It’s been a strange year, 2016. First, stories started popping up about “killer clowns” terrorizing neighborhoods, and then Donald Trump won the presidential election — speaking of scary clowns.
Trump’s win has sparked concerns about increased acts of racism, and those concerns appear to be valid. In fact, the Ku Klux Klan is planning a North Carolina rally to celebrate the election results, and that’s a pretty sure sign that things aren’t good on the equality front.
No Laughing Matter, Or Is It?
The KKK and associated “white power” groups are the laughing stock of America, but they have yet to figure that out, apparently. Fortunately, some well-meaning clowns are stepping in to show them exactly how ridiculous they are.
A group in Asheville, NC are planning to dress up as clowns and attend the upcoming white power parade.
Organizer and professional clown Rigel Pawlak talked about why:
“2016 is all backwards. People are afraid of clowns. And, the KKK is planning a public party. I wouldn’t call myself a protester. But, I do want to rally as much love as I can to balance out the hate.
I plan to lead a love-based clown party to divert attention from the KKK, to make their impact less powerful. I plan on insisting that the clowns refrain from pieing or seltzering any klan member. We do not want to incite violence. We (clowns) need to pie each other, to seltzer each other… to balance the drama with some comedy. This will also act as a reminder that clowns are magical and almost all of them have love in their hearts.”
A History of Laughter
The idea of clowns stepping in to fight discrimination isn’t new. On November 12, 2012 a small group of Neo Nazis held an anti-immigration rally in Charlotte, NC. They turned out in matching costumes, waving colorful banners bearing the name of their group, and showed off their pretty prison tattoos.
Their plan to spread hate and ignorance was foiled, though, by a group much louder and more colorful, but nowhere near as silly.
The Latin American Coalition organized a group to attend the Nazi rally, and they outnumbered the supremacists five to one. Like the Nazis, they brought colorful signs, and were decked out in their finest clown-wear. The clowns drowned out the Nazi noise with horns, squeaky toys, and whistles, and countered each shout of “White Power!” with a cloud of white flour.
The purpose of the counter-rally was simple, said Lacey Williams, the Latin American Coalition’s youth coordinator.
“The message from us is, you look silly. We’re dressed like clowns and you’re the ones that look funny.”
In 2007, another group of clowns attended a KKK rally in Knoxville, TN. They met the Klan’s cries of “White Power!” with gleeful cries of their own.
“White flowers!… White flour!… Tight shower!… Wife power!”
It’s sad that this election has brought out the worst in some people, and emboldened them to spew their racist garbage with even more force than before. Hopefully, Pawlak’s vision will play out, and turn an event inspired by hatred and fear into one full of laughter, love, and hilarity.
Featured Image: Screenshot Via YouTube Video.
