Send in the clowns

[IronBrig4]

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-w...content=202606

You all might have heard about the "clown sightings" lately. Apparently people are freaking out about it. I don't see the big deal because Halloween is in a few weeks and most of this is probably just a publicity stunt for the IT reboot. People dressed as clowns are getting the cops called on them. Yes, a few of them are actually committing crimes, but it's getting to the point where professional clowns going to birthday parties are being accosted by police and overly anxious people. Beep beep, Ritchie. And what is the deal with these frenzied, worried Americans getting emotional about everything?

Personally, I've never been worried about crime happening to me. I've been the victim of credit card fraud twice, but that was more of an annoyance than anything else. I've also been pickpocketed and my car got broken into once. Again, those incidents just cheesed me off. But I've never been the victim of a violent crime. I've never felt the need to buy a gun or install an alarm. Sure, I have some blunt instruments at home but they're for the zombies. I've always walked back home from campus (about one and a half miles), even late at night.

When I was a freshman, I saw a play that didn't let out until the bus lines closed for the night. I walked five miles back to my dorm and didn't bat an eye. It was just exercise and was actually quite fun. Every time I tell that story to a girl, she tells me, "it must be nice to be a guy." My ex and a lot of my female friends seem to go through a checklist before they walk anywhere. I also remember my ex would check behind the shower curtain every time we got back from a weekend trip. Just in case there was a psycho axe murderer or whatever. It turns out my female friends do similar things too. Sometimes they ask me to stick around the office when a certain student comes by because they're not comfortable being in the same room alone with him. I do as asked, but whenever I ask why I'm told, "you have to be female to understand." And yet, this is common only among my American friends. When I lived in Korea, nobody did that safety calculus. In Qatar, the women took insane steps to not be alone with a man, but that was for religious reasons.

And NOW I'm getting into the political part of this. Why do you think Americans are so anxious these days? If Americans weren't so overwrought and agitated, this wouldn't even be news. Or were they always this anxious as a society, but now it's on social media so we're more aware of it?

[RedGuard]

IF its a publicity stunt, it was started a bit too early IT doesn't come out for another year.

Also I think your thesis is wrong, I think Americans are far too laid back about what is going on around them. Only a Taurine and Prozac induced coma should make us this comfortable with the country falling around us like it is. Its probably the food we are all eating. If a quarter of the crap that has happened in the past decade went down in any other country they would have gone through 18 governments already. Instead we are on the verge of electing the literal face of the system or a guy that profits off of how biased that system is.

To the clown thing, the people I know find it as an amsuing distraction from their daily lives, nothing more really. It hasn't gotten to epidemic proportions yet.

[Abdülmecid I]

Hysterias like these are shaped by deeply entrenched misconceptions, which on their turn are largely determined by popular culture. Popular culture is essentially composed of television and cinema. Basically, the American youth watches too many horror films, which affect her judgement. They are not that immature, not to be able to discern fiction from reality, but some sort of not so subconscious uncertainty is gradually developed. I don't think it is a publicity stunt, too early and too risky for that. More probably a trend that was inspired by the upcoming movie, its predecessor's notoriety and the always exciting contrast between the joyfullness of a clown and the terror of a murderer, quickly propagated by the social media. Hopefully it will die out without accidentally lynching a passerby clown in the process.

[Copperknickers II]

Personally, I've never been worried about crime happening to me. I've been the victim of credit card fraud twice, but that was more of an annoyance than anything else. I've also been pickpocketed and my car got broken into once. Again, those incidents just cheesed me off. But I've never been the victim of a violent crime. I've never felt the need to buy a gun or install an alarm.

America is a big country. I think I'd buy a gun if I lived in certain parts of the USA right now (Chicago, Detroit, LA), although other parts are very safe. Violent crime does happen quite a lot after all, it's not like it's made up, and the US is a more violent place than usual right now, if you believe the media.

When I was a freshman, I saw a play that didn't let out until the bus lines closed for the night. I walked five miles back to my dorm and didn't bat an eye. It was just exercise and was actually quite fun. Every time I tell that story to a girl, she tells me, "it must be nice to be a guy." My ex and a lot of my female friends seem to go through a checklist before they walk anywhere. I also remember my ex would check behind the shower curtain every time we got back from a weekend trip. Just in case there was a psycho axe murderer or whatever. It turns out my female friends do similar things too. Sometimes they ask me to stick around the office when a certain student comes by because they're not comfortable being in the same room alone with him. I do as asked, but whenever I ask why I'm told, "you have to be female to understand." And yet, this is common only among my American friends. When I lived in Korea, nobody did that safety calculus. In Qatar, the women took insane steps to not be alone with a man, but that was for religious reasons.

Korea is a very safe country, but a lone woman would have to be insane to walk around somewhere like Egypt or India without company. The USA is not so bad, but certain places are far from safe as I understand.

