My letter to Patrick Kane: C'mon son.

I completely disagree with you on this one. Why is it ok for the Wayans brothers to make a movie where they are white females then? Isn't this a gross double standard. Kaner wasn't being offensive about it he was simply honoring one of the best basketball players Chicago has seen. He wasn't singing "Swing Low Sweet Chariot" or anything like that. Come on, get over it and have a sense of humor about Halloween.

Alright guys Hank from the frat house here to add my 2 cents.

Black face is not funny/acceptable. Its not. The reason why black face is not acceptable is because of the history behind it. It was used in theater and film to "mostly" mock minorities. Using it to mock them with stereotypes/conventional charterers to try and put people down.

I do not think this is what Kane was meaning to do. But he should know the history behind it and the reasons why it is not acceptable to do it. I agree with Ernest that White Chicks is no defense. There is no history of black people wearing white makeup to hold down a minority. There is no history of "white face".

He didn't have to sing "Swing Low Sweet Chariot", his face said it all.

Lighten up, Francis. Just watch the damn games and shut the hell up. Oh, and the "We don't see a lot of players that look like us" is a bunch of crap. If that's a valid reason for increased sensitivity on the part of pro athletes, they damn well better start policing the attitudes of NBA players a whole lot better, lest white folk stop watching and the dollars dry up. And maybe you should seek some counseling so you don't see a racist with a rope behind every tree.

Did you see the Dallas Cowboys cheerleader who also did blackface for Halloween? How these people don't get their butts whooped at these parties is a mystery to me. They're all just laughing and giggling and encouraging them. Strange.

Its a stupid look but I think Halloween is the one time it is acceptable just because people do all kinds of stupid stuff on halloween. Its not like he was doing this on some random night just to be funny.

I found your statement rather odd:

"We don't see a lot of players that look like us, and we want more people out there to look up to out there on the ice. Stuff like this doesn't help."

Are you saying that if someone doesn't "look" like you, you can't "look up" to them or "support" them? Sounds like you need to rethink a few things as well.

When I saw this picture, I got that uncomforable feeling just seeing it, like "Uh oh, here comes a controversy." They should know better.

its a halloween costume. Anyway to claim racism people are all over it. The problem is that if the rolls were reversed no one would have a problem everyone would think its hilarious, "look at the black guy being a stiff white guy." My problem is the hypocrisy and in this modern era of tolerance everyone is looking to cry racism. Racism is the new Red.

You know what's really offensive? Burish wearing a white jersey with red shorts. No self-respecting, black-face wearing, hockey-player-as-basketball player would screw up their costume like that.

First of all there is no history of whiteface. No history of blacks putting on white makeup to mock and belittle a minority its no where near the same thing. This coming from a south side Irish white guy. So you can knock off the Wayans brothers whitechicks defense right now Rich. Second of all if you read Ernest's blog you would of noticed he never calls Kane or Burish Racist and he goes after Kane in particular because hes a super star, a #1 overall draft pick, a franchise player, and a role model. Burish is not. Nothing against him but hes not Kane. And Third it doesn't matter if the didn't mean to offend they did. The simple act of putting that make up on is offensive no matter what day it is and no matter what the intent is. If they wanted to go as bulls put on a jersey put on the red shorts and Kane get a flattop haircut and Burish dye your hair pink we would of got the costume. Blackface is unacceptable and I think to many people have forgotten it.

Really? The fact of the matter is that it was HALLOWEEN!!!! They were dressing up as someone else. That is the entire point of Halloween. Did something change about that? No? OK then. Do people get labeled disrespectful when they put on an Obama mask for the holiday? Did they for Bush masks? Do people get offended when someone dresses up as Pocahontas? They are COSTUMES people! The point is to look like someone else and i think they look a lot like them. Good Job Boys! It was all in fun. I'm sure they were just having a good time and meant nothing but that. It's not fair that everyone goes after people in the public eye like this. Would a random guy showing up at a party stir up this must drama? Probably not at all. Lighten up people! I bet if you meet them on the streets of Chicago they are cool as hell. I'm sure you will all find something else tomorrow to complain about...

