Apparently, an elected official thought it would be fun to celebrate Purim wearing "blackface." Costumes, apparently, are part of Purim celebrations, but a few of us think that this is a little more than inappropriate.
http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dailypolitics/2013/02/dov-hikind-apology-for-purim-blackface-getup-doesnt-go-far-enough-nyc-pols-say 
I wasn't that familiar with Purim, so I looked it up. I've got to say, Wikipedia offers a rather long and tedious narrative synopsis of the story from the Book of Ester, starting with a 6-month party in which the king's wife refused to show off her beauty for the royal guests, and was cast aside, and the king married Ester, who didn't tell anyone that she was Jewish, and there is a murder plot, and then a plot to kill Jews, and then the king orders that Jews can kill people who threaten them, and then lots of people die.
Gotta love the OT stories. And the holidays surrounding them. And the modern interpretations of celebrations of events in the OT.
Seriously. I know that the vast majority of elected officials ascribe to one religion or another, and enjoy celebrations associated with their religious traditions. That's fine with me. But what was this man thinking?
