No Trick-or-Treating: LA County (Pasadena, West Hollywood: legal, authority, ordinances)

[Axxlrod]

Wondering how this mandate is legal.

Garcetti does not have the power to tell people what they can or cannot wear. If somebody wants to wear a "costume", there is no law against that.

Garcetti does not have the power to tell people that they cannot go knock on another person's door.

Stop being sheep!

[Mike930]

Originally Posted by ohio_peasant

Next we're going to see a thread about enterprising citizens reporting scofflaw trick-or-treaters to the local constabulary.

I can just see some kid in a Spider-Man costume getting tackled with candy flying everywhere.

[Trekker99]

Originally Posted by ohio_peasant

Next we're going to see a thread about enterprising citizens reporting scofflaw trick-or-treaters to the local constabulary.

That'll take place on Nextdoor as it blows up Halloween night with the Karens picture shaming kids.

[ohio_peasant]

Originally Posted by Axxlrod

Wondering how this mandate is legal.

Garcetti does not have the power to tell people what they can or cannot wear. If somebody wants to wear a "costume", there is no law against that.

Garcetti does not have the power to tell people that they cannot go knock on another person's door.

Stop being sheep!

We seem to be beyond casuistic finery of what's "legal". Pandemic, emergency, emergency powers etc. Form up, stand straight, and commence goose-stepping! To debate what powers the mayor or other officials have or don't have, has come to be regarded as being "selfish" - and other choice pejorative adjectives. We have a program, and are expected to get with it. Laxity or grumbling won't be tolerated!

[frankrj]

Originally Posted by ohio_peasant

That's a losing bet. The sort of folks whose main grievance is obstacles to entertainment, travel or general quality of life, aren't going to riot. They're not only too disorganized, but also too compliant. Young people are only too quick in outdoing each other, how civic-minded and forward-thinking they are. This ban will be accepted as yet another "necessary sacrifice".

I didn't think they accepted the rolling blackouts and set your a/c to 78 and use fans.

[frankrj]

Originally Posted by Texamichiforniasota

This is from the County Dept of Public Health not the mayor. I like Halloween a lot, but I'm glad they made this decision. I have a preschooler and elementary school age kids who love Halloween, but Trick or Treating is not a good idea this year. I normally decorate up my house and get between 200-400 trick or treaters a year. Maybe 10% live in the neighborhood, and the rest are from poorer areas full of apartments a couple of miles away. The kids are usually really well behaved/polite (better than me and my friends were at that age) and it is a lot a fun that I look forward to.

This year, I had already decided I wasn't going to participate. I don't want a bunch of COVID + vectors standing on my porch. 2/3 of the houses on my street are owned by people over 65, so I'm guessing most of the neighborhood wouldn't have participated either. We found some Jack-o-lantern and Ghost shaped plastic Easter-Egg like containers on Amazon that we'll fill with candy and do a ghost and pumpkin hunt for our kids in the backyard in their costumes. It may not be as fun as trick-or treating, but hopefully we'll be able to trick or treat more safely after vaccines next year.

It's not just trick or treating for kids, it's grown adult fun at halloween parties, haunted houses, and anything large to celebrate halloween in L.A. county. That is so un- L.A. from what I remember.

It'll still happen in San Bernardino, OC, or Riverside and each day people & families travel back and forth from those counties. One county won't make a huge difference.

[saibot]

You can't catch Covid from someone in the length of time it takes to drop a piece of candy in the bag they are holding, especially if you're both outside and wearing masks. Banning trick-or-treating appears to be nothing more than a symbolic display of power that the masses have to passively accept.

[MI1287]

Originally Posted by Trekker99

That'll take place on Nextdoor as it blows up Halloween night with the Karens picture shaming kids.

LOL so true! I made it two weeks on Nextdoor before I had to tap out.

[DKM]

It just looks to me an over abundance of caution to stop spreading the virus (especially parties). But I don't live in fear of dictatorship takeover in the USA. Sounds a bit looney to claim this is a power-grab

[ohio_peasant]

Originally Posted by DKM

It just looks to me an over abundance of caution to stop spreading the virus (especially parties). But I don't live in fear of dictatorship takeover in the USA. Sounds a bit looney to claim this is a power-grab

To elevate any one specific action, to the status of impending dictatorship, is indeed "loony". But we have to behold things in context. What is the pattern? In what direction is it going? If remedies are invoked in response to a crisis, are those remedies rescinded, once the crisis passes? And by what criterion do we regard the crisis to have passed?

Look for example at our counterparts in Melbourne, Australia. Melbourne much resembles LA... climate, culture, architecture, lifestyle and on and on. Melbourne has been "locked down" for quite some time. Cases dropped dramatically. Then there was partial loosening of restrictions. Cases rose - a bit. The response? Even more draconian new restrictions. The goal? Well, you'll have to ask the good people of Melbourne (or more properly, the leadership of Victoria, their province). But the proverbial goalposts keep moving.

Of course it's silly to throw a fit JUST over cancellation of Halloween festivities. But let's continue the thread. What injunctions and sanctions will we receive regarding Thanksgiving? And then, Christmas? Caroling will be canceled. Gift exchanges. Christmas dinner.

It's especially sad, because we've just had all sorts of flare-ups of "culture wars" over traditional holidays. "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas", and that whole thing. Remember? It was supposed to be an assault by secular lefty whoever-they-were on good old fashioned America. Or something like that. Whether THAT was a real assault, or a phony one, no longer matters. Because now we have the 'rona, to cancel anything and everything. The culture wars were won... not by culture-warriors, but by cover-your-behind knee-jerk fear.