Margee Kerr, who is a Sociologist attended the 15th annual Gathering of the Juggalos. Margee first became aware of ICP after they appeared on Dr. Drew’s Love line.
Shortly after that she started following their music career, and the growing fan base. She started to watch and read everything she could about the Gathering of the Juggalos.
This year she decided to go to the Gathering of the Juggalos will a few friends to see if everything she read and watched was true. You can read her full article below.
From Margeekerr.com:
Yep, I went to the Gathering of the Juggalos this past weekend in Thornville, OH. For those of you not familiar with the Gathering, or Juggalos, here is a comprehensive place to catch up: Steve Miller article at Daily Beast.
I had discovered Juggalos, or more accurately Insane Clown Posse when they were guests on Love Line with Dr. Drew. They tore up the studio and proved to be one of their most entertaining guests of all time. From there I began following their music career, and the growing fan base. I didn’t care for their music–I would say about 90% of my daily music is cycling through my Aimee Mann, Liz Phair, and Portishead stations on Pandora. But I was fascinated by the following and the culture that was developing around the group, especially since they didn’t have any huge PR machine pushing them into the public.
And then I started reading about the Gathering. I read pretty much every article I could find about the four day long festival. Most of the articles focused on how the Gathering was ground zero for drugs, sex, violence, and debauchery. Stories of underage girls exchanging sex for drugs, money, or food. Rampant sexual harassment, fights and random assaults with flying cans or 2 liter bottles of Faygo. Trash and filth everywhere, and lots and lots of people walking around on various types of mind altering substances.
My feminist heckles immediately were raised, along with my concern over basic human safety and security. So I kept reading, and watching documentaries that would come out after each Gathering. But they captured attendants of the Gathering–the Juggalos–talking about their experiences in their own words. Sure behind every camera is usually an agenda so knowing what was edited out was always in the back of my mind. But one thing was consistent, everyone was talking about Family and Togetherness and Love and Respect and Taking Care of Each Other. Talk about a vast discrepancy between what outsiders were saying and the Juggalos themselves were describing. That’s a big red flag for sociologists. So, what was the truth? Are they all about family or all about fighting and violence? I figured I’d find out for myself (and with my friend Katie a.k.a “Dudders” and Mike a.k.a. Sorg).
So are the Juggalos about Family or Fighting? This sociologist’s conclusion–duh, both. I know we love to try and boil things down to nice and neat equations. But life really is never that simple. There’s a lot to find objectionable about the Juggalos depending on where you’re standing. But there’s also a lot to celebrate too.
(for a good time search #squidhat on Instagram)
First–the potentially questionable/objectionable parts (from this middle class white educated feminist sociological point of view)–there is a great deal of drug use. I mean a lot. You pretty much were surrounded by pot smoke at all times. I was offered a variety of drugs. But even if I wasn’t asked I could just walk a few feet and see a cardboard sign with a menu of party favors for sale. I don’t think all drug use is bad. Most of us use at least two drugs on a daily basis to change the way we feel. I don’t even think it’s terrible that a whole population of people want to get together and experience mind altering substances in a community environment. Humans have been doing that forever. Drug use at music festivals is like apple pie on the forth of july, it’s not unique to the Gathering so focusing on the Gathering for the amount of drug use is pretty hypocritical (Coachella? Jamboree in the Hills? ANY large concert… did you not see what happen in Pittsburgh after Kenny Chesney and that other country singer dude I don’t know?) The thing that struck me about the drug use though, and the part that makes me sad (not mad, not appalled, not offended) is that it *seems* like drug and alcohol abuse is a daily thing for many of the folks that attend. I don’t have any hard data, I’m going based on casual conversation and personal anecdote. A lot of these folks appear to have lived some very hard lives.
2nd questionable/objectionable part–treatment of women. Yes, most artists on stage were accompanied by scantly clad women doing very suggestive and sometimes straight up explicit sexual acts (no actual sex that I can tell). There were many requests to show various parts of my body, and many calls to women on stage to do the same. But you can’t single out the Juggalos for that offense. That doesn’t make it right, that just calls into question why they are so heavily targeted for how they treat women while Robin Thicke can go around singing about rape with nude women and be a hero. What I did notice, and again this is my personal observation, is that none of the women were groped in the crowd, and that the calls for exposing oneself were given, and often received as a compliment. I’m not saying that’s right, I’m saying that’s the observed meaning making that was happening between the Juggalos and Juggelettes. And again not excusing the behavior but there was an equal balance of calls for showing male body parts in exchange for goods and services as well.
The sexuality and sexual expression at the Gathering was admittedly very different for me. I can usually figure out before walking into a place whether I’m likely to be treated respectfully as a person or treated poorly based on sexual objectification. You figure out the social norms of a place pretty quickly. In my experience the worst I’ve ever been treated consistently is in the popular mainstream bars that host the young professionals and greek life alum, sports, and top 40 hits lovin fans. I’m talking straight up groping on the way to the bar or moving through a crowd. It’s disgusting.
The women I saw at the Gathering were in full control of their bodies, and of their actions (again, to my eyes, and I was watching a lot). They did what they wanted and did NOT do what they didn’t want to. Why deny women the space to express their own sexuality, to wear whatever they want, including nothing, to be very explicit in talking about sex, in showing their bodies–why not let them do that without someone like me coming along and saying they are being exploited or objectified? What place do I have to judge other women’s consensual actions that harm no one else? I think a lot of Jugalettes have more experience in surviving and knowing how to take care of themselves than I ever will. And they do take care of each other, Juggalettes stick together.
