My response to the removal of the Gang label

So I was asked recently to post a blog regarding the FBI labeling us a gang.  Back in November of 2011 I did respond to the release of the list, http://juggalosupport.blogspot.com/2011/11/fbi-and-juggalos.html.  After reading the recent post by Dmize I feel as though I need to write and expansion to the first blog.

Dmize posted the following: https://www.facebook.com/dmize505/posts/508326315862145?notif_t=like

The who, what, where, and when are all self explanatory.  Then we come to the why.  This is where I feel the need to add onto this post.  He say “what makes a juggalo "gang affiliated"... there is that small bunch of apples that give us that bad name, but the question on everybodys mind is, why include the whole subculture???”  I agree completely that a few bad apples has spoiled an otherwise peaceful group of people.  He goes on further to state “when these bad apples go out, and commit their crimes, they scream and claim "juggalo" just as a west sider or latin king would represent his set while committing a crime. so as you can see. many bad apples scream juggalo while committing crimes... that got the entire "juggalo family" added to the list. now... do the math.. from one city. to other cities. to state. to nation.....
Juggalo will not be removed from that until it is able to be proven were not all sociopathic assholes that cause shit for people.”  This is where my opinion differs.  Just because someone commits a crime and claims a certain group of people does not give the government or anyone the right to classify that group of people as a gang.  Throughout history crimes have been committed in the name of things.  During the Crusades terrible things were done in the name of God, yet no religions are on the gang list.  Radical Islam commits crimes and horrific acts in the name of Allah, yet they are not on the gang list.  The Arian Brotherhood, Satanists groups, KKK, Black Panthers, etc all commit crimes while claiming their affiliations but yet none of them made the list.  These group actively advocate violence and disorder in our cities and towns.  When it comes to Juggalos, we are a group of people with a common interest in music.  For the most part we do not commit violent crimes similar to MS 13 or the Latin Kings yet we are being mentioned in the same breath with them because of a few “bad apples.”

He ends the post by asking “HOW DO WE FIX THE PROBLEM!???!!?”

To me the answer is simple.  If you are a true Juggalo/Juggalette and the idea that you are included on the gang list pisses you off, stop doing and committing crimes!   And if you do get caught or arrested for something remember it is not cool or fashionable to scream Juggalo at the top of your lungs to cover up your bad decisions.  If you fall into the category I am in being an old school Juggalo or Lette, act right and show the new generations what the movement is all about.  Don’t tag “Fuck the FBI” “Wicked Clowns” or “Juggalo” on things, tagging is a crime.  Don’t sell drugs, use drugs, or give the authorities any reason to arrest you.  That is why so many of us have a bad name.  Am I saying don’t do those things because I oppose them, no I do not.  But if you are driving in your car with ounces of weed and paraphernalia don’t be mad at the cops when you get searched and arrested!  It is not the cops fault you made a bad choice.  They have a job to do as well.  With the exception of a few “mall cops” I have had police pose questions about my hatchet jerseys.  My answer is always the same “It represents a record label out of Detroit” I have not been arrested or labeled a gang banger because of my music or clothes I choose to wear.  If you respect the authorities they will respect you back.

We will never be removed from the gang list if we continue to perpetuate the image the rest of the world wants to see.  As we approach the holidays I suggest Juggalos and Juggalettes everywhere contact local charities and see if you can volunteer to help.  When you go to help wear a jersey or charm.  Don’t hide the fact you are a juggalo!  Once we start to get positive publicity things will change.  Psychopathic records has for the past few years done these things.  From the toy drive to the free performance at the shelter they are setting the example.  Follow their example and things will change.

