Man who dressed 5-year-old son in Nazi Halloween costume says it was a 'bad decision'
A man who claimed his love of history was the reason he dressed his young son in a Hitler Halloween costume now admits that the getup was “in bad taste.”
Owensboro, Ky., business owner Bryant Goldbach offended many when he attended a local family Halloween event called “Trail of Treats” Thursday dressed as a Nazi soldier and his 5-year-old son as Hitler. The young boy wore a fake mustache and a jacket with a Nazi swastika logo.
Posting a Facebook photo of the family costume, Goldbach lashed out at his critics. “Anyone who knows us knows that we love history, and often dress the part of historical figures,” he wrote. “Tonight as we walked we saw people dressed as murderers, devils, serial killers, blood and gore of all sorts. Nobody batted an eye. But my little boy and i, dress as historical figures, and it merits people not only making snide remarks, but approaching us and threatening my little 5 year old boy.”
“That’s right. Tonight grown adults threatened a child over his costume,” Goldbach fumed. “Threatened his mom and dad as well. Threatened to rip his outfit off of him screaming obscenities, scareing a small child. First off, its none of your business. Second, how dare you! I mean How dare you threaten a child. Me, its one thing, but my child? You are messing with fire.”
After a weekend of epic backlash, Goldbach expressed regret, telling local news station WEHT, “I think it was in bad taste for me to let my child to wear that, probably for me to wear that. It didn’t occur to me. I thought it was a bad decision on my part.”
“I wasn’t trying to make a statement or put my son in any position,” Goldbach also told the Owensboro Times, according to Newsweek. “It was bad judgment. I want people to know I am sorry.”
Rabbi Gary Mazo of Temple Adath B’nai Israel in Evansville, Ind., told WEHT, “The fact that the father apologized is important; the fact he did not know the costumes would be offensive is a very sad reflection on our society. A good rule of thumb would be: If your costume calls to mind an event where millions were killed, choose another costume.”
“As we are learning through Megyn Kelly’s words as well, costumes where someone dresses up deliberately to mock someone’s race, religion, or nationality should be avoided. If the purpose of Halloween is to have fun — bigotry, anti-Semitism, and racism are not fun. That should be common sense. This is not being ‘politically correct,’ this is simply being respectful, understanding, and kind.”
Read more from Yahoo Lifestyle:
Man defends dressing 5-year-old son as Hitler for Halloween: ‘We love history’
1st-grade teacher under investigation for ‘offensive and appalling’ blackface Halloween costume
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