“We live in a society where people are incredibly sensitive about everything…I was actually going to do Indians next year, but I don’t want to offend Indians…in hindsight, this has become a real story, my God, I would have picked something else.…But it was Purim and I do this every year for thirty-five or forty years…anyone who was offended, I’m sorry they were offended…I just have to reiterate – it was Purim…my wife was the devil…”
Originally published at 9:26 pm CST 2-25-2013
Less than two weeks ago, NY State Assemblyman Dov Hikind attacked designer John Galliano for wearing clothes that Hikind thought evoked hasidic garb.
“Who is he mocking?. The way the socks look, the jacket, the peyos . . . My question is, who’s he laughing at?
“If it was just anyone else, I wouldn’t know what to say. But considering who this guy is, considering his background and what he’s said in the past, let him explain it to all of us: Are you mocking us?,” Hikind blustered to the New York Post.
When it became clear the clothes were high end designer clothes made by his friends, and the ADL's Abraham Foxman came to Galliano's defense. Even so, Hikind failed to retract his accusations or apologize.
Now the shoe is on the other foot and Hikind, ever the hypocrite, can't understand why anyone might be upset at him. In fact, Hikind said his blackface costume was all done "in good fun." It was, after all, Purim. "People," Hikind confided to the press, "are incredibly sensitive."
I'd imagine that after almost 100 years of post-slavery minstrel shows with white stars in blackface makeup lampooning "primitive" blacks and the Jim Crow laws that came with it, we'd be a bit sensitive, as well.
Here is Hikind's 'apology' for his blackface costume:
Above: Dov Hikind, center, his wife, left, and his son Yoni, right, Purim 2013.
Below: John Galliano's 'offensive' clothes:
Related Post: Dov Hikind Wears Blackface As Purim Costume, Prompts Questions Of Racial Insensitivity.
[Hat Tip: Burich.]