MMFWFL,

Juggalotus

Street Cred and violence

  In rap music there has always been beef.  Weather it was due to a rapper in your city or a rapper from the other side of the country putting out a diss track on you, there has always been beef.  For my generation the most famous beef out there was 2 Pac and Notorious B.I.G. Why is that the one that is most famous?  Because it ended in 2 violent deaths.  The rap world lost 2 great lyricists and rappers because what started as diss tracks escelated into street violence.  Back in the beginning of rap music diss tracks existed too.  The difference being when a rapper put out a diss track it was countered by the other rapper in a diss track.  It was a battle of lyrics not violence.  MC's battled on wax.  That is how arguements and disagreements in rap should be handled.  The idea that jumping someone or even getting more violent to prove you are the better rapper or you hold your city down better is senseless.  Violence stems nothing but more violence.  Going to prison because you commited violent crime trying to "rep" your city does not make you a better lyricist or rapper than anyone else, it makes you a criminal.

  Why am I bringing this up you might be asking?  Well the simple answer is this, here in Amarillo, TX we have 2 groups that have been long time friends and partners for shows and music.  There is a huge 2nd Annual Gathering taking place in the city in Sept.  Last year the same people were involved and it went off great.  Everyone benefited from the show.  This year however things are different.  I have been watching over the past few weeks as these 2 groups devolved from a dispute to a verbal fight to threats of violence.  One side says they got kicked off the show for various reasons the other says they refused to give the group what they wanted and they walked away from the show.  The next thing that happened was the event page was deleted by the side that was no longer involved which caused the verbal battle to happen via Facebook.  Of course a lot of other people on that page started a discussion on the new event page.  Then the side that deleted the first page got on and started throwing verbal blows due to anger.  This led to some people from Albuquerque, NM to start throwing jabs back.  It also led to other folks in Amarillo getting mad and threatening violence.  I don't know how it all ended because I do not live in that city.  But I do know what I was reading and I can tell you  that both sides are wrong.

  The one thing this Juggalo movement was started for was to unite the underground not divide it.  Both of these parties claim to be Juggalo family.  Both of them claim to hold it down for the underground.  Both of them claim to have Much Family Love.  But both of them are missing the point of all of it.  If they truely believe what they say they should be lifting each other up.  Supporting each other.  Even if they disagree on things they shouldn't wish harm against anyone on the other side.  We are all trying to make it in this business.  If someone hurts your feelings make a diss track!  Let them respond.  This gets you both exposure and allows a healthier outlet for your feelings.  Threatening or commiting violence will do nothing to further your career. 

  I try to promote everyone in the underground I feel is good enough to make it.  If I don't think someone has the skills or abilities I wont diss them I just wont promote them.  This family we are in is splintered here in West Texas and we need to do something about it before it is to late.  I have seen talented rappers lost because of egos and hurt feelings.  It is time to leave the hood mentality behind and grow into artists and business people.  Until we do that a lot of talent is going to go to waste.  We want the gang label to get removed we need to stop acting like thugs!

MMFWCL,

Juggalotus

FBI and Juggalos

So a new story has been released that has taken me a week to process my feelings on.  The FBI has decided to label Juggalos as an official gang in their latest gang threat assessment.  Here is what they say about Juggalos:
 "The Juggalos, a loosely-organized hybrid gang, are rapidly expanding into many US communities. Although recognized as a gang in only four states, many Juggalos subsets exhibit gang-like behavior and engage in criminal activity and violence. Law enforcement officials in at least 21 states have identified criminal Juggalo sub-sets, according to NGIC reporting."

  They go on to describe the crimes committed by Juggalos as this:

 "Most crimes committed by Juggalos are sporadic, disorganized, individualistic, and often involve simple assault, personal drug use and possession, petty theft, and vandalism. However, open source reporting suggests that a small number of Juggalos are forming more organized subsets and engaging in more gang-like criminal activity, such as felony assaults, thefts, robberies, and drug sales. Social networking websites are a popular conveyance for Juggalo sub-culture to communicate and expand."