I just don't see this as an example, even remotely, of blackface. Blackface was supposed to be a caricature of the stereotypical black person. In this case, he was dressing-up as a specific person. Who just happens to be black. Should Kane and Burish be aware that there are some who would see this as an insult to their race? Sure. Others might even see it as being an insult to the Bulls, who share a home with the Blackhawks.

As a person of Asian descent, I think there is something completely different between a person, on Halloween of all times, dressing-up as Jackie Chan or Lo Pan and tweaking the eyes a little, and a person running around in a leather aviator helmet with Coke-bottle glasses and fake buck-teeth, yelling, "Ruk you, Roundeye!" These costumes are definitely the former, not the latter.

However, the Blackhawks organization should be ready to respond to hyper-sensitive people out there who think the costumes were motivated by racist ideology and meant to demean any minority. And Kane should realize that this, again, can put him in a bad light.

This is really making a mountain out of an ant hill, isn't it? It was Halloween, the one day people are justified to dress up, paint their skin, go drag, whatever. Kane obviously wasn't being malicious; he was imitating a dark-skinned basketball player as best he could. Yes, that means by donning "blackface." Only, this isn't so much blackface as much as it is a Halloween costume.

I saw a lot of folks dressed like that Hulk character this year. They had the Hulk hands, the Hulk haircuts and the Hulk torn threads. They also had the green (or gray) skin to match because, well, Hulk was of a different color. I also saw a ton of people dressed as zombies and vampires. Fine costumes in their own right, but each requiring white paint. Are these people in the wrong for painting their own skin, or does the sweeping rule of blackface only apply to white folks imitating black folks?

This is really, really a non-issue. I read Kyra's post, and I definitely agreed that blackface is wrong. In Kane's case, he was just completing a Halloween costume. In any other event, doing what he did would be uncool and foolish. But are we really only allowed to dress as people of our own race on a day known for dressing up? Or our own species?

Long post short, it was just Halloween. Just a costume. Let's try and take things for their actual worth and not personally.

I completely agree with you on black face. But what makes no sense is that no one seems to have a problem with an Indian head being worn on the uniform. That is the most offensive thing yet no one has a problem with it. What do we expect from someone who plays for the "Blackhawks" and plays with a scalped Indian head on their jersey? Isnt it just a natural progression that they like to "play" other races?

Palin and simple this guy is a moron, don't you think Byfuglien would have kicked both their asses if it was offensive?

The fact thier skin was darker isn't "Black Face" it was a halloween costume and if blacks are offended by this then they need some thicker skin. Eddie Murphy and Dave Chappelle put white make-up on and ripped on white sterotypes and we all laughed, Kane and Burish dressed up and went to a HALLOWEEN PARTY!!!!

Harden up a little you wimps, if what Kane, Burish, Eddie or Dave did offended you then you need help. It's 2009 and traditional "Black Face" is never coming back so let the kids dress like their idols if they want.

Oh and he directs us to read another black womans guide on how to avoid dressing in black face when she is clearly talking about doing it for movies, TV or a photo shoot. She says to avoid make-up to make yourself look like a person of color but this was HALLOWEEN, this guy should not even have a blog, he is a complete moron trying to get attention for a HALLOWEEN costume.

Grow up you loser and understand the points your trying to make yourself before accusing other people of being ignorant.

If it was wrong why do the sell Obama masks? Is it ok to sell them because he is half white? Because he was raised by whites? No it's OK because it's HALLOWEEN!!!!

This is not the historical "blackface." When it was done to mock African Americans they would embellish certain features to play of off stereotypes (bigger lips, a suit a size too small or big). This was not done and therefore just putting on makeup doesn't make it blackface. Know your history before throwing stuff out there. Kane wasn't doing it to "hold down" a minority. He was honoring another Chicago great. Why can't people get past race and accept a joke or in this case a costume. I think if we want to move past racism we need to stop acknowledging and exposing our differences. Why in 2009 is it unacceptable to dress as a black man? You can claim because of history but when does that excuse become mute? We need to accept our differences and not use them to say you can or can't do this because the color of your skin.

this isn't really a big deal, but yeah, patrick kane is proving himself to be brainless. its just stupid of him, thats all.

