This clown not clowning around
There are far more important stories than the one I’m about to discuss.
Oh, I know there’s bound to be a chest-thumping political debate that follows that senseless attack in Washington last week. It seems that hardly any news worthy of extended cable news coverage, these days, can exist without ruffled political feathers.
The violence in Washington supplanted the specter of war planes flying over Syria and the constant drone of “experts,” who infused the prospects of, yet another, American war-front with, yet another, political debate.
I know about those things. But today, I’m here to talk about clowns. Yes, clowns.
NOTE: In the interests of full disclosure, and of self-reflection, I freely admit that I was once a clown. I was a member of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus — for one day — as part of a story I did about Clown Alley, while I was a young reporter in Charleston, W.Va. I spent the day with a clown; dressed up in a clown costume; went into the big top; and I even performed during one of their performances. Public opinion may differ, but I haven’t been a clown since that day!
Even still, I have no particular affinity for clowns. To me, they can be quite spooky. I’m not alone. There are a lot of people in Northampton, England who feel the same way I do. Except those folks really DO have a clown in their midst.
Suddenly, and without warning, a man (or a woman) dressed as a clown appeared on Northampton’s streets on Friday the 13th of this month. That clown, and the town 67 miles northwest of London, have both gained worldwide attention ever since.
The clown really doesn’t do anything. He (or she) just stands there. He (or she) doesn’t talk, or doesn’t perform any clown stunts — he (or she) just stands and stares at people.
I don’t deny the possibility that a clown standing on a city street (and mostly at night) can certainly raise a stir. Nobody ever said clowns can’t be creepy. But a local Northampton newspaper, the Herald & Post, has decided that it’ll devote front-page coverage to the mysterious clown-of-the-night.
On the Herald & Post website, I’ve found seven stories and even an editorial devoted to trying to solve the mystery Northampton’s clown-of-the-night. There’s even an online video the newspaper posted of the local chief constable claiming, “If I met the Northampton Clown I would shake his hand and thank him for what he’s doing.”
But the clown isn’t doing anything. Just standing there, causing people around the world to wonder why he (or she) just stands there. There’s even an online map showing “clown” sightings. All three of them.
Whomever they are they’re fully aware of their own fame. That’s probably why they now have their own Facebook page titled “Spot Northampton’s Clown. (https://www.facebook.com/spotnorthamptonsclown)
Now here’s the crux of this.
The clown put up that page on Friday the 13th. It’s since attracted over 80,000 “likes” from around the world. Many people speculate about the identity of the clown. Some people even salute him (or her) for bringing attention to Northampton. There are some people from other places who’d like the clown to come and visit their public officials, because they have a lot in common with clowns. But there are other comments.
Veiled threats of violence and hostility directed at a character who appears, to them, to be frightening.
Whatever the clown’s purpose for doing this, they certainly seem to have a grasp on human nature. They seem to know that fear of the unknown is the basis for all prejudice. It can draw hatred from people who prefer the comfort of their own “kind,” to those people who simply aren’t enough like them to be able to avoid their ridicule.
That clown, carrying balloons, and JUST STANDING THERE, is understandably frightening to some people. But worse, to other people, he (or she) is a bogyman to be made to pay for their uncommitted sins.
That clown is winning.
Edward A. Owens is a three time Emmy Award winner and 20 year veteran of television news. Email him at freedoms@bellatlantic.net
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