A Disrespectful Halloween Costume is Causing Social Media Controversy

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By Lily Worneh, TheGrio.com

An incendiary photo was posted to Facebook this Friday featuring two young Florida men dressed as George Zimmerman and Trayvon Martin, complete with blackface, a blood-stained hoodie and a shirt that reads, “Neighborhood Watch.” The image was reportedly uploaded by Caitlin Cimeno from Martha’s Vineyard who captioned the photo: “Happy Halloween from Zimmerman and Trayvon,” followed by a smiley face emoticon. Cimeno is pictured in the photo, posing in the middle between Greg Cimeno, 22, who dressed as Zimmerman, and William Filene, 25, who posed as Martin.

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In the photo, Greg Cimeno, of Cape Coral, Fl., points his hand like a gun and directs it at Filene’s head.

Meanwhile, Filene, who is white, painted his face black and is seen wearing a gray hoodie, which is marked by a single gunshot wound in the chest and surrounded by fake blood. (. . .)

Greg Cimeno reportedly wrote a comment below the photo saying, “Anything for the laugh,” which prompted one of Caitlin’s friends to write, “Not too funny.” In response, Greg said: “Not too funny. It’s f**king hilarious!!!” The photo also drew criticism from others who commented on the photo: “Anything for a laugh? so a kid gets murdered and its funny some people are beyond disgusting,” one person wrote.

Some took to Twitter to voice their disagreement over the photo: “That Trayvon Martin Halloween costume was just straight disrespect! There is NO EXCUSE for that,” one person said. “To take Trayvon Martin’s death and make a mockery out of it with a Halloween costume is sickening,” another tweeted.

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