The FBI has labeled fans of the Insane Clown Posse as a gang. That is to say a gang on the same level as MS-13 or the Aryan Brotherhood. If a person with an ICP tattoo or apparel is arrested for a common crime, they are prosecuted as a gang member. See here for example: (near bottom of page)
Regardless of what you may think of ICP (and I’m fully aware most will not hold them in high esteem) this is an unprecedented violation of civil rights. People are being labeled as a menace to society because of the music they listen to or the clothing they wear. Now I am not a big fan of the slippery slope but one must wonder in this case. Sure, many will dismissively say that juggalos should be arrested en masse or worse. But will you accept this kind of thing when your favorite artist puts you on the FBI’s most wanted list?
The stupid thing about it is that the FBI have juggalos all wrong. Yes there are probably some actual gang members who are also juggalos. However, the last time I checked correlation still has not become causation. The bad apples out there in the juggalo community are exactly that, bad apples. This does not mean that every juggalo will do the same things. Are all Joker fans being monitored by the FBI now because they might go on a shooting rampage at a theatre?
Not only that, the actual message behind ICP’s music is a positive one and has been for years. Yes there is violence and misogyny in every song. There are profound appeals to ignorance (Fuckin’ magnets, how do they work?) and appeals against all manner of authority. But ICP does not call upon their fans to do violence against anyone for any reason. When a so-called juggalo took an actual hatchet into a gay bar and attacked people, ICP condemned it in the strongest terms the very next day. They do not agree with bigotry, racism or random attacks on civilians. Just look at their response to this attack- they’re going to sue the FBI. If they were a gang they could call upon juggalos across the land to physically attack FBI offices and agents. But they haven’t done so and they won’t because juggalos aren’t a gang.
The greater issue here is that the FBI is taking a steaming dump on civil rights and has picked a target no one cares about so they can trample rights in relative obscurity. I am not a big fan of the “first they came for the…” argument but I do have to wonder what the greater purpose of all this is. Are juggalos being used as a test case for even wider civil rights violations? If you can be thrown in jail for having a hatchet man on your shirt, what else can land you in the clink? What other bands will land you a permanent criminal record?
If you are a juggalo and have been hassled by the authorities, you can tell your story personally at Juggalos Fight Back. In the meantime, if you’re down with the clown make sure your lawyer is too.
What does this mean? Do you have examples of this? In your link, the Most Wanted poster was for an armed robbery suspect - hardly a crime to be taken lightly regardless of gang affiliation.
Can you? Do you have examples of this?
Do you have examples of “juggalos” being treated more harshly by legal system, or harassed by law enforcement?
Civil rights are paramount. By and large, safety, while very, very important, is only just slightly less important than civil rights.
That said, I have no objection whatever to the FBI warning other law enforcement agencies about groups who act suspiciously. That’s their job. There really are dangerous street gangs in this country.
I searched for “Juggalos” on the FBI site and, yep, they have their very own section, including a picture of a Juggalo.
I wonder why Deadheads aren’t on the list; they fit the definition that the FBI is using for “gang”.
I wonder if there’s any way to fight the gang-related charges that a prosecutor might try to bring, or if a person would be screwed simply because an ICP tune was on their phone or something. (If that’s the case, I’m screwed.)
So the Straight Dope doesn’t feel left out, here’s my favorite ICP song: Dirt Ball (lyrics NSFW)
What about tattoos? Not a cop even less an FBI agent (now that would be fuckin’ hilarious!) but if I see some guys got a big ol’ swastika tat’, with that special jail time attention to first rate inks and hygiene, my suspicion levels goes straight to defcon 2, and I have an urgent appointment elsewhere immediately.
Well, we all judge people on appearance whether we like to admit it or not. It’s when judging people on appearance leads to arrests and convictions and all the fun stuff that follows when I would start to worry. Wasn’t there some dusty old document written a couple hundred years ago that said something about freedom of expression? Ah, the one Grude was mentioning, the field manual for terrorists…
A hatchet man tattoo is the opposite of a swastika BTW.
Edit: in response to elucidator before** FinnAgain** ninja’d me. What up, ninja?
Juggalos are being classified as a gang by the FBI because local law enforcement is classifying them as a gang in several states, in turn because a very small but extremely visible minority of Juggalos are doing incredibly stupid and/or insanely violent shit in the name of Juggaloism or in full Juggalo regalia in their jurisdictions. Kudos on 'em for throwing turds on Tila Tequila and everything, but if a loose organization with distinctive appearances and self identifying characteristics gets attention from local law enforcement for engaging in individual or organized crime associated with that organization, there just aren’t a whole bunch of other things to call you. Fly those colors, yo.
That’s still a thing? I mean, sure, in 1997 or thereabouts, yeah. I kinda thought their ignorant hillbilly fans started reading their lyrics from the liner notes and realized they were the butt of the joke at some point.
I was asking what you meant by “prosecuted as a gang member”. Take the armed robbery suspect in your link - how would he be, or has he been, treated more harshly as a juggalo?
I was also asking you to back up your implication that you can be “thrown in jail for having a hatchet man on your shirt”, with examples of juggalos being persecuted by law enforcement solely for their interest in ICP.
I can agree that it could be silly to name fans of a certain band a “gang”, but maybe you can point out specific instances of civil rights being violated, since I didn’t see any.