Then they further go on to say that:

 "Juggalos’ disorganization and lack of structure within their groups, coupled with their transient nature, makes it difficult to classify them and identify their members and migration patterns. Many criminal Juggalo sub-sets are comprised of transient or homeless individuals"

  So looking at their assessment it is safe to assume that all Juggalos are Transient, drug using, who engage in such horrific criminal activity that we cannot be trusted.  Now anyone who knows a Juggalo/Juggalette will be the first to tell you we are nothing like the FBI has made us out to be.  As a general population we are peaceful outcasts who want nothing more than to fit in.  That is what the "family" gives us.  A good example is the Gathering.  In 2010 Tila Tequila was invited to the Gathering and proceeded to get a lot of crap thrown at her, everything from rocks, to trash, to feces (supposedly).  So this year the media ascended on the Gathering in hopes of having a violent story to tell the world about how terrible we are.  The problem was that after 4 days they had nothing to report on.  No fights, arrests, deaths, fires, violence, etc.  They had nothing to talk about except how nice the event was.  How peaceful we were.  How they were welcomed even though for the most part Juggalos hate the way the media reports on us.  That speaks volumes in my opinion.


  I would ask the FBI or any law enforcement agency to gather thousands of actual gang members, aka Bloods, Crips, MS13, etc. in one location for 4 days and see how much violence and other things actually occur.  Then maybe they would have a better perspective of who we are.  Do I feel we are all innocent, hell no.  But there are bad apples in every bunch.  Every group has a few people that do not believe the same things or do the same things.  That is what makes every group unique.  Every subset in music has bad people.  Every genre of music has fans that do not do the right things.  This alone has never made the FBI classify them as gang members.  But for Juggalos the few bad seeds have tainted our image permanently.  Why is that?  Why must we be singled out? 


  I wrote a blog earlier this year about other bands with rabid fans that states my opinions about this topic.  Unfortunately this blog is only my opinions.  I am actively trying to make a difference and maybe change the perception of the family.  But until the entire family adopts this mentality I feel like we will never change the image.  That alone will not stop me from doing the right things while wearing the hatchet proudly.  Through actions we can change perceptions.  Through deeds we can change lives.  Just because we are outcasts does not mean we need to exclude others from the family.  Welcome everyone and love them as your brothers and sisters.  This is a positive movement and we can change the world. 


MMWCL,
  Juggalotus

Music and Ethnicity

So a few weeks ago I was having a discussion with a black female co-worker about music.  The conversation went like this:

Co-Worker: "Man you look tired."
Me: "Yeah I stayed up late last night watching the Kottonmouth Kings Concert online.  It ended like 1:30!"
Co-Worker: "Who are the Kottonmouth kings?"
Me:  "They are a rap group from Cali, you have never heard of them?"
Co-Worker:  "No I sure haven't."

That was it.  Simple and I thought no more of it after the fact.  That happened on a Sat, The next Friday there were 5 of us in the office including her and I and we all were joking around and cutting some racial jokes and other random stuff.  Out of nowhere she says "Oh like you assumed I like rap music cause I am black" I was stunned and tried my best to grasp what she had said.  I responded "uh no I never assumed you liked it cause you were black I was telling you why I was tired that day and surprised you had never heard of the group."  Like ten minutes of her going off ended when a fellow co-worker chimed in and told her I would have asked him the question the same way and hes white.  Long story short I guess I can't discuss my likes or dislikes because someone may get upset.

  Now the point of the story was this, to me music has no color.  Sure the roots of certain kinds of music is ethnic but by now as a culture we have evolved beyond that.  To me music is liked by anyone not just certain groups.  I mean look at country music.  For a long time is was white redneck music.  Now there are several black country musicians.  In rap we have a lot of white rappers, latin rappers, asian, etc.  Music is the common bond between races.  It is supposed to make you feel good and not care who else might like it.  Why do certain people have to ruin it.  I mean if you have insecurities about your race fine but do not play the race card because you took it the wrong way.  If you are offended ask the person if that was their intent.  If they say no believe them.  Racial bigotry is something many of us have experienced no matter what our color of skin.  As a community we need to keep spreading the love.  Keep doing the right thing and preaching acceptance.

  As a people I think we need to evolve mentally.  Do the same things in private you would do if someone was right in front of you.  That is true integrity.

J