Brother Juggalo

Some years ago now, my brother started hanging out with some new people.  Though I had not really gotten along with his past friends, these I really disapproved of.  Of course, being just the big sister, there wasn't a whole lot I could do about it.  Still, I remained suspicious of these new people he was spending time with.  Quickly, he began listening to "juggalo" music.  Probably the best-known group which performs such music is Insane Clown Posse, or ICP.  You may have seen their "hatchet man" logo, which features a male figure running with a hatchet and what appears to be dreadlocks.

Members of Insane Clown Posse

I tend not to be very judgmental of musical artists.  I got into Good Charlotte when I was in fifth grade and have wanted piercings ever since.  I started dying my hair unnatural colors (and still do, when I have the money).  I got into MxPx, Mest, Silverchair, and Rancid as a result of fangirling over Good Charlotte.  These bands tend to be on the rougher side (though it's certainly not the "roughest" out there).  They use profanity, they smoke, some of them use drugs, and the lyrics are sometimes violent.

However, the violence tends to be very tame in that the descriptions are not graphic.  This is not the case with Insane Clown Posse and other similar groups.

Once my brother got caught up in the fandom for ICP and their peer groups, he began painting his face.  The paint was black and white and supposed to be clownish, but horrifying at the same time.  You could tell it wasn't good for his skin, but he painted it almost daily and took pictures to put on his social media accounts. He began drawing pictures that either replicated or emulated the bands' artistic style.  Pictures of "the Great Malenko" and other band idols started popping up on my brother's wall and doors.  He drew most of these images with Sharpie markers.  It's a wonder the fumes didn't make him sick.  Then, after telling us he wanted to be a minister as a child, he declared he was no longer Christian -- he was a juggalo and after death, he would go to the "great carnival."  (I may be misremembering some of these details, but this was the gist I understood).

His new attitude and dedication to this lifestyle strained our relationship.  I don't like suggesting that this music ruins people's lives, but I do think that it has a big effect on people who are easily influenced like my brother.

Juggalo propaganda using kin terms

My second year of college, I took an introduction to psychology course because I needed a science credit and I thought it would be an easy A after having taken psychology in high school.  During one point in the semester, we talked about the power of kin terms.  What this means is, if you are begging for money, you are better off saying something like, "Can you spare a quarter, sister?" rather than just, "Can you spare a quarter?"  This will result in more money for you at the end of the day.

The power of kin terms is the reason nuns are such a close community.  Kin terms are prevalent in church settings -- "father," "sister," "brother," are all titles which are bestowed in used in the church community.  You'll find them in mob  families, sororities, and most importantly, cults.

Juggalos consider themselves a family.  There are internet memes in which juggalos talk about putting family first.  My brother refers to other juggalos as his family.  From my perspective, all this "family" has done for him has made him more difficult to get along with, colder, and more distant.  Furthermore, based on what I've seen of juggalo culture, there is something incredibly cult-like about it.  The whole "religion" concept is there, the use of kin terms, the exclusivity -- all of it is present.

I want to emphasize here again that I'm not necessarily condemning the entire juggalo genre.  To be perfectly honest, I'm not terribly educated about the culture or the music.  What I have heard, however (which seems to be a pretty accurate set of information, given that I heard it from people who take part in the culture and not "anti-juggalo propaganda") has given me a very negative opinion of them.

A juggalo and jugalette

I remember about a year ago, there was an incident near my home in which some juggalos harassed some kids on the street.  Another similar story involved guns.

Juggalos, of course, are not the only misguided people out there.  And certainly not all people who consider themselves juggalos are misguided people (though I can't say that I've met one who isn't misguided yet).

I think it's important, however, to be aware of what messages you are sending to other people based on your preferences -- whether those are for a particular genre of music, books, movies, or anything else.  And be aware of what the messages within the content are -- are they really something you believe in?

For more information on the juggalo culture, visit Wikipedia's article.

Insane Clown Posse image courtesy of Tru TV (which also includes an explanation of juggalo culture).
Propaganda image courtesy of Sancs Blog.
Juggalo couple picture courtesy of Modern Thrill.