I know that PRJ updated the original story with this, but I wanted to make sure that all of our readers saw it.

Radio personality Drew Garabo issued a statement via his Facebook page explaining that his petition to ban Juggalos from St. Petersburg for Juggalo Weekend was merely a joke that got out of hand.  He states that he knew that Juggalos would probably not take too kindly to it, but thought better of it after seeing what a close-knit community we were.

It was the story of Alex “Les Legz” Perkins as heard on the Howard Stern Show that made him reconsider making Juggalos the butt of yet another joke.  You can see his full explanation below.

From In Your Face with Drew Garabo’s Facebook:

It started innocuously enough, as these ideas tend to do. During a break, Seth said, “We should start a petition against the Juggalos’ weekend in St. Pete.” Always one to poke and prod at these clown-worshipers, I eagerly agreed and we were off and running.

Predictably, the Juggalos took to social media to confront me about the petition designed to “ban” them from St. Petersburg. I thought that a good amount of them would certainly see through it for the transparent radio bit that it was, but only a scant few did. The rest took it personally. Some hurled vitriol, some asked for understanding, some even started petitions of their own to get me off the air.

It was laying out pretty much exactly as I hoped and predicted. Until…

I’m not sure which exact Tweeter made me think of a dude I heard interviewed on Howard Stern’s show at a Gathering of the Juggalos. He lost his legs in a train accident, and credited the music of ICP and the Juggalo family for keeping him alive. His “whoop whoop” became a regular sound bite on the Stern show. It is the Rallying Cry of the Juggalo, if I am correct, and its ability to bury itself in one’s head is undeniable.

Suddenly, it didn’t seem like so much fun to taunt the Juggalos. While I knew in my heart that I meant them no malice (and would certainly never try to use my “influence” to “ban” them from a city, there was no way for them to know that.

These people, many of them ostracized, abused, teased, bullied, picked on, victimized, etc…found their joy in ICP. The rest of us can look at these rapping clowns and their “family” and scoff, laugh, make them the butt of jokes…but are they any worse than, say, Parrotheads?

Hell no. Nothing’s worse than Parrotheads.

Seriously, though, I worshiped at the altar of Beastie Boys from 1985 until just recently. They had “Girls,” “Fight for Your Right to Party,” and other idiotic songs in their catalog. What makes them any better? What gives me the right to not only crap on these rapping clowns, but continue to make their fans feel pushed away, insulted, or alienated?

You may see me as a bully with a microphone. I don’t fault you for that. You might be able to peer behind the curtain just a tad and see someone who simply enjoys kicking the nests of hornets, often for a good cause, but you might not. I never want to make an individual or a group of people feel genuinely hurt for enjoying something. These Juggalos escape reality by gathering with other Juggalos and listening to artists like Twiztid, Blaze Ya Dead Homie, and others. While I don’t think that mocking them for this affects them profoundly, I do believe that getting a message that they are not welcome in a particular city wouldn’t sit well with them.

So, because of that, I’m taking down the petition. Even if we got news coverage from it, which is quite possible, it’s just not worth it to me if I make people feel awful. For me to preach tolerance of all, I have to back up my words with actions. I sincerely and thoroughly apologize for any hurt, anger, alienation, or any other negative feelings brought on by a petition that we started as a joke.

#whoopwhoop,

Drew

Props and much love to Drew and his team, and to all of the Juggalos and music lovers in general who let cooler heads prevail.

Websites:

• Drew Garabo @ Facebook