OK, which of you wrote this Dear Prudence question about Trick or Treat?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Everyone knows you go to the townhome communities -- more bang for your walking buck.

Funny! This is what happens in our neighborhood.

Our neighborhood is close to neighborhoods with houses on acres of land. Their kids come to our neighborhood because it is too much walking and no sidewalks.

We welcome everybody, we know when kids are not from our neighborhood because the kids go to school together and they know they don't take our bus home.

We love it and serve beer/wine to parents.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Everyone knows you go to the townhome communities -- more bang for your walking buck.

Funny! This is what happens in our neighborhood.

Our neighborhood is close to neighborhoods with houses on acres of land. Their kids come to our neighborhood because it is too much walking and no sidewalks.

We welcome everybody, we know when kids are not from our neighborhood because the kids go to school together and they know they don't take our bus home.

We love it and serve beer/wine to parents.

Us too, major townhouses and we are busy that night! I love it!

[Anonymous]

Saw that on STFU Parents. It's fake. I'm not saying some people don't think like that but the exaggerated way it's written? Ott.

[Anonymous]

Same here, townhouses and very busy. Love it!

I feel sorry for kids in areas without good sidewalks.

[Anonymous]

We live in a neighborhood that is a really close community and people go all out with the inflatable lawn decorations and so forth. We have watched Halloween change in our neighborhood over the past eight years or so. It went from being a local neighborhood party where you saw your friends' kids, caught up with old friends, and occasionally offered them a beer -- to being a big "free candy festival" for up to 300 people from outside the neighborhood. Things that we used to do in the neighborhood -- giving little kids a ride in a golf cart, the big kids setting up little tricks to scare the smaller kids, the big kids dressing up like zombies, the parents dressing up -- all of this has changed now that it's no longer a neighborhood event. We get massive amounts of traffic -- the lazy ass parents who trail the kids in a minivan and won't get out of the car, and most years I've been annoyed because if I have to drop one of my kids off at a Halloween party at a friend's house outside the neighborhood, I actually spend time in traffic in my neighborhood waiting to get back to my house.
And lately, we've had kids not only visiting at Halloween but showing up later soliciting funds for their school teams, trying to sell us stuff for their school fundraiser, etc. I concur with the poster who said that they chose a family-friendly neighborhood and chose to spend the money for that neighborhood. THe principle is called free-riding, folks. If you drop your kids off at my door, but there is no intention of reciprocity, then you're a user.
I buy your kid's stupid fundraisers, and you buy my kid's scout cookies, etc. It's a trade-off. Tit for tat. Just showing up and expecting things is not that. I think the original letter writer was correct when she said that it was actually a form of charity -- in which you take but don't give back. I agree with her. I pay taxes, I buy extra school supplies and backpacks for kids in September, I buy someone a turkey at Thanksgiving, Christmas, I buy extra Christmas gifts for someone else's child, I pack backpacks so kids have lunch on weekends if they get a free school lunch, I donate to Habitat for Humanity -- does everything in America need to be about redistribution? Why can't Halloween just be a neighborhood event? That doesn't seem unreasonable to me.

[Anonymous]

Prudie is always answering ridiculous, clearly fake questions--this one, adult twins in an incestuous relationship, a MIL poisoning the letter writer during family meals. I read her column for entertainment value but I think the majority of the letters she answers are fake.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Prudie is always answering ridiculous, clearly fake questions--this one, adult twins in an incestuous relationship, a MIL poisoning the letter writer during family meals. I read her column for entertainment value but I think the majority of the letters she answers are fake.

OK you're going to say this letter is fake when literally right above your post there's a long post ranting about Halloween being "redistribution?"

[Anonymous]

How wealthy is this person if they are freaking out about spending on candy? She is the cheapest person alive!

[Anonymous]

Oh, for God's sake! We live around Eastern Market and every year there are hordes of trick or treaters who are clearly not from the neighborhood but from the less affluent parts of the city. So what! Only a grinch would object to giving out candy to kids whose parents want them to have a safer experience or maybe to get better candy. If you can afford to live in a nice area, you can afford a few extra bags of sweets! These are kids!

Oh, and sometimes we even get homeless people 'trick or treating.' They are adults dressed in ratty clothes with a garbage bag. So? I give them a piece of candy. That's a small enough kindness to give someone who is not living the happiest life.

People are awful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Oh, for God's sake! We live around Eastern Market and every year there are hordes of trick or treaters who are clearly not from the neighborhood but from the less affluent parts of the city. So what! Only a grinch would object to giving out candy to kids whose parents want them to have a safer experience or maybe to get better candy. If you can afford to live in a nice area, you can afford a few extra bags of sweets! These are kids!

Oh, and sometimes we even get homeless people 'trick or treating.' They are adults dressed in ratty clothes with a garbage bag. So? I give them a piece of candy. That's a small enough kindness to give someone who is not living the happiest life.

People are awful.

