I figured I'd email a great contact of mine with the New Mexico Gang Task Force. Sure enough, he wrote me in an email about ICP:
“We” (NM Gang Task Force) do consider them a gang due to the definition plus the fact that there have been more and more incidents here and nationwide with them committing acts of violence as part of the group. We do caution folks to not automatically group every kid wearing a shirt as part of the “gang”.
My contact tells me some young followers of the band have been taking hatchets to class here in New Mexico hidden their backpacks. (One symbol associated with ICP is the Juggalo. A silhouette of a man with spiked hair holding a hatchet. See picture below.)
My contact also tells me recently a young New Mexico ICP fan sharpened the hatchet portion of a Juggalo necklace around his neck and used it during a fight at school to cut another student.
While I haven't heard of any problems with ICP fans here in Albuquerque recently myself, there was a riot among some fans at a local concert about five years ago that made headlines. Albuquerque police had to use tear gas to settle the crowd down. Since then ICP has returned to Albuquerque and there haven't been any problems.
Some fans appear to use hand-signs similar to gangs. Here's a picture I found on a local Myspace page (click to enlarge):
I spoke to several ICP fans over the phone this past week too. One of them tells me he gets pulled over by local police often because he has a Juggalo sticker on the back of his car. He claims he once had his picture taken on the side of the road by police and was told he's considered a gang member. He stresses he's not violent and does not participate in gang activity.
Another fan tells me being apart of the ICP fan base makes him feel wanted and part of a family. He strongly asserts he is not violent and says he identifies with the band and it's music.
Even here at our station there is co-worker of mine who is a hard working, reliable, talented employee who is also a loyal ICP fan. He is definitely not violent and is one of the nicest guys I know at the station.
ICP reminds me of KISS. We all know KISS has a loyal following where fans mimic the bands style of painting their faces black and white.
Are all ICP members gang members? That's clearly not case as my Gang Force contact asserts in his email, "We do caution folks to not automatically group every kid wearing a shirt as part of the “gang”.
But it does appear there may be a few bad apples hurting the reputation of the group as a whole.
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jeremyjojola.com
7 comments:
Looks more like a meat cleaver to me.
I think it could be both...from Wikipedia
"Common characteristics include drinking the inexpensive soft drink Faygo, wearing face paint[3], and displaying the 'running hatchetman' logo."
This is an issue when young kids try to do what the lyrics say. THE LYRICS ARE SCARY AND HORRIBLE! It is a big issue in the Navajo Nation and up in the four corners area. I have seen and heard of students trying to copycat or act out the bands lyric and injurying and even killing others.
But I agree not everyone who listens to it is going to cause the same problems.
I am a loyal fan of insane clown posse.(in other words a juggallo.)
i don't know why people would jump the gun about us being a gang when we are not.
its more acid horror core rap.not gangster rap.basicly rotten comedy rap.
just because ICP has posse in the bands name does not mean that juggallo's are gangsters.only juffallo's(meaning fake juggallo's.)do stupid things while mistaking what a juggallo is about let alone ICP.
personally myself.i am for one not even gang material.
i baby sit for friends.pet sit.train pets.and help the elderly with chores for crap pay.
its just a case of ignorant bad apples giving the rest of us fans a bad name.which once the law hears the word posse or anything close to that.they go gun hoe and assume any one is related to a gang or something.
but i can clearly tell you that ICP is just a band and that ICP has nothing to do with being a gang.
its pretty much nothing more but rotten comedy music with a message of god behind it in which most didn't pick up on and took the lyrics the wrong way.(making juffallo's which are fake juggallo's.)
real juggallo's don't do stupid stuff.and not all juggallo's are broke joke's.their are some who are even bankers some of my observations.
juggallo's are not gangsters.they are fans of a band.
the hatchet man is not a gang sign.the hatchet man is nothing but a record logo.in which some people such as myself have tatted on myself because i am that big of a fan.kind of like how any one is that loyal to a band.i have seen people tattoo marilyn manson tattoos and other band names on them selfs.but that does not mean they are a gang.they are just loyal fans of a band.
basicly.this is just another means of mistaken band identity through a few bad apples which has obviously ruined it for the bunch.
and only those who think it is a gang and do stupid things actually need minding.
other than that.i also reports stuff to the law when needed and i am anti drug.
but yeah,anyways.
ICP has a bad reputation because of four things i can think of.
New jack juffallo's who misstook the whole thing ignorantly and decided to take it to a level in which real juggallo's look at them s being the idiots of the bunch.
the law taking such as a band name the wrong way because of a few bad apples.
internet trolls running their mouths just to get a rise out of people.
and gang members mistaking the band logo or name as being an actual gang.
other then that every thing els provided by the law even is poorly made theories as an excuse to have a new reason to meet their quota in my book.as they often look for an excuse to get extra pay.not all cops do this.but allot.
signed
~Zato~
Oh,and i don't drink faygo.
i prefer Dr.pepper.
signed
~Zato~
i as a juggalette can tell u that we are not a gang and why they would consider us one is awful we hold down jobs just like everyone eles and have families of our own they just dont understand the music and what the juggalo family is about whoop whoop all my ninjas
>>Amanda Robertson>> juggalette for life
First of all to the person who said "I am a loyal fan of insane clown posse.(in other words a juggallo.)" if your gonna claim to be a JUGGALO at lease get your spelling correct :) Second I'm a juggalette (female fan of psychopathic music) and I do not consider us to be a gang of any kind. If we're to be classified as something then we're a family, we all have a connection to the music and the words that the artists rap. Majority of the juggalos in this world have all grown up in very similar life styles ie. poor, loners and outcasts. I for a fact know many juggalos and juggalettes out in the world who have "normal" jobs and family lifestyles that many people live. Music is just music and what is said in the song don't necessarly mean that someone is going to go out and re create what is said, its freedom of expression....
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