Yep, that's the costume, folks.  Sound off on what you think below! (Photo: geekologie.com)

Every year seems to bring Halloween costumes that try to outdo the costumes from the year before in terms of being shocking, outrageous, silly, or offensive.  And now we've been given word that a new costume's come along with what may be a racially insensitive (may be?  How about "is definitely"?) joke attached to it.  Check out the picture to judge for yourself, and then check out the Comedy Examiner's commentary on this year's hot costume that isn't based on "Jon and Kate +8", Michael Jackson, or Bill Mays.  Read on, my gentle Examiner readers...

The Comedy Examiner's Office is no stranger to controversial jokes, insensitive punchlines, or offensive material: that's just par for the course in the world of comedy.  Ya simply can't make an omelette without breaking some eggs, and what's offensive and "over the line" to one person may be hilarious to a roomfull of others.  There's no telling how hurt one person may be by a joke: sometimes everyone, sometimes no one.  And then there are jokes that are just obviously meant to be offensive.

Like the costume above, for instance.

The Comedy Examiner fully supports free speech and a dirty punchline-- it's our stock in trade-- but when ya see something like the costume above, even if you do find the idea funny ya gotta wonder about the person that created it, produced it, and packaged it up to be sold along "Mummy" outfits and Vampire fangs.  This reminds the Comedy Examiner of the redneck in (we think it was) Alabama who recently used the "N-word" on a sign in front of his store to offer up some genius-level commentary on Obama's health care plan.  Sure, that's free speech at its worst, and yeah, the guy's an obvious racist (even if he claimed not to be), but at what point does a racially-motivated joke turn into hate speech? 

And, on the picture above, when does a joke costume become a walking, hateful punchline?  Vote in our poll below, folks.  Let's see what the Examiner readers have to say about all this:

We wanna hear what you think, folks.  Is this costume in good taste?  Poor taste?  Is it over the line, or is it "just right"?  Should we all be able to laugh at this kind of thing, or should the costume be pulled from store shelves?  Sound off in the comments section below, folks: we wanna hear what you have to say!

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Also, check out these other recent Comedy Examiner articles while you're checking this page out:

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