Trick or treating. . .

[robbersdog]

Ok, what does everyone think about trick or treating?

Personally I think it's no more than institutionalised mugging. We are asked to give something under threat. How can parents let their kids do this? I was never allowed to trick or treat, but I never wanted to. My mum explained to me why she didn't want me to and I understood. I get so annoyed at trick or treaters now.

[hgc]

Jealous.

I got candy. You got an "explanation." If I gave credence to all the crazy crap my mommy told me, I'd be in a padded cell today.

Don't be a killjoy. Candy rocks!

[Thanz]

Originally posted by robbersdog
Ok, what does everyone think about trick or treating?

Personally I think it's no more than institutionalised mugging. We are asked to give something under threat. How can parents let their kids do this? I was never allowed to trick or treat, but I never wanted to. My mum explained to me why she didn't want me to and I understood. I get so annoyed at trick or treaters now.
If you don't want to give out candy, don't answer the door. Or just put up a sign that you are out of candy.

Sounds like someone is bitter that they didn't get any free candy as a kid.... :p

[geni]

Originally posted by robbersdog
Ok, what does everyone think about trick or treating?

Personally I think it's no more than institutionalised mugging. We are asked to give something under threat. How can parents let their kids do this? I was never allowed to trick or treat, but I never wanted to. My mum explained to me why she didn't want me to and I understood. I get so annoyed at trick or treaters now.

Depends on the style. Cute five year olds in well made costumes are fine. Teenagers with no costumes other than skinheads and doc martins are not. Mind you this year I don't realy care as no one is going to be stupid enought to come to the door of student halls trick or treating.

[uneasy]

We were kept naive as kids, and I never knew what the trick part meant. We just said "trick or treat" and that was it.

Strangely, I learned what the trick part was when my church showed us a morality movie about kids who got in trouble doing a trick on Halloween. Thanks, church! I never new I could threaten violence to get candy! :)

I can't stand it because they are out begging at 4pm. Want to know something, kids? In some houses people aren't there because they're out working for a living. Since they are almost done begging by the time I get home, I just run some errands until it's over. bah humbug :)

[Brown]

Give out religious tracts (http://www.abcnews.go.com/sections/US/Living/halloween031031-3.html) instead of candy. Word will get around, and kids will avoid your house next year.

[Andonyx]

I don't think most people follow through on the "trick" part...at least we didn't as kids in my neighborhood...

Well, we did jam up the septic tank of the woman who gave out apples.

And soaped her windows...

And TPed her trees...

Dug up her garden...

And shot her dog....

But that was just the one time.

[c0rbin]

I agree that trick time is nigh for those unwilling to face the Dogma that is Trick or Treating.

I have a carton of eggs that I have been saving on my roof since last Halloween and I do believe the name "robbersdog" has magically appeared on it.

:p :D :D

[patnray]

It's a chance for us to try to scare all the kids who come to the door - they have to put up with MY tricks if they want a treat! My favotite victims are teenage boys who think they are way too cool to be scared. They jump highest of all when I do get them!!!

[Sandy M]

Not mugging - extortion! "Give me X or I will do X!"

I just turn off the porch light and ignore any rings or knocks at the door. The grinch that refused to participate in Halloween. LOL

[Yahweh]

Originally posted by robbersdog
Personally I think it's no more than institutionalised mugging.
Is that what you call "charity"?

[DangerousBeliefs]

... one of the most fun holidays from my youth.

While the PC police have sucked much of the life out of it... I'm willing to shell out the $5 in candy every year.

:coal:

[Peter Morris]

Not mugging - extortion! "Give me X or I will do X!"To the gun lovers of America (http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=220721)

[T'ai Chi]

Originally posted by robbersdog
Ok, what does everyone think about trick or treating?


Sometimes I give out candy, sometimes, like this year, I put up a sign that says: "Sorry, ran out of candy :(", taped to the inner door and then lock the screen door, when I have better things to do (hang with family, do work, etc).

There was an exploded egg splatter in my driveway the day after though! I took some measurements, did a quick calculation, and found that the egg hit at an angle of 3 degrees, which is to say someone basically threw it like skipping a stone, and had no real intention of hitting the house. There was also only enough egg shell found to make one egg, so again, the egger wasn't serious about doing his/her job.

I'm thinking a kid (obviously) who couldn't commit to actually hitting someones' property. Considering I had house lights on at the time, he/she was probably afraid someone would run out and catch them.

Fun holiday though.

[pupdog]

Hey, when I was a wee pup Halloween was a great opportunity to stay out late, learn a little local geography (ie, strange neighborhoods), and get a pile of candy that would last for months!

In recent years, kids don't go trick or treating like they used to. Also, around here, we have the Fundies ranting about Satanism and Halloween (as well as Christmas) and crazy people you wouldn't want your kids to visit. Too bad.

[Grommitt]

I get so annoyed at trick or treaters now

I get so annoyed at sour cranks that have a stick so far up their butts that they wouldn't recognize childhood whimsey if it took a crap on their head.

Let the kids have their innocent fun. You can turn off your porchlight, sit in the dark and reminisce about the fun times you had with your mum.

