much for freedom of speech though.
(Cogitator, Mon 24 Sep 2007, 3:52, Reply)