October 30 – Mischief Night

nPostednon October 30, 2014

nThisnis not something that happens everywhere, and I am pretty sure thatnit is something that shouldn’t happen ANYwhere.

nMischiefnNight is the night before Halloween, and it is (in just some placesnin the U.S. and world) a time for minor pranks and mild vandalism.

nWe’rentalking about toilet papering yards, egging things, setting offnfireworks, smashing pumpkins, throwing rotting vegetables, soapingnwindows, and playing Ding-Dong Ditch by ringing doorbells and thennhiding.

nSomenof these practices are not particularly bothersome or dangerous, butnothers are pretty bad. In Detroit in the early 1990s, Mischief Night escalatedninto widespread arson (setting fires) – destruction that wasncompletely unnecessary.

nEgging a car or building can cause costlyndamage (raw egg can damage a car’s finish, for example), and egging anperson can cause serious eye injury. Smashing someone else’s propertyn– even if it is just a pumpkin – is like stealing from them.nMaybe that person put a lot of time into carving the pumpkin. Maybenhe or she wanted to make a pumpkin pie. n
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nOfncourse, many of these so-called pranks are strictly against the law!nSilly mischief that could result in fines or jail time seems ridiculous,nright?

nFinally,nI find the idea of causing problems for homeowners one night and thennbegging from candy from the same people the next night troublesome. Inwould hope that Mischief Night takes a turn fornbeautiful-and-non-harmful pranks or dies out altogether.

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Beautiful and non-harmful pranks?

Evennin places where toilet papering is against the law, or policenofficers nab those who TP trees and houses on grounds of littering,nTP-ing can be lots of fun and is (at least here in my community)ntotally okay if the homeowner has given approval. So ask the parentsnof the kid you want to surprise (secretly, ahead of time), and thennhave fun fun fun – in the dead of the night – decking out the placenwith loads of toilet paper!