Custom «Revealing the Juggalos» Essay Paper

Juggalos represent a subculture hard to understand because of the group’s desire to belong to a family, which is regarded as a family of misfits. Juggalos have an interesting culture, although it deviates from the normal societal values. The name Juggalo came from the carnival-centric descriptions in the band’s music. Violent J when introducing a song at one concert made an accident referral to the audience as Juggalos. This was in 1994 during a live performance by Insane Clown Posse. Since then some fans had immediately adopted the name to depict die-hard admirers of the group. The name became popular in 1995 during the production of the third album, “Riddle Box.” As a result, Insane Clown Posse wrote two songs; “Down With The Clown” and “What Is A Juggalo.” The two songs were for the 1997 album called “The Great Milenko.” Through examining the characteristics of Juggalos, cultural and stereotyping issues among others will be revealed.

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Most of the Juggalo culture’s characteristics emerged when John Bruce together with his family suffered from poverty in the 1980s. Bruce and his brother obtained garments from a rummage sale, whereas food came from provision drives performed in school. Nevertheless, the two siblings were not embarrassed about their living standards and alternatively embraced it. Joseph went to the extent of making a name Floobs, because of their desperate situation. A floob is a person who wore the same old shoes as well as shabby clothes from fumble sales. Joseph alluded himself with other unknown Floobs by adopting the name. He did not know them but only heard that they were living under similar circumstances. Floobs respected each another and embraced family, which is the same philosophy adopted by Juggalos (Bruce & Echlin 35).

Juggalo members come from anywhere; one can be from a poor or rich background, any religion, and any color. It does not matter if the person was born lucky or is a struggler in life. The group has likened itself to a family (Mervis par. 6). Juggles identify their members by the hatchet man logo. In fact, an unknown Juggalo can pick out a fellow member from a crowd simply by checking the logo. Juggalos drink and spray cheap soft drink called Faygo. Faygo is made by a Detroit-based soft drink company, which produces more than 50 flavors. The group is very fond of the drink to the extent of featuring it in the live performances, videos, and band’s music. It is characteristic of a Juggalo to carry around a bong, as well as a two-liter Fayco. They dump much of the drink to the cheering crowd. They also throw the cans after drinking to a passenger close to their track.

Juggalos cover their faces with paint often referred to as “wicked clown”. They also wear a hatchet gear, and the running “hatchet man logo” is employed on personal effects. Their main hairstyle is spider legs similar to that of Twiztid members. Juggalos wear a shirt with an inappropriate name sewn on it, although they only wear it during the Gathering (annual festival). They display the wicked clown gesture, the C symbol in ASL, by crossing their arms, and the Westside sign with the left hand. Juggalos have a unique call, which they use to hail one another “Whoop! Whoop!” The call sounds easy, but it appears as if it would be a severe bargain that a person is new to the group if the execution is incorrect while attempting to grasp someone’s attention.

Juggalos listen to horror-themed rap music and view the Psychopathic Records lyrics, which are violent in character. Juggalo’s music has a genre with a group appreciating it. They perform the music in certain cities, have specific venues, attend similar events, and attend same clubs. Some of their tags include zombie crawl, vampire crawl, and punk among others. Juggalos are ICP fans, which is a Detroit-bred rap pair with KISS-like face-paint, as well as outrageously blasphemous lyrics. Juggalos’ band has an enormous grassroots following, especially in Colorado, native Midwest, Arizona, and Utah. The two main Jaggalo hangouts are Metrocenter and Monstar Shop at 35^th Avenue, as well as Camelback Road. Shopkeepers, mall security, and other children insult Juggalos. They are grubby and self-proclaimed white trash with chain wallets, dirty goatees, lip rings, and baggy black jeans. Many Juggalos are jobless and smoke poorly made rollies to the stub, as well as yell curse words at passing cars (Lowe 208).

Clearly, Juggalos’ characters are undesirable and represent lawlessness. The group is a cult, which is up to no good, and their behavior, such as throwing empty cans of their favorite drink at pedestrians, reveals their violent nature. Their behavior seems abnormal and may be attributed to using drugs. One should not sleep in a bus with Juggalos or drink any of their juices because the person will suffer a hangover the next day. Every Juggalo hits his bong. Surprisingly, Juggalos are the only people who still like Charlie Sheen but hate Tila Tequila. They claim that Lamestream Media was incorrect by claiming that they booed him because they did not. In fact, Charlie’s name is printed on their shirts. During the Gathering, all sorts of drugs are present, because the Juggalos have no laws. The only prevailing rule is that each member should take off shoes before the Gathering. The reason behind it was the bouncy bouncies to take shoes for. They often shower one another with Faygo drink, which they claim is a good experience. Jigglez is a favorite name among Juggalos and, therefore, they often have it tattooed.

