Black face is completely unacceptable and racist, but one should not be harassed for portraying character of a different race when they are not being discriminatory.

This past Halloween, Oswego State Alumnus Al Roker wore a costume in which he dressed as Doc from “Back to the Future.” Roker did not paint his face to portray the Caucasian character, yet Twitter went awry shaming Roker, calling him “hypocritical” and stating that it is unfair for African Americans to portray Caucasians when Caucasians cannot use blackface.

This entire argument against Roker is absolutely ridiculous. It is the equivalent of saying a child could not dress up as a sheriff because they are not a sheriff. The issue at hand is when someone is dressing as a character of another race is not their race and they portray them through the use of stereotypes and painting their skin.

This past October, Megyn Kelly from NBC was fired for claiming there was nothing wrong with people painting their faces darker to imitate a deeper skin tone for a costume. That is exactly what is wrong with appropriation at Halloween.

When Roker called Kelly out for her statement, he had every right to. Blackface has been established as derogatory and unacceptable. It has long been used in this country in a racist way and, in 2018, this should not still be an issue.

The fact that people are blatantly calling Roker a hypocrite for what he said to Kelly is absurd. Roker did not appropriate anyone’s culture, and he did no harm by wearing a white “mad scientist” wig and white lab coat. He dressed in a fun and creative Halloween costume as a character from a beloved ’80s movie.

It is not unheard of that social media is often used as a platform for arguing. It is truly discouraging to see people try to incite racist arguments for the sake of wanting to turn the tables and make a case of an African American appropriating “white culture.”

There is no reward in being the victim or being the one who was offended. It is not something people should strive for. As a nation, we should be working together to end cultural appropriation and extend respect and understanding toward our diverse communities. So, stop harassing Roker for having a better Halloween costume. Coming from a white female, he did not do anything wrong.