Here’s a recap of some festivities taken by Sorg, including part of Whitney Peyton’s (female rapper from Philly) set and a focus on the women of Juggalo Wrestling (listen with the sound turned down, it was very hard to get any cell phone footage with decent sound and it’s not really the place for fancy equipment).
[youtube width=”560″ height=”344″]http://youtu.be/qIMH1PDw8e4[/youtube]
3rd questionable/objectionable part–violence. So, yes, there is a great deal of violence at The Gathering. All different types–lots of symbolic violence in the lyrics and music, wrestling, ‘punishments’ for various Gathering faux pas in Juggalo Court, and then actual violence in the forms of physical assaults between Juggalos. But fighting didn’t seem to be given as much weight, it just was a part of communication. As one Juggalo said–”Come check out this busted windshield covered in blood, two Juggalos went at it and cracked it, but you know that’s how we do.” The lyrics in most of the songs by artists on the ICP label Psychopathic Records are hard for me to read. They are very aggressive, very violent, and yes scary.
It’s Horrorcore– it’s horror themes, imagery, scenarios in music form. Why it seems to upset mainstream audiences more than horror movies or novels is interesting. Why is someone singing about being a serial killer treated differently than a movie about one? Someone had to write that script. So I don’t have a problem with the violent lyrics, just as people like horror movies and novels–some people like it. They may like it because they connect to the lived experience. A lot of Horrorcore bands have been open about history of abuse in their childhood, or growing up in poverty, neglected, without the basic necessities of life. They may relate to the anger, the frustration and the violence that has characterized their lives. Same thing has been said about rap music–how many rappers have said it’s not that their advocating drug use and violence, they’re rapping about what they are living. Important note–none of these things or conditions excuse someone from hurting someone else, but it can help to explain it.
But no, you don’t have to have had a rough childhood to like the music–some people just like it. I don’t like that a lot of music talks about violence against women (not just horrorcore, not just rap, not just metal but also country, and pop, and rock etc…). It makes me really uncomfortable. So I don’t listen to it. I have some other opinions on it I’ll leave for the book too.
The good things:
First, there is in fact a group of christian Juggalos called ‘red faces’ who are bathed in the blood of Jesus Christ. I’ll just leave this here.
Those at the gathering really do believe and practice this whole family concept. Everyone was incredibly nice to each other and I witnessed many going out of their way to help others. Whether it was giving out water, or food and yes drugs. But also picking up trash, checking on each other, and generally having a very pleasant attitude. I thought maybe it was all talk, but it did seem to be true. There was a very literal presence of family as well. I saw strollers, toddlers, kids wandering around with their parents. Again I questioned the decision to bring children to this kind of event, but this is their family.
People really did seem to be looking out for each other. Even 20 feet from the stage during the ICP concert as bodies were being tossed around and around I saw people picked up off the ground quickly so as not to get trampled, and I was even checked on a few times after getting hit in the head by a crowd surfer. The whole vibe was very laid back and very relaxed (besides the moshing)
If you have the time and want to see first hand what it’s like at an ICP, check out the footage shot by Dudders from the Pitt (you can scroll through the video):
[youtube width=”560″ height=”344″]http://youtu.be/_3FxbG81DpM[/youtube]
While there was a great deal of explicit sexual expression and cat calling, I didn’t once feel unsafe or threatened. Me and Dudders, who is a 6’4 blonde ‘supermodel’ as one Juggalo said, walked around by ourselves during the day and into the night (we’re talking 3am night) and we felt fine, and acknowledged we’d both felt far more threatened and unsafe while walking Carson St. on a Saturday night, or even Fifth Ave. during move in week at Pitt. And no, I don’t think it’s because we didn’t ‘look’ like Juggalettes Not everyone wears a costume or special outfit (the number of people with painted faces was actually very low–I expected a lot more). Lots of folks are in jeans and t-shirts like we were. Which brings me back to the negotiated communication and exchanges that happen there–they are very much a two way street.
Me and Dudders jeans after being 20ft from the stage during ICP.
I’m not a fan of the music, I’m not a drug user, and I hate camping but I would go back to the Gathering. It was a lot of fun because it was a population of people coming together around a shared interest who feel genuine love, friendship, respect, and closeness with one another. It doesn’t look the same as how a lot of people share love and respect, but that doesn’t mean it’s not real. Does bad stuff happen? I’m sure it does–it happens everywhere, it’s not exclusive to Juggalos. Again, not an excuse just a point.
We fear people who don’t have the same practices and who step outside the boundaries of what dominate society considers normal or appropriate. Societies turn people who are different into monsters. Sure the dominate group may practice the same behaviors, but at least they don’t talk about it in polite society or god forbid, dress up and paint their faces like clowns.
Today I’m on my way to a writing retreat with my good friend who is working on her dissertation. We’re going to lock ourselves in a converted church in the Poconos and write our faces off. I’m ready, I’m feeling really great about my book and this project. These experiences have changed me, in ways I wasn’t expecting and I can’t wait to share it with everyone.
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