Two postal workers died this week of anthrax and seven others have been hospitalized. Even before the deaths and outbreaks, the media was reporting that parents were not going to let their kids go trick-or-treating because they were worried that tainted candy would be given to their kids.
This demonstrates that not only are the terrorists (or whoever is responsible for the anthrax poisoning) successful at scaring adults into seclusion, but now children are suffering as well.
I do not mean to trivialize the situation at all. I know that anthrax is very serious and that it is wise for people to be cautious.
With all the chaos and uncertainty that is going on right now in the world, those least deserving to deal with it are children. As adults, we can deal with it and make sense of the madness much better than children can.
Parents’ fear about tainted Halloween candy is not a new phenomenon.
When I was younger, there was a case where a razor blade had been slipped into some Halloween candy and that created an uproar of unprecedented proportion.
My parents, along with countless others across the nation were skeptical about letting their children out of the house to collect goodies on Halloween.
Much of the uproar was unwarranted. There were only a few select cases where candy had been tainted, however it seems to happen every year.
It seems to go in cycles. Some years there are a lot of incidents in which candy has been tainted and then some years it is not the trend.
However, this year is different. The threat of anthrax being sprinkled into candy is not the same as the threat of a razor blade.
But is it really a reason for parents to keep their children at home and not go out and have fun?
I would say that it is not, however, I am not a parent.
I think that with all that is going on in the world right now, children need to still have experiences that are fun. They should be able to forget about the mess that adults have made of the world. Dressing up on Halloween and going trick-or-treating is a way for children to forget worries and enjoy themselves.
It also might be a time for evil people to try and take advantage of children by tainting candy, but that has always been a threat.
If parents are worried about the candy that their children are getting at Halloween, then they need to do what my parents were doing when I was younger: check the candy and make sure that it is in a sealed wrapper that has not been tampered with.
And as far as Necco wafers go (or any other powdered candy), if parents are truly worried that they have been tainted with anthrax, just throw them away to be sure.
Halloween has been a fun holiday for children for many years, and parents have been concerned for their children’s safety while trick-or-treating for just as long.
This year should be no different.
Children should still go out and have fun and parents still need to be cautious about their children and the possibility of tainted candy.
What should not happen is a paranoia about children going trick-or-treat at all. Parents need to be concerned about their children, just as they always have been. But paranoia about anthrax, razor blades or poison in Halloween candy is not a reason to deprive children of a chance to have fun and just be children. After all, the day after Halloween; they will have to go back to school and hear about all of the bombing that has taken place while they were sleeping.
The world right now is a chaotic and scary place. But on Halloween, children will get to pretend that they are different people, even if only for a few hours.
I encourage parents to let their children do this instead of keeping them at home. Many cities and neighborhoods have “safe” Halloween events set up which are designed to provide alternatives to normal Halloween activities such as trick-or-treating.
Christine Owen, a senior journalism major, is editor in chief of the Campus Times. She can be reached by e-mail at owenc@ulv.edu.
