http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071028/ap_on_...lloween_ap_poll

As you can tell, there is a significant "Trick of Treat" gap between whites and "minorities". Apparently, neighborhoods in which minorities live are not as safe, or are perceived as not as safe by the people who live there. Minority kids are therefore encouraged to stay at home more often.

Question for Debate:

1. Should the Federal government step in and allocate Federal agents in minority neighborhoods to encourage safety and enable minority children to lower the "Trick or Treat" gap?

2. What else can be done to enable minority children to enjoy halloween like the white kids do?

I think the problem with federal funding is that for every $1 given, each kid would get a $0.05 piece of candy.

Seriously, huh? Federal funding for trick or treat.

For decades, people have been carrying their kids into better neighborhoods for better trick or treating. Some families rely on church related functions, and of course finally some go to the mall or stay in.

I think the problem with this article in itself is that:
1. How on earth can someone accurately poll cross country on a topic like this. Geography is very meaningful. Consider that my parents neighborhood in Shreveport, less expensive than mine, gets 2-3 times as many trick or treaters than my neighborhood. Our neighborhood has kids, but people have the "big city" mentality here. They take the kids to church as they think the boogey man is going to abduct the kids. Apparently people in Shreveport haven't found out about the boogey man. Kids still trick or treat. My neighbor's kids did when they were younger. I just think they did a church carnival or something.

2. How many whites and blacks did they poll? Did they consider socio-economics? Who lives in homes vs Apartments? Inner city vs rural? (etc).

I think the idea is probably spot on, in that possibly minorities are more likely to live in areas where people might not open doors for trick or treaters, where traffic and other dangers pose problems, etc. Kids come in our neighborhood, but not in the droves that smaller towns get. Even our friends in McKinney get more kids and our neighborhood has just as many families. (maybe we have older kids... I'm not sure of that)

MOST IMPORTANTLY- Halloween should never be subsidized by the government, excepting possibly increasing security? What about that? Throw a few cops into a neighborhood. Maybe get off-duty volunteers? If I was a cop I'd volunteer for something like that. Have businesses sponsor something if the price and expense of candy and/or costume is an issue for poor people. Businesses that support the community will most likely get the money back in business. Poor people still buy things. It's a win-win.

I hate that it seems that poor kids are getting the shaft (as they often do) for something they didn't cause or sign up for. I hope someone takes care of these kids at school or church or something.

I have long disliked "Trick or Treating." I think it would be much better for everyone, if block parties or neighborhood parties were held. Cities could have larger parties at community centers, perhaps with donated candy, etc. defraying the cost. I would donate gladly to such a project to get rid of trick or treating.

Wednesday night I will personally leave home at dusk and not return until about midnight.

Sorry, but I spent 34 years dealing with kids. I've paid my dues.

1. Should the Federal government step in and allocate Federal agents in minority neighborhoods to encourage safety and enable minority children to lower the "Trick or Treat" gap?

In a country where there are people who can't generate sufficient interest in children to back federal health care initiatives, how in the living daylights could anyone successfully push the idea of subsidizing Halloween?

2. What else can be done to enable minority children to enjoy halloween like the white kids do?

In my city, kids from other neighborhoods are driven to ours to get candy in safer surroundings. Some have adapted, obviously.

I agree that the idea of block parties and community events is preferable to trick or treating if parents are that worried about their kids going out at night. It is regrettable; I really enjoyed trick or treating as a child. The idea of being able to go out at night was more exciting to me than the costume or the candy.

If communities cannot afford to provide sufficient safety and security for their citizens during the daytime, we can't very well expect them to do so at night, albeit one night a year.

The survey seems pretty reliable to me.



That's a decent size sample.

1. Should the Federal government step in and allocate Federal agents in minority neighborhoods to encourage safety and enable minority children to lower the "Trick or Treat" gap?

I assume this question was meant to be satiric. The point being made, I presume, is that it is folly for the government to attempt to correct all situations which seem unfair. This is certainly true when it comes to trivial things like Hallowe'en. It may not be true when it comes to more important matters, such as health care and employment.

2. What else can be done to enable minority children to enjoy halloween like the white kids do?

This is one very, very tiny part of a more important question. What can be done to ensure that all persons have equal opportunities? Entire books have been written about this very difficult problem, and we are certainly not going to settle the question here. Suffice to say that there must be some kind of balance among individual responsibility, action by private groups, and government policies.