Retailer Target found itself in hot water over a Halloween costume for children after receiving complaints that it closely resembled outfits worn by performers using blackface during minstrel shows from the Jim Crow era.
With Halloween just two months away, we’re going to start seeing a lot more of this.
Legal United States noted the costume “Kids’ Glows Under Blacklight Circus Clown Halloween Costume Bodysuit” was made through Hyde and EEK! Boutique, a Target seasonal brand. The image of the costume featured a black child model wearing a hat, gloves, and a gigantic, toothy smile.
The smile in particular, so the offended have said, apparently made the costume look too close to a depiction of a black person from the bygone era of segregation.
Images of the costume along with an apology from Target, began circulating on social media platform X.
🚨New: Target has issued an apology for their Halloween costume listing this year pic.twitter.com/aTITCsgI1k
— The Calvin Coolidge Project (@TheCalvinCooli1) August 25, 2026
Do you think the costume is offensive?
After explaining that the costume was no longer available, the brand claimed it was “especially hurtful for our Black guests.” Why “Black” is a proper noun can be another discussion, but what is the logic in calling this “hurtful?”
It is a Halloween costume.
If Target were to keep it for sale, would some well-meaning black parent buy it for their children?
By pulling the listing, are they implying that black people cannot think for themselves or make decisions about what’s best for their children?
Beneath every action on behalf of a minority group by the woke mob is the “soft bigotry of low expectations.”
According to Pacific Legal, this was originally a phrase used in 1999 by then-Republican Gov. George W Bush about upholding consistent expectations in education regardless of the child. The term denotes a patronizing attitude toward someone seen as lesser who is in need of help that — in the mind of the supposedly superior party — cannot be expected to operate under the same standards as the rest of us.
Putting it plainly, this is the foundation of the modern liberal outlook — being offended on behalf of a group of people who, they believe, are simply too stupid and ignorant to be offended. They must be coddled and protected.
It is, to be sure, a form of bigotry. At that, it’s more than a tad ironic, coming from a mass of ideologues who vociferously denounce bigotry and racism any chance they get.
Sure, the costume looks dumb, and it was probably a bad idea to put a black child model in it.
The key, if “solving” that misstep is important, is not to let the minority of politically minded leftists make the decision.
Why not let the market decide? If the sales are low, the costume won’t be around long.
In allowing the consumer to decide, the market does what the left does not — it allows individuals the freedom to choose for themselves.
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