I posted this comment, making fun of myself: "That's it. I'll dress as a fat, balding, one-legged white guy. No, wait -- that'll offend my wife -- at least, it seems to."  Other readers deemed it uncivil.  

I am a fat (slightly) balding (very) one-legged white guy.  

A little nuance, please: if you trick yourself out at Hallowe'en to look like Al Jolson and run around calling people mammy, or maybe dress as Hitler, you're being offensive and someone should probably tell you to get lost.  But to wear a kimono because you think it would be a cool costume?  Geez.  I think half the problem is that school boards have to deal with ornery adolescents who sometimes do provocative (and sometimes stupid) things to get attention, so they just ban everything.  Also, they have to deal with the phone calls from a handful of semi-functional and constantly irate parents who complain about everything.

Maybe I'll dress as Iggy Pop and yell "no fun."