Clowns, refugees, terrorists, bigotry, and fear.

Great Debates
1

In this MPSIMS thread:

http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=803228

we’ve been discussing rather lightheartedly the current clown hysteria which has led to newspapers using phrases like “the alleged clown”, people calling the police because they see a clown walking down the street, and bands of baseball bat wielding student vigilantes roaming campuses because of supposed clown sightings.

At the risk of sounding silly and being shot down, I have to ask: isn’t this a manifestation of the same psychology that causes people to reject Syrian refugees and fear Muslims, and police to gun down stranded black motorists?

The clown thing is ludicrous but maybe there’s something to be learned from it.

Another related thought is that the current clown hysteria may be a sort of psychological manifestation of people’s fear of terrorism. Clowns are dangerous people in strange clothing…

2

Don’t feed the troll. :smack:

3

This is just mass hysteria, possibly with a few jokers actually fueling it. It’s nothing to do with deeply entrenched xenophobia or racism. I doubt the performers at Ringling Brothers or Cirque du Soleil are at risk of being deported or shot by police.

4

You’re new here, so I’ll give you a break.

It is expressly against the rules to call another poster a troll. Please read the rules and don’t do so again.

5

Maybe Insane Clown Posse is getting ready to drop a new album.

6

Isn’t the remake of IT just around the corner?

We all float down here