Jeesh!

[PinkRabbit]

Well, hell, clearly somebody needs to live in my house on Halloween. I live in a cul de sac, next to a park, in a neighoborhood of old people. Haven't had even a stray trick or treater in several years, and truthfully I miss the little mites from my old place. T'was fun, and I rather envy people who get a bunch of kids through.

Barb

[Renfield]

Originally posted by robbersdog
Ok, what does everyone think about trick or treating?

Personally I think it's no more than institutionalised mugging. We are asked to give something under threat. How can parents let their kids do this? I was never allowed to trick or treat, but I never wanted to. My mum explained to me why she didn't want me to and I understood. I get so annoyed at trick or treaters now.

Just turn your porchlight off like you aren't home. Most trick or treaters will skip your house. If you don't like it, don't participate. What's the prob?

[Dragonrock]

Growing up on the border of Mexico made me a little cynical about halloween. More often than not the knock on the door was from 13 teenagers that had piled into the back of a pickup and driven across the border to get free candy. They never had costumes and they were usually very rude, especially if they didn't like what you were handing out.

Then I started a trend in my neighborhood. I started waving the teenagers away before they even came to my door. Some of them would argue, but I would say you can come up, but I'm not giving you anything. Next thing I know the neighbors are doing it too. The pickup trucks started just driving past our street.

[Psiload]

Originally posted by robbersdog
Ok, what does everyone think about trick or treating?

Personally I think it's no more than institutionalised mugging. We are asked to give something under threat. How can parents let their kids do this? I was never allowed to trick or treat, but I never wanted to. My mum explained to me why she didn't want me to and I understood. I get so annoyed at trick or treaters now. Just curious...

What was your mother's explanation for not wanting you to go trick or treating?

- Did she buy into the 'razor blade in the apple' urban myth?

- Did she fear to place your immortal soul within reach of Satan's grasp?

- Did she fear the annual protection racket of Halloween was a gateway crime that would lead you into the world of organized crime?

[The Don]

Originally posted by Psiload
Just curious...

What was your mother's explanation for not wanting you to go trick or treating?

- Did she buy into the 'razor blade in the apple' urban myth?

- Did she fear to place your immortal soul within reach of Satan's grasp?

- Did she fear the annual protection racket of Halloween was a gateway crime that would lead you into the world of organized crime?

Or was she just worried about p*ssing the neighbours off ?

[Undodog]

Being British, I used to hate the idea of Trick or Treat Americanizing our kids.
Then I remembered that our tradition is to have a fortnight of under-16 amateur pyrotechnitians throwing what are essentially legal grenades at people or tying them to domestic pets. What we have is a celebration of horrific burn injuries and nights spent in overcrowded casualty waiting rooms. Two weeks where my cat is too frightened to go outside, even during the daytime because there are fireworks being let off from 11am throughout the day. Why? I’ve no idea.
Unfortunately, we haven’t quite got the hang of Trick or Treat yet so we get the ones who turn up two days before, which in my opinion is called ‘begging’.

[Corey]

You have to take advantage of certain mindlessly perpetuated cultural practices while you can...especially if they involve free candy and socially justifiable revenge.


Personally, I plan on training my kids on effective "trick" tactics, to balance out the candy part. I don't want them saying "trick or treat" without a full grasp of the meaning.

[Psiload]

Originally posted by Undodog
Being British, I used to hate the idea of Trick or Treat Americanizing our kids.
Then I remembered that our tradition is to have a fortnight of under-16 amateur pyrotechnitians throwing what are essentially legal grenades at people or tying them to domestic pets. What we have is a celebration of horrific burn injuries and nights spent in overcrowded casualty waiting rooms. Two weeks where my cat is too frightened to go outside, even during the daytime because there are fireworks being let off from 11am throughout the day. Why? I’ve no idea.
Unfortunately, we haven’t quite got the hang of Trick or Treat yet so we get the ones who turn up two days before, which in my opinion is called ‘begging’. I suspect the whole 'trick or treat' concept, is just a modern, and polite form of the old British highwayman "Stand, and deliver... your money, or your life." threat.

[peptoabysmal]

One of my favorite parts is when people go all out to dress up their house for Halloween. The one I saw this year while taking my grandchildren trick-or-treating beats anything I have seen previously. It looked like Hollywood special effects. They had fog machines and tombstones and a zombie and animated giant rats that would jump out of the hedges at you. The crowning piece was this huge gargoyle that spread its wings, turned its head and then spewed smoke / fog out of its mouth. There were portals all over the lawn where fog was slowly oozing out.

Here, I've got pictures:

http://home.jps.net/~eduke/halloween.jpg
http://home.jps.net/~eduke/halloween2.jpg http://home.jps.net/~eduke/halloween3.jpg http://home.jps.net/~eduke/halloween4.jpg

[Hannibal]

How is it any different than carol singing?

"PAY US OR WE'LL SING A LOAD OF OUT OF TUNE DROSS AT YOU!"

Also in the UK we have a crap bonfire tradition called "cob-coaling" which is the least imaginative door-to-door begging you can do.