Juggalos = Gang Threat

Brilliant.

It's getting spun out of proportion a little bit, but there is truth to the story that Insane Clown Posse fans, Juggalos, have been included in the F.B.I.'s annual Gang Threat Assesment. Rolling Stone has the story here.

I'm fairly certain that the ICP don't need a great deal of introduction, so to sum up briefly; sex-and-violence-spewing clown-masked rappers, who's love of Dark Carnival imagery, professional wrestling, high-sugar soda and extremely black humour makes them equally adored and reviled by the mainstream press, and beloved of teenage boys everywhere. Last year, they admitted to being devout Christians. Their fans call themselves Juggalos, and if you need any more information, just google a few images - it will tell you all you need to know.

And now their fanbase are classified as being responsible for gang-related activities in the states of Arizona, California, Pennsylvania and Utah. The thought of them in any way cohesing stoned teenagers into active gangs is about as daft as the whole Judas Priest 'suicide messages' fiasco. The only difference is that we're slightly less knee-jerk than we were in the 80s, and Rob Halford could actually sing. Hell, if anything, kids listening to ICP are less likely to get involved in gangs - they're far too busy hepping themselves up on Faygo, hitting mosh pits and scrawling rude slogans on their school books. ICP offer all the fun parts of childhood in one go, plus a few cluster F-Bombs along the way to make it edgier. For about six weeks in 2001, they were all I needed.