Themes

 Quite recently I was invited to a party. That in its self is a noteworthy enough fact to deserve its own smug sentence (I briefly considered allowing that statement its own paragraph but I suspect that might just go past the realms of mildly milking my good fortune and straight into the chasm of simply pathetic boasting). The very opportunity to actually go to a party is, as you might have guessed, not one that presents its self to me very frequently. So much so that being allowed attendance to a party deserves its own party in celebration which would, in turn, deserve its own party until I would be trapped in an endless nightmarish loop of partying.

 However one thing that did come to my notice was the theme of the party. The dress code to which all party goers must adhere to (lest they experience the wrath of the host or the general disapproval of all other guests around them, silently criticizing them for not making an effort) was "cowboys and Indians". Now I am aware that cowboys and Indians is a common theme as well as a game that children often play, nonetheless it occurred to me how the realms of acceptability increase significantly over time because when historically considered, "cowboys and Indians" is a look back on the massacre of many native Americans by the invading settlers armed with far superior weaponry.

 I may have not done terrifically well in GCSEs where the subjects of physics, chemistry or biology were concerned. I may have taken Environmental Systems and Societies ( the racially confused child between biology and geography, considered the least actually scientific but nonetheless technically scientific subject you can take with the IB education system) as my science subject. However, in terms of curiosity, investigative desires and the peioneering spirit of an explorer, I am a scientist at heart. Therefore, when I first saw the party theme, the obvious question to ask and attempt to scientifically discern the answer to through experimentation was "If the realms of acceptability grow with time passing since the actual incident, where does the delicate boarder between offensive and inoffensive lie?"

 For example to what extent is it acceptable to historically update the party theme? If "Cowboys and Indians" are deemed a perfectly fine dress code; since its within the same over arching theme of morally dubious American historical exploits, would it be considered acceptable if I turned up at a party in a skin colored morph suit splattered with red and pink in parts, stained a dark charred black in others, dressed as the victim of a napalm bombing according to the theme of "Americans and Vietnamese"?