I’ve seen my fair share of Halloween Costumes. Some of them are hilarious, some are clever, some are stupid, some are offensive (I’ve had a friend dress up as Hitler, not once, but twice. Our Jewish friend thought it was awesome though). However, the outrage over Coyotes player Raffi Torres is a complete joke.

For those who aren’t aware, Torres decided his Halloween costume would be rapper Jay-Z, along with his wife dressing up as Beyoncé (complete with baby bump). Torres (a very fair-skinned person) decided to go all out with the costume and paint his body in dark makeup to complete the look. Looking at the picture…he did an amazing job. It looks very realistic and paid homage to a musician that Raffi enjoys.

So where’s the harm? Torres honored his favorite rapper, got his wife to dress up as a famous musician, and they did a phenomenal job getting the details right on their costume. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, right? Not according to media people like Bill Plaschke, who called this “a disgrace” because a player was dressing up in “blackface.” NAACP leader Reverend Oscar Tillman even requested a meeting with Torres in regards to his costume, going so far to call the Coyotes “losers.”

Let’s get something straight, Blackface was offensive back in the ’20s. Generally it was BLACK makeup (not brown) and usually left the mouth and parts of the face white. Those performers in blackface usually portrayed African-Americans as moronic and mentally-challenged. They were portrayed as less than human. This was wrong, and has no place in today’s society.

Torres, on the other hand, didn’t don “blackface.” Rather, he mimicked the skin tone of someone he looks up to. Calling this to the attention of the nation doesn’t make people more aware of racism’s harm; it just calls attention to race! I don’t know Torres personally, but I can guarantee you that if he meant to be racist, he wouldn’t have produced a near flawless costume. Torres would have made a mockery of Jay-Z if he were trying to be racist. Teammate Paul Bisonette (who sent out the picture on Twitter originally) followed up with a tweet that said, “For someone to dress up as one of the most successful couples of our generation on Halloween isn’t racism.” Truer words have never been spoken.

In 2011, there are still racists, but the majority of us understand that a person is judged by character, not skin color. I remember the lyrics to “Everyone’s a Little Bit Racist” from Avenue Q:

If we all could just admit, that we are racist, a little bit.
And everyone stop being so PC.
Maybe we could live in harmony.

The song says that we all notice differences in people, accept that people are different, and don’t get all hung up on those differences. Notice them and move on, then maybe we can all live together in a world that stops caring that you’re different. The problem with people like Rev. Tillman is that they play the victim card. While that may have been true in the past, if you keep playing the victim card, you’re only going to be looked at as a victim. The racism that occurred in the past was awful. For those who have been an attack of a racist act, I can see how hearing about a true story of racism can be a painful reminder. This, however, is not racism.

I say “bravo” to Torres for honoring his idol. A parody or mockery would have been awful, but Torres did an amazing job. I also look at this as a wonderful sign. We are moving into a post-racial world. A Hispanic man and his wife had no second thought about dressing as a successful African-American artist for Halloween. Besides, it’s Halloween! It’s designed to be a fun holiday. I’m excited to see if he tops this next year.