What’s Wrong with Trick-Or-Treating in ‘Rich’ Neighborhoods?

A common practice for kids on Halloween is to travel to the “rich” neighborhood in the area to trick-or-treat in order to get the best candy possible. This is no surprise as the whole goal of Halloween is to get the biggest, most, or best candy.

Well one wealthy parent expressed her feelings on this practice when they wrote to Emily Yoffe, also known as Prudence on her blog on Slate.

The full letter from the “concerned” parent reads:

“Dear Prudence,
I live in one of the wealthiest neighborhoods in the country, but on one of the more “modest” streets—mostly doctors and lawyers and family business owners. (A few blocks away are billionaires, families with famous last names, media moguls, etc.) I have noticed that on Halloween, what seems like 75 percent of the trick-or-treaters are clearly not from this neighborhood. Kids arrive in overflowing cars from less fortunate areas. I feel this is inappropriate. Halloween isn’t a social service or a charity in which I have to buy candy for less fortunate children. Obviously this makes me feel like a terrible person, because what’s the big deal about making less fortunate kids happy on a holiday? But it just bugs me, because we already pay more than enough taxes toward actual social services. Should Halloween be a neighborhood activity, or is it legitimately a free-for-all in which people hunt down the best candy grounds for their kids?”

The letter has gone viral, with many people speaking out against this parent’s views on Halloween and income inequality as a whole.

In my opinion, Prudence’s response sums up my views:

“Dear 99,
In the urban neighborhood where I used to live, families who were not from the immediate area would come in fairly large groups to trick-or-treat on our streets, which were safe, well-lit, and full of people overstocked with candy. It was delightful to see the little mermaids, spider-men, ghosts, and the occasional axe murderer excitedly run up and down our front steps, having the time of their lives. So we’d spend an extra $20 to make sure we had enough candy for kids who weren’t as fortunate as ours. There you are, 99, on the impoverished side of Greenwich or Beverly Hills, with the other struggling lawyers, doctors, and business owners. Your whine makes me kind of wish that people from the actual poor side of town come this year not with scary costumes but with real pitchforks. Stop being callous and miserly and go to Costco, you cheapskate, and get enough candy to fill the bags of the kids who come one day a year to marvel at how the 1 percent live.
—Prudie”

Is it so wrong that those that are not as well-off take ONE NIGHT to walk the streets of a wealthy neighborhood for candy? Is this increasing crime in your neighborhood? Can you not afford a couple extra bags on your shopping list to give to those who can’t even afford candy at all? No. It most definitely is not a problem for you.

The fact that people think that paying “taxes toward actual social services” is them doing their part in society, is sad. These taxes clearly are not helping much since the income inequality gap continues to grow larger and larger in our society.

It’s selfish thinking like this that is what is wrong with America and, if there is going to be any kind of social change moving forward, it’s this thinking that must cease to exist.