+1, from another who lives near Eastern Market.

[Anonymous]

We go to a different neighborhood every year because we are invited by a friend as her guests. She does not have children, but does a ton of decorating and LOVES Halloween. We bring 4 giant bags of candy to hand out, my kids go to 3 or 4 houses, and we hand out candy to a ton of people who have come from less-fortunate areas.

Our stance is that we'd much rather have those kids come to her neighborhood, be safe, get a bunch of candy, and enjoy their Halloween. And my friend enjoys seeing my children for the holiday.

[Anonymous]

Probably one of my neighbors! I live by Capitol South metro and all the kids from Anacostia come over here to trick or treat every year. Whatever. Bags of candy at 5 for $15 at CVS right now. I think I can spare it. It's a damn piece of candy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Prudie is always answering ridiculous, clearly fake questions--this one, adult twins in an incestuous relationship, a MIL poisoning the letter writer during family meals. I read her column for entertainment value but I think the majority of the letters she answers are fake.

OK you're going to say this letter is fake when literally right above your post there's a long post ranting about Halloween being "redistribution?"

Haha, I totally did not see that before I posted my "clearly fake" post. 10:34's post does seem less fake to me than the Dear Prudence letter--somewhat less absolutist--but they are definitely along the same lines.

Now if 10:34 comes back and says not only is she pissed about poor kids taking her hard-earned candy but she would also like to acknowledge that she's having an affair with her twin and poisoning her daughter-in-law, I will rethink my assessment of Dear Prudence.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Prudie is always answering ridiculous, clearly fake questions--this one, adult twins in an incestuous relationship, a MIL poisoning the letter writer during family meals. I read her column for entertainment value but I think the majority of the letters she answers are fake.

OK you're going to say this letter is fake when literally right above your post there's a long post ranting about Halloween being "redistribution?"

Haha, I totally did not see that before I posted my "clearly fake" post. 10:34's post does seem less fake to me than the Dear Prudence letter--somewhat less absolutist--but they are definitely along the same lines.

Now if 10:34 comes back and says not only is she pissed about poor kids taking her hard-earned candy but she would also like to acknowledge that she's having an affair with her twin and poisoning her daughter-in-law, I will rethink my assessment of Dear Prudence.

I don't know. Surely among the 316 million people in the US, there is at least one mother-in-law who is trying to poison her daughter-in-law, and at least one set of incestuous twins.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We live in a neighborhood that is a really close community and people go all out with the inflatable lawn decorations and so forth. We have watched Halloween change in our neighborhood over the past eight years or so. It went from being a local neighborhood party where you saw your friends' kids, caught up with old friends, and occasionally offered them a beer -- to being a big "free candy festival" for up to 300 people from outside the neighborhood. Things that we used to do in the neighborhood -- giving little kids a ride in a golf cart, the big kids setting up little tricks to scare the smaller kids, the big kids dressing up like zombies, the parents dressing up -- all of this has changed now that it's no longer a neighborhood event. We get massive amounts of traffic -- the lazy ass parents who trail the kids in a minivan and won't get out of the car, and most years I've been annoyed because if I have to drop one of my kids off at a Halloween party at a friend's house outside the neighborhood, I actually spend time in traffic in my neighborhood waiting to get back to my house.
And lately, we've had kids not only visiting at Halloween but showing up later soliciting funds for their school teams, trying to sell us stuff for their school fundraiser, etc. I concur with the poster who said that they chose a family-friendly neighborhood and chose to spend the money for that neighborhood. THe principle is called free-riding, folks. If you drop your kids off at my door, but there is no intention of reciprocity, then you're a user.
I buy your kid's stupid fundraisers, and you buy my kid's scout cookies, etc. It's a trade-off. Tit for tat. Just showing up and expecting things is not that. I think the original letter writer was correct when she said that it was actually a form of charity -- in which you take but don't give back. I agree with her. I pay taxes, I buy extra school supplies and backpacks for kids in September, I buy someone a turkey at Thanksgiving, Christmas, I buy extra Christmas gifts for someone else's child, I pack backpacks so kids have lunch on weekends if they get a free school lunch, I donate to Habitat for Humanity -- does everything in America need to be about redistribution? Why can't Halloween just be a neighborhood event? That doesn't seem unreasonable to me.

Um.. maybe some parents bring their kids over because it's safer 'round the affluent areas. Maybe they don't feel safe walking or driving around their neighborhoods. Maybe in their low income 'hoods not many people participate in giving out candy. I invited an acquaintance with their kids over to my more affluent area because in their area, there aren't very many kids, so it's not as much fun. We have since moved out of the area, but they have gone back to that area during Halloween. I think it's great that they can do that. I think it's great that here, in the US, we can freely move around, for the most part.

So, because you donate to charity throughout the year you want just this one event to be neighborhood only, even though this event is celebrated by the entire country, for the most part. I know, put a sign out that says "for my affluent neighbors only." Good luck with that.