Not only do I think dressing up as Jeffrey Dahmer is acceptable, I encourage it.

If you want to dress up as a murderous necrophile who took 16 lives — and ruined many more — by all means, go ahead.

Do it so that I and everyone else knows to stay away from you.

If you think dressing up as Jeffrey Dahmer is a good idea, and not terribly insensitive, you haven’t thought critically about who Dahmer is and what he’s done.

A Netflix series recently came out about Dahmer. With it came a slight shift in the public perception surrounding the serial killer.

Now, on top of Jeffrey Dahmer, the real-life vile serial killer, there’s Jeffrey Dahmer the TV character.

And when it’s Halloween, it’s only natural to want to dress up as something scary, especially something from pop culture.

And when it comes to scary people, there aren’t many out there scarier than Dahmer.

I myself dressed up as Scream and Darth Vader in my youth, both of which are examples of heinous figures who brutalized many people.

Unlike Scream and Darth Vader, Jeffrey Dahmer is real, and his actions affected real people.

He hurt not only his victims, but also the families and friends thereof.

So, if you want to dress up as Jeffrey Dahmer, do it.  You’ll be doing us all a favor by letting us know we’re better off staying out of your vicinity.

And I’ll be laughing at you as you wear those goofy glasses.

Columns reflect the opinions of the authors and are not necessarily those of the Editorial Board, The Daily Iowan, or other organizations in which the author may be involved.