The band Insane Clown Posse announced this week that they plan to sue the FBI for including ICP fans in the agency’s 2011 Gang Threat Assessment Report. The annoucement came at the 13th annual Gathering of the Juggalos, and Samantha Abernathy at Chicagoist reported that the band said their fans – the said same Juggalos – have been harassed by law enforcement officials. 

Abernathy expanded on her thoughts at The Paper Machete and asked, “Is it fair to call a group of make-up wearing music fans a gang? Does it really apply?” And “Is the FBI discriminating against ICP, and is it fair to consider the group’s members gangleaders? Were the Beatles held responsible for the Manson’s love of the song ‘Piggies’? Because by the FBI’s definition, that would probably make George Harrison a cult leader.”

I did some research on the mind of a Juggalo on a tumblr that collects Juggalos’ profiles on OKCupid. Juggalos and Juggalettes clearly announce their allegiance to The Family with the mating call of WHOOP WHOOP. (I’m not totally sure if I did that right.) They also say they “run with the hatchet,” a reference to the hatchetman logo of ICP’s Psychopathic Records. A hatchetman is also known as a hitman. Many of the people also sign off their profiles with the acronym MMFWCL. That stands for Much Mother F***ing Wicked Clown Love.

I should probably mention ICP’s music. It’s, um, sort of violent and really weird. In “Whoop Whoop,” they say, “Juggalo, juggalo, I don’t wash my pants, I’m a scrubbalo.” That’s pretty innocent. We’re probably all familiar with their tune “Miracles,” where they famously ask, “F***in’ magnets. How do THEY work?” Then again,“The Neden Game” is a goofy little mock-dating game tune, but it happens to be riddled with misogynist lyrics that really make me worry. A sample: “I’m steady starin’ at your sister, I’ll tell you this, “You know, for only 13, she got some big tits.” He also threatens to kill every one in her phone book and any guy that looks at her. And that’s some creepy love.

ICP is not exactly respected in the music community. Then again, neither is Carly Rae Jepson. Fellow Detroit native Jack White collaborated with ICP to cover Mozart. That really happened, and the tune is actually kind-of decent. But does this mean that Jack White is a gangmember?

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