Where I live there have been a lot of cases recently of lone women being raped. I think some people are overly fearful about crime and not fearful enough of things which are much more likely to kill them, but in some areas even in the Western world, it's very common for houses to be broken into and lone women to be sexually assaulted.

When I lived in London I narrowly avoided being mugged once or twice and I was always very careful not to leave my flat for a second without making sure all the doors and windows were shut because I knew that many of my neighbours had been burgled.

And NOW I'm getting into the political part of this. Why do you think Americans are so anxious these days? If Americans weren't so overwrought and agitated, this wouldn't even be news. Or were they always this anxious as a society, but now it's on social media so we're more aware of it?

Urban legends exist in every country, not just America. They are always reported on by the news because it's a good 'sensationalist' story for certain sections of the media: "Lock your doors, killer clowns are after your wives and children!" - what better way to sell newspapers than to make people think there is a threat to their loved ones which they must inform themselves about, it's the same reason why newspapers run columns about 'which foods cause cancer!'. They happen every couple of years, especially in America: there was another killer clown panic a while back, the 'mad gasser' of Illinois, there was the phantom kangaroo scare of the 1960s-70s, and many more. Sometimes they exist at a low level for many years, like the 'man with the hooked hand' urban legend, sometimes they manifest as brief but widepsread outbreaks which reach fever pitch for a couple of weeks. Obviously the more they are reported on, the more people will be hypersensitive to anything which might match the description, the more people will lie about it to get attention, and the more people will actually reenact the phenomenon to scare people. Eventually it dies down.

The history of this kind of mass panic goes back to the werewolf epidemics in medieval Europe, although there are countless other examples outside of Europe too, for example the Monkeyman of Delhi and the Popobawa (Bat Devil) in Madagascar.

[Heathen Hammer]

People are just not down with the clown these days.

But seriously, most "mass panics" like that are entirely artificial.
This is pretty similar to how in the 80s there was Satanic Panic, which was establishment's tactic to scare the population into submission, just like today there is "Far-Right" Panic, where establishment uses fear-mongering with "domestic terrorism" (which is mostly a non-issue, but a rather convenient boogeymen for the government).

[athanaric]

I also don't think that Americans are more prone to mass hysteria than other cultures. Here in Europe, it's said that Germans are the most hysteric (according to the Germans, at least). May well be true. There's also plenty of examples of episodes of idiotic mass hysteria from Asia and Africa. It's just that Americans can buy more guns as a reaction, compared to most other people.

[IronBrig4]

I forgot about the "crazy cow" scare when I worked in Korea. There was a rumor about a Korean woman who died of Mad Cow Disease. Korea imports most of its beef so Koreans thought the US was intentionally exporting tainted beef. When the Korean president addressed the issue and said it was just a hoax, the conspiracy machine really went into overdrive. Suddenly the Korean president was conspiring with George W. Bush (this was in 2008) to weaken the Korean people and allow a Chinese or Japanese takeover.

That was more a product of touchy Korean nationalism. Historically speaking, Koreans haven't been independent but under the thumb of a powerful neighbor. Anything that could possibly be perceived as a slight on Korean sovereignty was considered the worst insult.

[Mangalore]

...
And NOW I'm getting into the political part of this. Why do you think Americans are so anxious these days? If Americans weren't so overwrought and agitated, this wouldn't even be news. Or were they always this anxious as a society, but now it's on social media so we're more aware of it?

Not sure but those "pranks" seem to happen in Britain and elsewhere, too, and what the police finds unfunny is that it seems about showing knives and often involved scaring minors on their way to school. Not sure that would count as funny in a dark alleyway towards someone on their own either.

[IronBrig4]

Yeah, but it's turning out that most of these stories are hoaxes. Just like reports of poisoned Halloween candy that circulate around the US every year.

[Mangalore]

Concerning the fear factor. It is imo a perception issue of crime plus still ingrained overprotectiveness towards women so although it's men who are the most likely to end up as victims as well as perpetrators of violent crime if a woman is the victim it is seen as worse, but also if she was out alone at night it is seen more as her or her parents fault. I would call it still existing cultural bias, I guess. Boys getting into trouble and maybe roughed up is okay and they are told to walk it off, when it happens to girls its seen as a bigger family issue. And imo the bias goes both ways in positives and negatives, e.g. girls getting more attention by the family may be good or bad just as it might good or bad for boys to be left to their own devices.

[Harith]

Concerning the fear factor. It is imo a perception issue of crime plus still ingrained overprotectiveness towards women so although it's men who are the most likely to end up as victims as well as perpetrators of violent crime if a woman is the victim it is seen as worse, but also if she was out alone at night it is seen more as her or her parents fault. I would call it still existing cultural bias, I guess. Boys getting into trouble and maybe roughed up is okay and they are told to walk it off, when it happens to girls its seen as a bigger family issue. And imo the bias goes both ways in positives and negatives, e.g. girls getting more attention by the family may be good or bad just as it might good or bad for boys to be left to their own devices.

