$0.01 [Is my Dog's Halloween Costume Racist?]

Did you know that I wanted the dogs to be the Obamas for Halloween?  Betelgeuse as Barack, Lulu as Michelle, and Kyler and I as secret service agents.  But I eventually decided against it.

When I canvassed the idea with friends and family, some contended that the costumes were racist because the President and First Lady are Black.  True, the President and First Lady are Black, but I just thought it was a great costume idea.  I mean, Lulu would have made a fantastic Michelle Obama with that smile.  I even made an Obama dog costume inspiration board.*

But I ended up choosing dog costumes that were a little less controversial:  flowers.  And I think that choice was racist.  Because basically the only reason I went with flowers instead of the Obamas was because the President and First Lady are Black and I did not want to be perceived as racist while I paraded the costumed pups around Greenpoint.

Turns out that it can be hard to recognize racism these days.  So, for your reference, in addition to flowers, here are some actual racist dog costumes to avoid next Halloween.  Please note the President and First Lady are NOT pictured because dressing your dog up like the Presidential Family in a respectful way is fun and patriotic and arguably political but decidedly not racist.  Or at least not as racist as these costumes.

* Presidential dog outfits by RoverDog.