Nazis Vs. Juggalos: Dawn of Fighting Injustice

Ever since it was announced that those Trump-worshipping lovable scamps in the Alt-Right would be holding the “Mother of all Rallies” in Washington, D.C on September 16th, something bizarre and unexpected has happened: people are seeing Juggalos in a positive light and writing about them flatteringly. 

What could have led to such a strange reversal? As is so often the case these days, the answer has a lot to do with Nazis. Man, who could have envisioned, twenty years ago that a reality TV host would be President and Nazis would dominate the national conversations, particularly the unfortunately relevant question as to whether or not the President is a Nazi, or at least a dude who not so secretly shares the beliefs and worldview of Nazis. We truly are living in the darkest timeline. 

It took Nazis to get people excited about Juggalos. Because Juggalos are scheduled to march in D.C on September 16th and so is the Alt-Right, and it sure feels like a lot of our society, particularly the unusually vocal smart-asses on social media, are sitting back with a bag of popcorn like Michael Jackson in that Gif from Thriller and anxiously anticipating what they see as a surreal and surreally righteous clash between the somewhat antithetical sensibilities of the Hitler brigade and the followers of Shaggy 2 Dope and Violent J. 

I fear some of y'all may not grasp the full context of this meme

When I attended the Gathering last month, buzz about the March on Washington was so non-existent that I wondered if it’d happen at all, or it it’d be called off due to a lack of interest and attendance. ICP did almost nothing to sell the March, and by extension, political activism, to its fans, possibly out of an understandable fear of alienating them by getting too political. 

There was a glowing ember of excitement and interest in the March at the Gathering but it was sustained by Juggalo journalists like myself, with strong Progressive leanings, rather than rank and file Juggalos who were more interested in having a good time than in exploring the politics and ideology of ICP or embracing inter-sectionalism as it relates to the struggle of not just Juggalos but plenty of other groups targeted and profiled by law enforcement. 

The Juggalo March on Washington always boasted an appropriately carnivalesque element of novelty and surprise. What the Alt-Right rally gave it was an element of conflict that the press and the public have seized upon. Make no mistake, the public’s affection for, and interest in, Juggalos and the March on Washington is very conditional. It’s only because they might be squaring off against Nazis in the streets that people are starting to look at Juggalos as the good guys, and not human garbage beneath their contempt.

Sure, the world will be happy to gawk at Juggalos marching for their rights, but what they really want to see is Juggalos and Nazis mixing it up in the streets like some crazy, alternate-universe version of The Warriors but with a contemporary political twist. It really has to be Nazis versus Juggalos for this freak show to hold the public’s attention. Nazis & Juggalos doesn’t have the same visceral excitement and I will be deeply disappointed, and surprised if Juggalos travel to the dark side. Then again, Insane Clown Posse’s music and lyrics have always, but always, been anti-racist, anti-redneck, anti-rich and intensely class-conscious, so they are by default also strongly anti-Alt-Right. 

Will you be at the March? These two ninjas will be.

The looming question regarding the March and ICP’s apolitical brand of populist politics is this: Is getting Juggalos off the FBI gang list the end of the struggle, or is it merely the beginning? I hope the latter is true, but I’m just not sure. 

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