My brother's classmate was allegedly being stalked by one of these clowns while she was cycling. She managed to reach her house quickly and called the cops who chased him into the forest before he disappeared.

According to my brother, the girl is a sensible person and is unlikely to have been lying to get attention of whatever. I'm yet to spot a clown myself though.

[Roma_Victrix]

Clowns aren't nearly as scary as the Bunny Man, from Clifton, Virginia.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bunny_Man

Legend has it that he wears a suit made out of dead rabbits...and children's skin.

[TheDarkKnight]

First year teacher...kids are terrified of them because of sightings in my town.

Not exaggerating. Kids run to and from the bathroom so that they are not stuck outside for too long when it usually takes them ages because they are trying to avoid work.

[Morifea]

@ Abdülmecid: Could not Agree more!

@Gen. Chris: Now you`ve layed the roots for a conspiracy- theory: Those Clown-incidents are only made up by teachers to make the pupils work harder! Got ya

[IronBrig4]

My guess is that there has been so much media coverage of mass shootings throughout 2016. On top of that, you have folks (especially Trump supporters) screaming about rising crime rates. Crime is actually way down. http://www.npr.org/2016/07/26/487522...ds-the-reality

I suppose it's because Americans are so overexposed to these stories that they're afraid something horrible might happen to them. Rational Americans hear about a clown sighting, chuckle, and go about their day. But others hear about these stories and wonder, "but what if?" What if that clown is a serial killer? What if that completely unsubstantiated rumor about clowns kidnapping kids is true? It's that same mentality that compels them to call the police on a black neighbor who locked himself out of his house. And it's the same mindset that makes them think they NEED a bunch of guns at home, just in case.

Some of my female friends are always posting on Facebook about some hoax they heard. It seems that 9 out of 10 posts are about scary gang members who kidnap women. I show them the Snopes links that debunk those stories. Those have been urban legends since the '90s. And some of these women STILL act paranoid because "well I can't be too careful because I have to think about my kids!"

And then there are some guys I know who post hoaxes concerning government conspiracies. These guys were Category IV numbskulls who got into the army because it was desperate for recruits in 2005. They had a lousy time in Iraq and now they're coocoo for false-flag operations and FEMA camps. I chalk that up to their PTSD and lack of intelligence. It's that same paranoid fear.

The point is Americans tend to be a little on edge these days so they can't even laugh at a prank. At least they're no longer saying "this is unacceptable in a post-9/11 world."

[Himster]

Okay, I'll explain. I joined a circus society in my local community college and I just happen to teach fencing afterwards. So, you see it's not a knife, it's a sword, nothing to worry about. I'm sure it's just a common thing, circus soc and fencing, lots of people have eclectic interests, quit judging people.

(All statements in this post are factual, unbelievable, but factual.)

[irontaino]

Imagine if this was just one huge publicity stunt for It next year.

[Roma_Victrix]

'Clown Lives Matter' march in Tucson canceled after threats, according to organizer

TUCSON - A "Clown Lives Matter" march planned for Tucson on Saturday has been canceled, organizer Shelly Gutierrez said in a Facebook post.

The march, in which people were encouraged to wear masks and clown makeup at 6:30 p.m. Saturday on Fourth Ave., has been called off due to "numerous death threats and harassment," Gutierrez wrote in the post, adding that she will report the threats to authorities.

Someone on Reddit replied to this: "The vast majority of clowns are law abiding members of society. It is a tiny minority of extremists that have given them a bad name. The bad clowns do not represent clowns at all, in fact they go against everything clowns stand for. That's has been a rise in incidents of bigotry where clowns have had their red noses ripped off in what can only be clownaphobic attacks. Clowns have the right to drive tiny cars and throw buckets of confetti over each other."

I do love that image.

To which someone else replied: "It's a statistical fact though that clowns are more likely to be creepy and hide under beds. When's the last time you heard about a clown in the news for something positive? The clown community should come together and work on themselves before pointing the finger at society in general. And where are their community leaders like BoBo and Ronald McDonald in all this? They have some responsibility here too."

I can't breath! I'm dying here!

[Zipzopdippidybopbop]

I don't see the problem. I find it funny.

That being said though, some of them have begun to carry real weapons - THAT on the other hand is a tad too far. A wee lad got injured recently as a result of it (he was at an ATM, a clown came up with a knife - presumably to scare him - and the lad apparently grabbed the knife in self defense, gashing himself badly).

So to re-iterate, I think the clown joke/fad is ok, but (as ever) some can take it a bit too far.

[IronBrig4]

Yeah, sorta like how someone prank-called a school a few years back. Not to ask for Hugh Jazz or I.C. Weiner. Not to say that they were a certain student's father, and their grandfather had just died so please let them out of school. No, it was to say that someone was about to shoot up the school.

The guy who called was on the spectrum. He thought it was funny as hell but the cops didn't agree.