A Mississippi county has had enough of the creepy clown craze, at least until after Halloween.
Kemper County supervisors this week banned people from wearing any clown costume, mask or makeup in public. The local law carries a $150 penalty, and it will be lifted Nov. 1.
The Kemper County Messenger reports…that supervisors President Johnny Whitsett says it’s a matter of public safety because people could react badly if they get scared by a clown in their yard.
You know – the same reaction they get if they see 4 or 5 Black folks voting.
Lee Rowland, an American Civil Liberties Union attorney in New York, says the First Amendment protects most clothing choices. She also says it’s “a ridiculous use of government authority …. to dictate which Halloween costumes people can wear.
No surprise. The culture inbred in a great many conservatives simply feels that if something offends you personally, make it illegal. That often includes the whole range of civil rights, civil liberties in the state of mind called Mississippi.
“What Do the Scary Clowns Want?” (NYT Oct 15th) http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/16/opinion/sunday/what-do-the-scary-clowns-want.html “…when did clowns become scary? It turns out that even asking that question is evidence of a short cultural memory. Dark clowns go back centuries before Stephen King. As Benjamin Radford, author of the recent book “Bad Clowns,” points out, “It’s misleading to ask when clowns turned bad, for they were never really good.”
“Creepy Clown Threat Prompts Spooked Floridians To Trick-Or-Treat While Armed : “I’ll be carrying for sure, I’m not leaving to chance.” http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/armed-trick-or-treating-florida-halloween_us_5816fe9de4b064e1b4b33a28