I see your point, but people really get into Halloween. I could see someone dressing as Rodman, looking in the mirror and thinking, "How could i complete this costume?" In the end, they're humans too.

And if we want them to remain amicable to the media and people taking pictures of them, we can't bitch at them for every tiny thing that they do, especially if it doesn't particularly enrage us (because you've probably just pointed this out to ten people it DOES enrage).

Man, that's some serious message-board flame on the part of those wishing to defend Kane. Fact of the matter is, "if roles were reversed..." doesn't work because in your hypothetical, you're not reversing all of the roles. You're not willing to reverse which group has seen centuries of varying levels of oppression. So if you were to say to me, "what if it was a black person dressing up in white-face?" I would think that was wrong too, so long as the historical context were also reversed. If White people had been ridiculed, harrassed and enslaved for centuries and you started doing a White-face routine, that would be wrong.

Beyond that, he doesn't ever state that he's offended or hurt or that Patrick Kane is a racist, or any of those things people are accusing him of -- even though he may be entitled to do so. All he's doing is saying Kane, as a high-profile representative of a professional organization, needs to think about the crap he puts on for Halloween, because he's not some schlob off the street...he's friggin' Patrick Kane!

For my part, I would go a step past Mr. Wilkins here who's trying to be diplomatic about the whole affair and say that I, as a White man, think blackface is a terrible thing to let creep back into the realm of what is acceptable. Someone said earlier that racism is the new red, and I agree in that people seem to think that slight amounts of racist backslide are okay because they're fun. They're not fun. I'm sick of people throwing "jew" around because South Park did it. And if you don't think that's a slippery slope, you're absolutely wrong because intollerant is the easiest thing for anyone to be. So when you start making excuses for minor intollerance, people start crossing lines real quick.

P.S. I can't believe it's controversial to say black face is wrong. WTF, mate!

I don't want to glorify 'White Chicks' by any means (or anything even remotely related to the Wayans bros), but blackface is historically a horribly racist 'costume', if you will. Blackface was used for mockery and to institute absurdly offensive stereotypes of black people. 'White Chicks' could definitely also be perceived as racist, by not nearly to the same degree. It's a terrible movie and isn't worth discussing anyway.

It really doesn't matter where you stand on that debate. Point is, Patrick Kane, really? You're an idiot.

Wow people have nothing better to write about then Halloween costumes huh?

For god sakes it's Halloween. There's plenty of other more important things that people can worry about instead of this picture.

It's a Halloween picture big deal and they wanted to be those guys?

I was Teen Wolf for Halloween so do I get pointed at for making fun of Michael J Fox?

Give me a break man and choose something better to blog about.

If people are trying to bring back the whole blackface "fad", why not just bring back a 2009 Amos & Andy?

Ok, here's my problem with everything I've read / heard about this topic: I think we can all agree that blackface i, horrible, atrocious, and unacceptable. However, and this is really the key point here, THIS IS NOT BLACKFACE!!!!!!!!! Blackface is offensive because a) studios refused to hire African-American actors for roles, and b) it was literally faces painted midnight black with gigantic bright-red lips as actors portrayed malicious caricatures of black people. This, however, is 2 people who used make-up to darken their skin (to a very natural-looking shade, not completely black) in order to portray 2 specific African-American Chicago legends for a Halloween costume. Major league difference - calling the 2 the same is about on par with reacting the same to the use of the n-word as you would to the word black in describing a person of African descent.

If you cannot make that distinction, then you are both an idiot and quite frankly what is wrong with America today. That observation is directed not at the author of this article, who is not calling the costumes racist but pointing out the potential for controversy, but rather commenters (specifically jjl22906) who get up in arms about anything that they can spin as racist / sexist / fill-in-the-category-ist. News flash: racism is still very much alive and kicking; there are still plenty of people committing racist asks and saying racist things. Every time you blow up about something as benign as this, you're missing someone who's ACTUALLY being a racist and letting him / her get away with it. So, not only are you being an idiot, but your being a detriment to the very cause you were trying to champion. That, good sir, makes you a massive pile of fail.

