“Clown Lives Matter” Marches Planned to Calm People Down, but Is This a Good Idea?

Clowns are the latest group to feel profiled and discriminated against. Taking a cue from Black Lives Matter and Blue Lives Matter, we now have…Clown Lives Matter.

No, I am not making this up.

Over the last few months, communities across the US have been spooked by clown sightings, clown-related threats, clowns trying to lure children into the woods, clowns chasing kids with baseball bats, and clown attacks.

People have been arrested for dressing as clowns and harassing people, schools are on high alert (some are even calling parents to warn them about clown sightings), and a man in Kentucky was arrested for firing a shot in the air after mistaking a woman walking her dog for a clown.

The public is justifiably unnerved.

So, in an attempt to calm people down and reduce clown-phobia, organizers in Arizona have planned a Clown Lives Matter march for October 15 in Tuscon.

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!”

More than 100 clowns are expected to show up, and attendees are invited to participate in full clown makeup or masks.

The more the merrier, right?

*shivers*

A Facebook events search revealed that there will also be a Clown Lives Matter march in New Jersey on the same date, and there is one planned for Halloween in Chicago.

Are marches like this a good idea? While I sympathize with people who perform as clowns for a living, could these marches present a perfect opportunity for clowns of the deranged variety to show up, blend in, and do wicked things?

As previously stated, one man was already frightened enough to fire a shot in the air when he thought he saw a clown roaming through his neighborhood.

Someone dressed as a clown and carrying what appeared to be a machete has been spotted by several people in Tchula, Mississippi. Police chief Kenneth Hampton, who saw the clown for himself, told WAPT he has a warning for the perpetrator:

I am more afraid for the clown than I am for the citizens because pretty much everyone here has shotguns. The bottom line is, if he’s running around with a sword or a machete, he’s subject to get shot in this area.

I still don’t understand. I think it is some type of trend. It is basically a bunch of idiots running around in clown suits without any regard for their life.

Hampton posted a warning to the clown on the department’s Facebook page:

And clown pranks have gone terribly wrong in the past: take a look at these videos to see what I mean…

Violence and profanity warning

None of this is one bit funny.

How long until one of these clown encounters ends in a tragedy?