(My Personal Blog)Proud Vietnam Veteran
No Joke: The World Is Facing a Clown Shortage
Who among us is strong enough to cheer up the sad clown? That's the uncomfortable question facing the entire world right now. Yes, dear readers, we are in the midst of a global clown shortage. When the clowns aren't smiling, there is little hope for the rest of us.
The great clown shortage first hit America. The Clowns of America International, the nation's biggest organization for clowns, has seen its membership numbers steadily decline for the past five years. Its President, Glen Kohlberger, said that he wouldn't discuss just how bad things have become for clowns, but told the New York Daily News that "What’s happening is attrition. The older clowns are passing away." Another national clown group with the somewhat misleading title of World Clown Association (WCA), reported that its membership has dropped from 3,500 in 2004 to just 2,500 in 2013.
The WCA's president, Deanna Hartimier, agreed with Kohlberger — there simply aren't enough young clowns to keep it going. "The challenge is getting younger people involved in clowning,” Hartmier told USA Today. "What happens is they go on to high school and college and clowning isn’t cool anymore. Clowning is then put on the back burner until their late 40s and early 50s."
The clowning shortage is also a problem overseas. Clowns International (CI), Britain's clown organization, has reported membership declines as well. In the 1980s, CI boasted about 1,000 clowns. Now? They barely break 100 clowns (that's barely enough to fit into only half a dozen clown cars!). CI too, has seen its average clown age rise, while fewer young clowns join the ranks. Another problem for clowns? Ironically enough, American media. "There is an image problem for clowns," a former CI chairman told The Telegraph. "There is a very negative view from Hollywood, with films like It, and characters like Krusty. These clowns are so negative. They don’t look at the positive. It’s not cool to have a clown at a party. It used to be, but now it is all DJs, and paintball and themed-parties and so on."
Another issue facing clowns is "coulrophobia," a fear of clowns. While it seems ridiculous and hasn't been medically documented, there has been some studies that say coulrophobia is a real thing. A 2008 study by University of Sheffield researchers found that kids didn't like clown themed decor in doctors offices or hospitals. "We found that clowns are universally disliked by children. Some found the clown images to be quite frightening and unknowable," the report's lead author, Dr. Penny Curtis, told BBC News at the time.
There's no real answer for the decline of clowns. The smiling performers seem to be doomed, as there are simply too many factors working against them. When someone whose sole job is to make people happy is sad, it's quite depressing. As Smokey Robinson once said, "There's some sad things known to man, but ain't too much sadder than, the tears of a clown."
(REPRINTED FROM...dailylounge.com/the-daily/world-is-facing-a-clown-shortage)
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NYC Mayoral Candidate Zohran Mamdani
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Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC)
- WOKE NO MORE AND WAKE UP AMERICA!"DON'T TELL ANYBODY ANYTHING THAT YOU'RE NOT READY TO HEAR AGAIN"!
