Fancy dress fascists. Offensive Halloween costumes...

[Scampi]

I do agree to a point but my point is, who is getting offended at this? I may well be wrong but I've only heard a couple of members of the public and a health care worker getting offended.

Edit: To add, these costumes are clearly exaggerated, cartoon like characters more akin to something from a film rather than a depiction of someone with mental health problems.

I find it offensive. There's a history of mental illness on my fathers side of the family. Two of my relatives have been hospitalised and my cousin ended up committing suicide. Of course i might just be being "offended on someone else's behalf"

 

[Publius Ovidius]

I do agree to a point but my point is, who is getting offended at this? I may well be wrong but I've only heard a couple of members of the public and a health care worker getting offended.

Edit: To add, these costumes are clearly exaggerated, cartoon like characters more akin to something from a film rather than a depiction of someone with mental health problems.

We know a person who is suffering horrendously from mental illness following a personal tragedy, and she is going through absolute hell. We are waiting the call to say she took the easy way out.

Mental health services in this area are a joke due to the cuts.

I suppose I could say I and all her friends and family are offended.

But keep going anyway.

 

[MissGull]

Why call for the costumes to be removed though? The issue is with the names used. They should be "Axe Murderer" and "Cannibal Prisoner". Surely action groups representing the media interests of these two segments of society are going to go ... "ok, fair enough, we probably asked for it!"

I feel offended for the axe murderer and the cannibal prisoner, actually.

 

[HawkTheSeagull]

Pathetic, although ASDA in Eastbourne have had a lot of people asking about the outfits today as they want to buy them after seeing coverage on the news !

They arent offensive at all, sure the "Mental Health Patient" outfit probably isnt the best name - but how many Mental Heath Patients wear white suits with a knife covered in blood ? And how many people do you see on a Mental Heath Ward wearing an orange US prison style jumpsuit ?

Society these days is a joke, too many people are precious. I think they look like decent costumes myself.

 

[Nibble]

We know a person who is suffering horrendously from mental illness following a personal tragedy, and she is going through absolute hell. We are waiting the call to say she took the easy way out.

Mental health services in this area are a joke due to the cuts.

I suppose I could say I and all her friends and family are offended.

But keep going anyway.

That's kind of what I was asking in my OP. I see it as fuss over nothing and I too have some close family who have suffered and are suffering form mental health problems but I have a strange concept of offence, in that I don't actually believe in it as a concept but that's another story. Clearly others are going to feel different.

 

[Tyrone Biggums]

Certain types wear Che Guevra t-shirts all the time in public and that fella was a cold blooded murderer.

Nobody seems to mind that though.

 

[HawkTheSeagull]

Just text a member of my family who works with people who have mental conditions - the staff where she works all find it massively over the top and that the only thing wrong about it is the name "Mental Health Patient" - but its surely nothing some renaming couldnt sort out.

A part of me thinks this is partly some Mental Health charities seeking a bit of free PR.....

 

[father_and_son]

I feel offended for the axe murderer and the cannibal prisoner, actually.

You should contact "PaddedWall", the group defending the rights of axe murders and cannibals everywhere against the prejudices and stereotyping by the non-murdering majority!

 

[MissGull]

You should contact "PaddedWall", the group defending the rights of axe murders and cannibals everywhere against the prejudices and stereotyping by the non-murdering majority!

Great, I'll jump on that Bandwagon.

This is just all a big hoo-har about the naming of these costumes, right? No one is actually offended by the costumes, just the names.

 

[The Stout Yeoman]

See Stan Collymore's tweet of about 16 hours ago ...this started the discussion ....

 

[Nibble]

Great, I'll jump on that Bandwagon.

This is just all a big hoo-har about the naming of these costumes, right? No one is actually offended by the costumes, just the names.

Yes, I think the consensus is that whether one is offended by the name or not, Asda and Tesco should have foreseen a bit of a shitstorm and had a re-think before putting the things on sale. Especially seeing as it's still over a month until Halloween. The silly season is upon us, next stop Christmas!

 

[Buzzer]

Just text a member of my family who works with people who have mental conditions - the staff where she works all find it massively over the top and that the only thing wrong about it is the name "Mental Health Patient" - but its surely nothing some renaming couldnt sort out.

A part of me thinks this is partly some Mental Health charities seeking a bit of free PR.....

As a counter to that, a very good friend of mine is an area nurse working with people with acute mental problems and she and all her colleagues are appalled. I think it's got nothing at all to do with free PR but that's just my view. You are right in that renaming it would solve the issue but this does rather highlight that there are a lot of people out there with some very ignorant preconceptions of mental illness.

 

[User removed 4]

It's not about being offended. It's to do with stigmatising mental illness and those who suffer from it.

Mad bloke, looks scary, knife in hand, blood everywhere - let's call him "Mental Patient".

Why?

Because he looks like one.

Really?

Sorry buzzer, got to disagree with you on this one , its fancy dress costume ffs, nobody in their right mind would confuse the outfit with some poor sod suffering from bi-polar or depression etc .

PS see what I did there ?

 

[Nibble]

Aside from the offence that may be taken it is mind boggling that during the design and branding process, from concept through to sign off on packaging nobody thought to question the names of the costumes. How daft can folk be?!

 

[MissGull]

Yes, I think the consensus is that whether one is offended by the name or not, Asda and Tesco should have foreseen a bit of a shitstorm and had a re-think before putting the things on sale. Especially seeing as it's still over a month until Halloween. The silly season is upon us, next stop Christmas!

Next stop Christmas? It was a few stops back actually. I've been tripping over advent calendar stacks for months. You mean next stop Easter!?

 

[Billy the Fish]

The fact that big organisations pander to it just encourages others to be offended.

I long for the day when Tescos or Wallmart release a statement that says: "Get a life and get over yourselves you useless, whiney tw*ts. It's make-believe, it's not supposed to depict a real mental hospital and we all know that you know that. You just want something to complain about because the rest of your pitiful life is so empty and meaningless"

I do some work at a mental health unit in london and all the patients I've seen are wearing nomal clothes.

 

[Buzzer]

nobody in their right mind would confuse the outfit with some poor sod suffering from bi-polar or depression etc

Someone did. They called the costume 'Mental Patient'.

 

[Nibble]

The fact that big organisations pander to it just encourages others to be offended.

I long for the day when Tescos or Wallmart release a statement that says: "Get a life and get over yourselves you useless, whiney tw*ts. It's make-believe, it's not supposed to depict a real mental hospital and we all know that you know that. You just want something to complain about because the rest of your pitiful life is so empty and meaningless"

I do some work at a mental health unit in london and all the patients I've seen are wearing nomal clothes.

Ha! Now that is a statement I'd like to see.

 

[OzMike]

They just don't get it here and think anyone who does is some kind of devil worshiper.
You would have thought with all the Americanism here it would be rife, but oh no, they all hide under the bed with one of the 57 varieties of bible depending on what faith is flavour of the month.

 

[Nibble]

Never used to be much of a deal here did it? Certainly not on such a commercial scale. I think costumes you make yourself are better anyway. Most people just dress up as themed Zombies nowadays anyway.