You've got a lot of people and kids looking up to you, and I refuse to believe that a #1 overall pick in one of the "Big 4" leagues with the media relations department of that caliber at your disposal is silly enough to believe that no one would have a problem with you doing some "extreme tanning".

Why would anyone have to worry about completing a Halloween costume? You can't be Pippen or Rodman and be white..that would just look stupid. They aren't making fun of anyone. My God, its freakin' sad that the PC police are now dissecting Halloween and ruining that holiday too. I guess I better be careful what Thanksgiving cards I buy this year...as I want to make sure I don't offend Pilgrims and God forbid I tell anyone "Merry Christmas". Holidays are becoming less fun by the minute due to the infestation of Politicaly Correct knee jerk simpletons.

I guess if you quit walking around looking to be offended, you wouldn't have anything to write about. Don't say it doesn't bother you because if it didn't you wouldn't have written about it.

Yup, just keep stirring the pot, then ask, "why?" It's amazing how folks like you judge "intent" of others when in by you have't a clue of the intent of Patrick Kane and Adam Burish.

It is a bit of a coincidence that you highlighted - as other whiners did - Patrick Kane, the superstar highly marketed youngster of the Chicago Blackhawks and not Adam Burish, a 4th liner, grinding, mix-it-up player. Just a coincidence.

You're the walking epitome of the decline of modern journalism.

The recent incident occurring on Halloween Night involving the Chicago Blackhawks Adam Burish and Patrick Kane dressing in a 'blackface' portrayal of former Bulls greats Dennis Rodman and Scotty Pippen is a sad, disgusting and unfortunate affair. I don't pretend to know Burish and Kanes' motives or intentions for what they did. Thier actions may have been meant to honor or acknowledge thier basketball counterparts, but like all or most things racial, it blew up in thier faces. (Pun intended)

It's sad that these two fine young men, who are blessed with a wealth of atheleticism and ability are lacking in a basic, fundamental knowledge and sensitivity of racial and historical issues. But in defense of these youngsters, most Americans are lacking in these areas.(See Mike Kiley of the Tribune)

Any portrayal of an African-American in 'blackface' is disgusting. The reasons for it epitomize the racial intolerance of the overwhelming, vast majority of White People in general and White Americans in particular. America is a basicly racist nation, because most of our White Brothers and Sisters are not just racist, but sick with racism.

Unlike a lot of websites, the bloggers on this particular page appear to be very enlightened despite the fact that there are the usual number of ignorant,unsophisticated and unintelligle respondants. This is not meant as a put down, I'm just stating facts. Some of thier comments dsturb me, but I'm willing to ignore these people, because most of them can't help themselves and don't know any better.

Joanna Pelletier, you are obviously an intelligent woman. Your command of facts, figures, history and your insightful comments on the mistreatment of White People and other ethnic groups is impressive. Initially, I was very apprehensive about engaging you in any debate or discussion on any subject matter, because your obviously more educated than I am.

Joanna, it does not take a PhD. to see your glaring inconsistencies.' I'm ready to jump down your throat for one reason or another.' For example, as a Black Man I find it offensive that you made the statement 'were turning this into an issue of skin color.' while you bend over backwards to insult the cultures of Black and Italian People, while recognizing the great accomplishments of the great Polish-American General Kasamir Pulaski.

If your not understanding my point,I'm only trying to say that when educated people like yourself advocate a 'benign neglect' point of view it makes you look uneducated and racist. This is neither good or ...

I apologize to you personally Joanna Pelletier and any other White Person I may have offended with my comments, but White People can never repay Native-Americans and African-Americans for the unspeakable crimes against humanity we have suffered and continue to suffer at thier behest. May the love of God heal our wounded souls. Love, Quiet Fire.

That Guy sounds like an educated fool. That Guy should be called by his real name. 'Grand Wizard' or is it 'Frankenberry' with that big head of yours. I'd rather be Starberry than Frankenberry.