Notably, female Juggalos are known as Juggalette, and their favorite name is Pretzlette. The women have their favorite name tattooed on specific body parts. Juggalettes do not like wearing underwear. The best food at the Gathering is corn dogs. Juggalos do not clap, and only communicate with their whoop salutation. They decorate their umbrellas and tag most of their items, including cars. They have a rule of always wearing sunscreen. Juggalos do not drink from bongos because the drinks lack alcohol, and thus pointless. This shows that apart from being alcoholics they are also drug abusers. Such kinds of people are associated with criminal activities, and thus Juggalos are not exceptional. Juggalos are Republican and support or reject similar leaders. It is because of their unfavorable culture that Juggalo is stereotypic and opposed by many, because most of their activities verge on insanity. The stereotypical perception of Juggalos is due to the fact that they are always coming out from the Gathering and/or from concerts. This is despite the two events making up only a small part of their lives.

Gathering

Juggalos’ Gathering is a yearly festival organized by Psychopathic Records and featuring concerts by the entire label together with a number of popularly known musical groups, as well as underground artists. It brings together numerous rock and hip-hop performers, although most of the acts perform hardcore hip-hop and horrorcore, which are similar to that of the artists of Psychopathic Records. The Juggalos’ Gathering illustrated by Bruce as a “Juggalo Woodstock” lasts for four days (Bruce & Echlin 471). The events include concerts, contests, seminars with artists, wrestling, games, karaoke, and autograph sessions. The event has attracted an audience of around 107, 500 admirers over its earliest 11 events. 

The audience are asked to carry juggalo pride and ninja suits. However, one cannot bring woodworking tools and anything, which will cause others vomit, duck, or faint. Notably, Juggalos come out during summer. On every Thursday, Juggalos give a new member an idea on the hotline for Find-a-Faygo-Friday. The event involves hiding a Fygo bottle in a certain place within the city, and the person who finds it gets to keep the bottle (Roberts 24).

Crime ascribed to Juggalos

According to the Federal Bureau of Investigations, Juggalos are a loosely organized hybrid gang. The group’s transient character makes them hard to supervise effectively. The Federal Bureau of Investigations conditioned that particular subsets of Juggalos engage in unlawful activity, as well as acts of brutality. The group poses a threat to the society due to being prone to drug use, aggression, as well as violent and destructive behavior. Self-identified Juggalos have been linked to numerous cases of criminal acts. Certain media channels have connected the occurrences to the music created by Psychopathic Record. Authorities in some countries have categorized Juggalos as a gang, although the group has denied any involvement in gang activity. As a result, certain learning institutions have banned students from putting on Insane Clown Posse and other associated paraphernalia. Juggalos have denounced continually violence within the fandom. The former Psychopathic Records CEO suggested that crazy people who only allege to be Juggalos as a justification for their actions had committed many of the occurrences (Michaels).

Juggalos often refute the claim of their association with unlawful practices. However, considering the behaviors that characterize the group, no one should be surprised at the crime allegations. During the famous Gathering, Juggalos are free to do as they please, and under the influence of the drugs as well as other influential substances, they are likely to commit the alleged crimes. Their language and mode of dressing are suspicious because they are associated mainly with lawless people. Considering all the characteristics outlined, it is possible that some Juggalos commit crimes. This is because most of the characteristics are unfavorable and only few are considered acceptable. Their abnormal behavior also contributes to the criminal allegations because they deviate from accepted norms.

Clearly, Juggalos are a group of people with unusual practices, which qualifies them as a subculture. Their culture deviates from the norms and lacks the accepted values in all manner of their lives. The subculture displays lawlessness, especially engagement in criminal activities and violant behavior, such as throwing empty bottles at other people. It is no wonder then that there is a negative stereotypical perception of the group, their conduct, and group meetings, such as the Gathering. These form the basis for stereotypes of the group, because many claim they are always coming from concerts or the Gathering. The Gathering particularly portrays their lawlessness, because they are no rules that govern the event. In fact, a Juggalo can bring drugs, use them, or sell them during the festival. Obviously, judging from just the festival, the group cannot obtain a clean portrayal. Besides, their dressing style, tattoos, and obscene language to can hardly guarantee the group a positive name. Therefore, Juggalo is a complicated group characterized by lawlessness and malpractices.