X Ox Have an idea for a story? M opinions@theotherpress.ca opinions // no. 13 ¢ What gets your ghoul? ¢ Don't let Halloween myths trick you ¢ Forgiveness is not weakness or defeat ..and more Dont let Halloween myths trick you » The poisoned trick-or-treats may be false, but it could still happen Jessica Berget Editor-in-Chief e always learned never to take candy from strangers. Yet, every year on October 31 children walk door-to-door doing exactly that. This rule of never taking candy from strangers I think is a sensible one. There is a possibility that someone could try to hurt children via candy, which is why parents check their kids’ trick-or-treating hauls to make sure none of the candy has been tampered with by poison or razor blades. But how many times have we actually found something sinister in our goodie bags? I’m willing to bet never. Besides parents using this fear as an excuse to eat their children’s Halloween candy, there is no evidence that this is based on a true trick-or-treating experience. In fact, it’s nothing but a fearmongering urban legend. Sure, some kids may have been poisoned by candy in the past, but there has never been a documented case of achild being poisoned by candy they received from a stranger while trick- or-treating. Dr. Joel Best, a professor of sociology at the University of Delaware has been trying for many years to finally disprove this age-old myth. He says after doing extensive research reading newspaper articles about kids becoming sick from candy on Halloween, he found that they are all hoaxes. No child has become sick or died from candy that was given to them by a stranger on Halloween. In fact, in cases where a child did die, they did so because of a prior health problem or from candy that was given to them bya family member. These candy myths may be false, but there is a nugget of truth to the rumours. The fear of poisoned treats began in 1982 when a string of deaths were attributed to Tylenol tablets that were spiked with cyanide. Since this happened before Halloween, many people were still on- edge that there might still be someone trying to poison people. According to the Washington Post, about 40 cities cancelled Halloween that year and hospitals offered to x-ray candy for fear of metal objects. Another case that contributed to this candy fear mongering is the “trick-or-treat murderer” of 1974 after an eight-year-old boy died after eating cyanide-laced candy. It turned out that his own father was the one who had poisoned him in order to take out a life-insurance policy. Closer to home, in 2001 a Vancouver girl died unexpectantly after eating some Halloween candy, prompting police to tell parents to throw away all their candy. It turned out that the girl died because of an infection, but the fear of poisoned candy still looms over every trick-or-treating child. Very rarely do strangers tamper or try to poison kids’ Halloween candy; that being said, I think it’s still good to be paranoid about this kind of stuff. While cc No child has become sick or died from candy that was given to them by a stranger on Halloween. there may not be any real, documented cases, I believe there is some truth to it. Though it may only be a fear-mongering myth, just because it’s never happened before doesn’t mean it never will. Even if Illustration by Athena Little these stories are all just myths, I don’t think parents should let their guard down and as a safety precaution should always check their child’s candy. Forgiveness 1s not weakness or defeat » You need to forgive in order to move forward — Michele Provenzano Staff Writer Froivensss is about you—the one doing the forgiving. It does not say anything about the person you forgive. It does not mean what they did was okay or acceptable. It does not mean you welcome them back into your life or that you'd like to be on friendly terms again. To me, forgiving is something you need to do to move forward. Forgiveness is not sacrificing your strength. It is simply making a promise to yourself to no longer ruminate on the pain of the past, which is an incredibly healthy decision to make. Research shows that being forgiving of others makes you happier and generally healthier. It improves physical health by reducing the negative effects of stress on the body. In terms of mental health, incorporating a focus on forgiveness into therapy can improve a person’s experience with depression and anxiety and increase a sense of hope. A psychological definition of forgiveness is a choice one makes to let go of negative feelings toward a person who has harmed you, regardless if they are truly deserving of forgiveness or not. This process entirely concerns the forgiver; the forgivee is of little relevance. Some may be reluctant to grant others forgiveness. For people who feel like they’ve been too forgiving, too lenient, and have let people walk over them in the past, forgiveness can be scary. Once you decide to work on improving your boundary- setting and standing up for yourself more often, the thought of forgiving someone who mistreated you can seem like it would be taking a step backwards. But forgiving someone and standing up for yourself are not mutually exclusive. It doesn't strip you of your power, make you weak, or let the other person “win” like some people may think. It doesn't mean anything about the other person. They're not involved. Forgiveness doesn't necessarily have to leave your realm and touch theirs; you can forgive someone without letting them know. You are not responsible for alleviating another of the guilt they feel for the way they mistreated you. Perhaps you feel they don’t deserve to be notified of your forgiveness, which is perfectly valid. Forgiveness is your choice—it is something you can hold within yourself. You can choose to share it with the one being forgiven if youd like, and doing so would be going above and beyond in an extension of kindness. However, you are not required to do good deeds for people who have harmed you. An apology does not require a response of “it’s okay” if it’s not. Likewise, it does not require an “apology accepted” or an “I forgive you.” Forgiveness is not something you owe the other person. I think it is something you owe yourself if you want to keep moving forward. To me, forgiveness means refusing to dwell on pent-up anger, resentment, and grudges—and instead letting those feelings dissolve. It’s hard, but it isn’t one-size- fits-all. It’s customizable and can mean whatever you'd like it to. You're allowed to forgive for you, and you only.