Homey don’t play that

I think if we created a word cloud of my columns over the past three years, one of the words that would pop up is “fun.” I’m an advocate for always having a good time and I’ve written multiple times on why grumps should never kill our vibe, shout out Kendrick Lamar.

But recent events happening nationwide and supposedly here in Gonzales (though we haven’t received any official reports) have forced me to amend that number one rule.

I’m always down for some fun, but it’s got to be harmless.

Creatures of the internet (yes, I admit to being a part of that community sometimes) have shared and latched onto memes such as putting Michael Jordan’s crying face on athletes and celebrities who suffered humiliating losses (an act known to the internet community as “taking Ls”). Those memes I’m down for. What I’m not down for are these clowns popping up around the United States.

Don’t get me wrong, I have no beef with my brothers and sisters of the clown community. Some of my favorite people are clowns. I love my friends Ronald McDonald, Krusty the Clown, Heath Ledger’s Joker and even my favorite rodeo clown, Leon Coffee. But of course with the good, come the bad and there have been some pretty bad ones including Doink the Clown, Pennywise, Jared Leto‘s Joker and our favorite orange-faced clown running for president.

Nonetheless, bad clowns have popped up in the news ever since the incidents in Greenville, S.C. and they are giving the good clowns a bad name.

There’s been speculation on why there have been so many creepy clowns out and about. Some suggest viral marketing. The movie adaption of Stephen King’s “It” is being remade next year, but a Warner Brothers spokesman has already told CNN that there is “absolutely no connection” between the film and the sightings.

But I tend to go with the simplest of explanations: the internet.

You see, when something goes viral, people want to play copycat and record themselves committing the same act. Look at the dance fads these days. They all come from someone recording themselves dancing on the internet and it going viral. The Running Man is a perfect example of this.

So after these clown sightings in South Carolina, copycats probably found it humorous and decided to do it themselves.

Again, I’m down for some fun, but this kind of fun has serious consequences. Just search the phrase “clown shot” and you’ll read recent news on people dressed as clowns getting shot because they looked suspicious.

We have a story out now on a school in Smiley locking down because of a clown sighting. Superintendent Cathy Lauer expressed her displeasure, saying, “it’s going to be a frustrating year if we have to lock down for clown costumes.”

Officials such as Nixon Police Chief Justin Solis have advised the public to contact police in case there are more clown sightings. They do not want you to engage with the clown because you never know.

That’s not fun. That’s causing a disturbance, wasting valuable time for those involved. And if it doesn’t stop, it’ll eventually lead to a report in the front page of another shot clown.

I’m down for some real fun, some harmless fun. But the creepy clowns that are out and about? Nah, homey don’t play that (shout out to Homey the Clown).