Thoughts of a comic book dad this time of the year

Appropration of culture is something I have heard a lot about lately on the internet. Especially around Halloween time with costumes and why people find them offensive. In this case, here, I find our comics being used as one of these arguments, mostly because of the movies.I had a discussion with my wife the other night about our kids Halloween costumes based off of some circulating articles and discussions from Facebook and other blogs.Apparantly, there was an uproar about little white kids wanting to dress as black super heroes like Black Panther and Falcon. She came to me and asked what my response would be if my son wanted to dress up like Black Panther. I said I would let him. She asked what I would do if another parent brought it up and my response was "He isn't being T' Challa, he is being Black Panther. Steve Rogers has been Black Panther. He is Steve Rogers as Black Panther. If anyone wants to bring it up, that's my answer.". She was dumbfounded.I went onto explain. Comics have not been about skin color or gender or race or religion for a long time. We as comic readers have been ahead of that curve for a while. It's not about who you are or what you look like but the strength of your character to step into the role of the hero.From white and female Black Panthers, lady Thors, black Captain Americas, Muslim Ms. Marvels, black and woman Spiderman, and gay Green Lanterns, it doesn't matter to us. Using comics to push your social adgends is the wrong tree to bark up. It had been a space that the writers and creators have pushed the limits of social acceptance and inclusion for a long time. It is our world that is using them otherwise.I guess my point is that let your kids be heroes. If you think your race, creed, sex, or whatever "owns" a hero you are most likely wrong. Don't put your prejudice on your kids by using our comic book heroes as an example because you are doing exactly what the creators have fought against for years.Caps shield is not white. A Lanterns ring is not racial. Black Panthers suit and Thor hammer are not sexist. Let's not make it that way with our kids. via /r/Parenting https://ift.tt/2Oge1GU