Seriously, you can’t make this stuff up. I’m not even going to address the circus the national election has become. I am talking about the “Clownpocalypse” and the “Clown Lives Matter” aspects of what will infamously be known in history as “The Great Clown Panic of 2016” (so maybe I am talking politics). Don’t plan on this epidemic to get better any time soon folks. Halloween is around the corner, and Stephen King’s mini-series “It” is scheduled to come out as a movie next year.
FYI: All puns in this article are 100% intended. If this article offends you, you obviously wandered into a law enforcement magazine site that wasn’t created with you in mind. Unfortunately, the editor has been lax in creating a forum for sensitive visitors.
There’s been a wave of creepy clown sightings across the United States. Going back to late August, there have been dozens of reports of threatening clowns, largely centered around schools and colleges. Whether they are pranks, threats or actual sightings, police and other officials have to take them seriously as a potential threat to safety. That’s starting to drain resources from law enforcement agencies, who are also concerned about feeding into hysteria. It seems as if a new threatening, creepy clown sighting pops up on social media every hour. In fact, FBI and the Department of Homeland Security are now consulting with local police departments on how to handle the creep clown phenomenon. I am not sure what your protocol is for responding to these calls; though I can almost guarantee you have one (the chain of command loves these kinds of things). Most of these sightings have been dismissed by law enforcement as pranks, however, more than a dozen people have been arrested, mostly fall under the felony code of making terroristic threats. Mugshots are sure to be amusing, war stories even better.
One thing is for sure. Not all clowns are bright. Actually, some are a burger and fries short of a happy meal at McDonald’s. Just for fun, Google “Original Ronald McDonald” – pretty scary dude.
Let’s look at a clown sighting on 10/07/16. A creepy clown and his female partner were arrested on Friday for allegedly leaving their 4-year-old child unattended so they could terrorize a Wisconsin neighborhood. I am stupefied.
Nor should we forget the genius jesters who decide to block cars in a roadway, fail to heed the right of way, become increasing intimidating, and then cannot understand why they become victims of a clubbing. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes. Who do you book? The good news is most clowns are easy to chase, easy for a sketch artist to render a liking, and shoe prints are easy to match. The bad news is clown costume sales are up 300% over last year.
Clown’s Lives Matter
In another ring of the circus is a large group of people in this country who feel anyone who looks like them, as professional clowns, is being unfairly targeted for scorn or worse. These hardworking entertainers can’t get a leg up on these other clowns, they are looked at with fear, and are having a hard time scoring party gigs. A few creepy evil clowns have ruined it for the multitude of benevolent, funny and happy clowns. These do-gooders must feel like police officers right now, crossing a very thin line. The good news is that these so called “good clowns” have started a movement to declare to the world that their lives should matter as much as everyone else’s. But these poor, already victimized clowns, are under a different attack by people stating that the clowns are racist, and merely mocking, trivializing and denigrating the importance and goals of the Black Lives Matter movement.
The Psychobabble Aspect: Coulrophobia
Phobias are the most common psychological disorder among women and the second most common disorder among men over 25. Nearly one in five of us will experience specific phobias at least once in our life. In the U.S., 19 million people, 8.7% of the adult population, has at least one extreme specific fear. Specific phobias begin during childhood, the median age of onset is 7, and can persist all throughout one’s life.
By definition, a phobia is a persistent, excessive, or unreasonable fear of a specific object or situation that is generally considered harmless. Accompanying this fear is a strong desire to avoid whatever is feared. Additionally, these irrationally exaggerated fears effect an individual’s daily life functioning. A person can literally develop a phobia of anything: elevators, clocks, and of course, clowns. Phobias can create a state of acute panic, difficulty in breathing, irregular heartbeat, sweating, nausea and feelings of terror, fear or dread.
Coulrophobia, “Kull-rho-foe-bee-uh”, is the fear of clowns. The fact is more people dislike clowns then like them. A Rasmussen Report demonstrated that although only 12% admit to suffering from coulrophobia, an additional 43% percent don’t like clowns; some 40% percent do.
Scientists and doctors now agree that coulrophobia is the result of not knowing who lies behind the excessive makeup, red nose and hair color. The clown wears a colorful makeup to deconstruct the facial features and minimize human emotions cues to create a new identity.
Why are clowns scary?
Even so, those in the psychology field know that behind every phobia, there is at least some base of reason no matter how small. With coulrophobia, here are several common reasons why doctors and scientists believe people fear clowns:
- Excessive makeup, red nose, oversized clothing and hair color makes clowns unrecognizable as humans, resulting in a fear of not knowing who, or what, is hiding beneath the costume
- Clown makeup often limits the amount of expressions they can display or worse, over exaggerates emotions.
- Certain works, including movies and television shows, of horror have associated clowns with evil-doings and dangerous mischief.
- Yes, there have been real life “evil clowns”, like Pogo the Clown, AKA: John Wayne Gacy.
Treatment
If you or a loved one has an irrational fear of clowns, don’t be afraid to seek out the help of a therapist. As with other phobias, coulrophobia can be effectively treated to reduce the fear and learn to manage it so it doesn’t disrupt one’s life. Exposure therapy, gradually increased exposure to clown-related material and clowns themselves, until the patient becomes comfortable with it all, as well as cognitive behavioral therapy, have proven to be effective interventions.
Conclusion
I live in Tucson; a city I say with pride, is a little funky in an extremely conservative state. On October 15th, Tucson organizers are planning a "Clown Lives Matter" march in reaction to the” recent spate of frightening incidents -- both real and imagined -- spread in the news and on social media.” Attendees are invited to show up wearing full clown makeup or masks. According to a flyer advertising the event, "this is a peaceful way to show clowns are not psycho killers. We want the public to feel safe, and not be afraid. So come out, bring the family, meet a clown and get a hug!" I have a friend visiting from Seattle this weekend, and she has no interest...I guess they have plenty of clowns there. But if I do show up I will be wearing my favorite t-shirt that reads, “Can’t Sleep-Clowns Will Eat Me”.
Stay safe out there and repeat after me: “Creepy clowns are not real. Creepy clowns are not real.” Well, then again we do have the politicians. Send in the clowns, don't bother, they're here.
