A fun true story for you:
Once upon a time, I went to a Halloween party at McGill University in Montreal with a friend of mine who’s of Ismaili heritage. He was dressed as Aladdin from the Disney movie. Now, McGill prides itself on being progressive and very “woke,” and this particular Halloween party had a policy against costumes that could be considered racially insensitive.
So, my friend—the actual brown-skinned guy—walks up to the entrance, dressed as Aladdin, and is immediately questioned by a young white girl at the door about his costume. She was clearly trying to enforce the no-racial-costumes rule. My friend gives me a look and says, “Don’t worry, I got this.”
When she asks him, “Who are you supposed to be?” he responds, completely deadpan, “Oh, I’m not Aladdin. I’m a stripper.”
She hesitates for a second, gives him a weird look, but then just waves him into the party.
I stood there, kind of in disbelief at how ironic the whole scene was—a young white girl policing a brown-skinned guy about what he could or couldn’t wear to a Halloween party in Canada. It was ridiculous, but honestly, hilarious at the same time.
Let me know if that hits the mark!
