I think this effectively serves as Bill Maher’s reply:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=320&v=JaC1-U8LIY0&feature=emb_logo

In this day and age, I think hardly anyone’s going to dress up like a Klansman. If they do, are we really going to default to the worst outlook on it? I dressed up as Che Guevara one year knowing full well that he was responsible for the deaths of innocent Cubans. My costume included a nerf gun and a covered-over pamphlet with the title “Compliments Manifesto.” Ironically, Che is one of those people whose face is actually “cool” in the public eye. The point is, costumes aren’t always about emulation; they’re sometimes also about parody. There will no doubt be a few people who dress up as Hitler, but it would be a light-year-long stretch to assume that whoever does so has any intention of praising him. If that’s not common knowledge, it should be.

And look, I understand I’m not in a perfect position to understand some people’s feelings on these politically-incorrect costumes. The closest thing for me would be if someone dressed up as a ‘Black and Tan’ British soldier - as a learner if Irish Gaelic, I have a strong resentment for what the British Empire took away from my ancestors’ nation culturally. In any case, I’m past the point of letting lack of personal experience stop me from expressing what I believe is right. So if someone wants to comment on this and tell me I’m “privileged” - better yet, “white privileged” - they can go ahead. It won’t change my mind.

Would I dress up as a Nazi or a Klansman? Probably not. But I believe it’s better, in this case, to be permissive than restrictive. We allow comedians to make jokes that potentially arouse bad feelings in others, so why can’t we allow a bit of that to regular everyday folks? A Nazi Halloween costume is not quite as out-of-place as a few girls in Arizona who line up for a senior photo with letters spelling the N-word.