‘Voyeurism is a crime’; Scary Peeper Creeper pulled from Home Depot shelves after wom

spaminator

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‘Voyeurism is a crime’;
Scary Peeper Creeper pulled from Home Depot shelves after woman’s complaint
Postmedia Network
First posted: Monday, September 26, 2016 01:57 PM EDT | Updated: Monday, September 26, 2016 02:36 PM EDT
A Home Depot Halloween window decoration was way too scary for a Toronto-area woman.
The Scary Peeper Creeper was so frightening she got the home improvement chain to pull it from store shelves.
She argued the $29.98 decoration, which shows a man wearing a hoodie over dirty hair and cupping his face with his hands to make it look like he's peering through a window, trivializes predatory behaviour against women.
Breanne Hunt-Wells told CBC News that the Creeper is "inappropriate and makes light of a real-life, sinister issue that women face in our society."
"I fail to see the humour in it," Hunt-Wells told CBC Radio's Metro Morning. "It makes light of a very serious crime. Voyeurism is a crime in Canada."
A brief description on Home Depot's website says the Scary Peeper Creeper is "perfect for scaring friends and family during Halloween or any other time of the year."
After Hunt-Wells contacted CBC, the network passed on the complaint to the company.
"We agree that this is not in line with our core values," Home Depot spokeswoman Emily DiCarlo responded. "(We) are currently in the process of removing this product from our assortment."
"We've reached out to advise the customer of our actions and apologize. We're sorry for any offence that was caused."
A Home Depot Halloween window decoration was way too scary for a Toronto-area woman. The Scary Peeper Creeper was so frightening she got the home improvement chain to pull it from store shelves. (Home Depot)

‘Voyeurism is a crime’; Scary Peeper Creeper pulled from Home Depot shelves afte
 
Danbones

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I'd swear that is Tony Blair in his new catholic priest get up
 
TenPenny

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I don't get the rationale. Voyeurism is a crime, so this decoration is not acceptable. I'm pretty sure murder and dismemberment is also a crime, yet the other gory decorations are allowed.
 
taxslave

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TenPenny said:
I don't get the rationale. Voyeurism is a crime, so this decoration is not acceptable. I'm pretty sure murder and dismemberment is also a crime, yet the other gory decorations are allowed.
Click to expand...

The real gory ones are not trigger points for hysterical women with too much time on their hands.
 
spaminator

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It's all about the timing for Halloween props, party store says
By Jenny Yuen, Toronto Sun
First posted: Monday, October 10, 2016 08:39 PM EDT | Updated: Monday, October 10, 2016 08:42 PM EDT
TORONTO - Peeping Toms, serial killer masks and a man fighting his way out of an electric chair — perfect Halloween props or a sign that things have gone too far?
A Home Depot in the GTA recently pulled its Scary Peeper Creeper window decoration, which depicted a man wearing a hoodie and leering — as if peering through a window — after a female customer complained it trivialized predatory behaviour against women.
But that isn’t stopping other stores from selling the creepy decoration and other controversial Halloween items and costumes.
“They have to remember the time and the context,” insisted Shawn Hamilton, of the Amazing Party Store in Etobicoke. “You wouldn’t want to have (the peeper) as everyday decor. When it’s sensitive to some people, you can consider maybe not doing things like that, but generally, it’s an open day for people to do crazy things.”
Hamilton said his business will “walk that line” between tasteful and controversial.
There are a few things he won’t condone, including anything hate-crime related, such as Nazi uniforms. Last year, he refused to stock a Caitlyn Jenner rubber mask.
“We felt the transgender thing was a touchy subject at the time, but generally, we try to push the envelope,” he said. “It’s just like anything in a party store business, and Halloween is pretty acceptable for some touchy politically hot potatoes.”
But that doesn’t mean he doesn’t receive customer complaints.
“This ‘Shocker’ costume came out a few years ago and there is a sexual connotation around it and younger people were asking for it,” recalled Hamilton. “So, we did carry it and it was a best seller for a few years.
“The psych ward stuff is a bit of a hot potato,” he added. “It’s not meant for anything else except a fright ... We take note — if we find we’re getting too many complaints, we have a meeting on it and may not want to carry it for the next year.”
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Registered clinical psychologist Oren Amitay says banning controversial Halloween outfits or decorations would be going too far, but costume shops should be sensitive to the potential impact that they can have:​
•“The reality is, if you think about the context in which childhood abuse/trauma happens most often, you would be better off banning costumes, uniforms or ads dealing with beds, family members, religious leaders, or coaches,” Amitay told the Sun. “I am not being facetious. The point is that we cannot prevent all of the possible exposure to potentially triggering stimuli that is present all of the time, and it does not make sense to get rid of these particular stimuli on Halloween.”
•Amitay notes most schools organize Halloween parades or exhibitions, where all the children get involved and most seem to have a good time. “Such contexts could actually help them deal with past fears because they are being exposed to the potentially triggering stimuli in a fun and safe environment.”
•“Masks and costumes have been part of culture dating back as far as we can remember and serve a variety of purposes, for instance performance or celebration. Yes, certain costumes could be traumatizing, but I do not believe that such a risk should prevent people from enjoying themselves on certain occasions in this way,” Amitay said. “Otherwise, we would be better off banning clowns because a fear of clowns is not that uncommon and it does reach phobic levels for quite a few people. However, because clowns or various costumes typically appear only in certain contexts, people can usually avoid them or prepare themselves for the fear or discomfort they might experience if encountering them is inevitable.”
•“Although this is a different article, my concern is more about the very tasteless costumes that ridicule serious issues such as anorexia, or that reinforce the notion that girls are valued only for their sexiness,” he said.
jyuen@postmedia.com
A Home Depot Halloween window decoration was way too scary for a Toronto-area woman. The Scary Peeper Creeper was so frightening she got the home improvement chain to pull it from store shelves. (Home Depot)

It's all about the timing for Halloween props, party store says | Toronto & GTA
 
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