Halloween costume horror

So what next? Shall I be ranty, funny, self absorbed or some incredible mixture of the 3? Well let us make a start and see what we end up with!

I’m constantly impressed with the power of Twitter. Its ability to quickly mobilise people behind a cause (#timetotalk), unite people in times of great joy (#royalbaby) or just be fantastically daft (#geekpickuplines). It makes me feel like, what can seem a very big world, is actually a very small place in which a sense of community does still exist (fear not I’m not about to break into “I have a dream”).

Today is a great example of what I like best about the people power of Twitter. Now some of you may have caught snippets on mainstream news of a backlash against the likes of Asda, Tesco and Amazon regarding their oh so politically correct choice of Halloween costumes. Those ‘friends to the populous’ at Walmart have, with the ironic sensitivity of an axe wielding maniac been selling a costume labelled ‘Mental Patient’ which depicts such a maniac covered in blood. Not happy to be out-cretined  Tesco also produced a ‘Psycho Patient’ orange jumpsuit with the word ‘committed’ emblazoned upon it. Full marks to their buying teams for going retro and believing they were stocking stores in 1950s America.

Now clearly this is a shameful representation of the continued stigma around mental health. Plenty of wonderful tweeters took to their phones, tablets, laptops and, in rare exceptions (like those of us working in companies with the IT infra-structure fresh from the ark) a PC to condemn the retailers. Not only that but to seize the opportunity to observe what this says about how far we all have to come before anyone with a mental health problem can say so openly and get the support they need instead of living in fear of the newly coined Asda promise that “people will be running away from you” – catchier than ‘Every Little Helps’ you have to agree.

And so I come to #mentalpatient. People from all walks of life posting pictures of themselves showing their ‘costumes’: Mums in jeans for the school run, stock brokers in sharp suits, students with green hair, we saw it all including a fantastic array of funny faces and comedy hats. Proving brilliantly that there is no such thing as a stereotype of someone with a mental health problem and also that, those that do, tend to possess a pretty awesome sense of humour.

Needless to say both of these retail giants have removed the offending items from sale as a result and money has been promised to mental health charities. A result for people power and Twitter. #nicelydone

Now where can I get my costume for my daughter to wear to her 6^th birthday pole-dance party I wonder???