JuggaloCoin!

So you say Bitcoin just isn’t secure enough for your
crypto-currency needs? PotCoin won’t buy you tickets to that
horrorcore rap concert you’ve been yearning to attend? And Dogecoin
is, um, just too doge-y?

Fret no longer, would-be anonymous libertarian digital shopper
with a tongue-in-cheek hatchet fetish. Because there can never be
enough crypto-currencies out there to satisfy every fleeting retail
impulse, now there is… JuggaloCoin.

That’s right, folks, JuggaloCoin is the first currency
specifically tailored to meet the growing needs of Insane Clown
Posse fans. Soon you’ll be able to purchase countless tubs of Moon
Mist Faygo and crates of Hatchet Gear merch, secure in the
knowledge that your money will go to a vendor who’s down with the
clown.

By keeping funds in the family, loyal ICP fans will help to grow
the clown economy. And I’m not talking about Greece.

How can you fill your wallet with JuggaloCoins? One way is to
pay for them, of course, which you can do with just about any other
kind of crypto-currency. And the best part is, they accept
Dogecoins!

Do you have any idea what I’m talking about here? Does talk of
Floobs, pseudonymous virtual specie, and face-painted Jugalettes
cause more confusion than Shaggy 2 Dope at a Mitch McConnell
fundraiser?

Frankly, I’m not sure that I get it, either. Fortunately,
there’s no better introduction to the nutty nitty gritty and the
insane ins-and-outs of Juggalo culture than Reason TV’s March 5,
2014 story: “Juggalos vs. the FBI: Why Insane Clown Posse Fans Are
Not a Gang”. Watch and learn.

Whoop whoop!

Original text follows:

You may already know Juggalos, the fans of Detroit horrorcore
rap group Insane Clown Posse (ICP), from Buzzfeed lists, television
shows like Workaholics, or music videos like “Juggalo Island.” But,
you may not know that Juggalos are one of the best examples of a
self reliant (but demonized) community. 

Juggalos began to garner a lot of mainstream attention in 2011
when they were classified as a “hybrid gang” by the Federal Bureau
of Investigation (FBI) in their National Gang Threat Assessment
report. The report says Juggalos could “exhibit gang-like behavior
and engage in criminal activity and violence.”

Juggalos at the 2013 Gathering of the Juggalos, a music festival
held in Cave-in-Rock, Illinois, told Reason TV that they disputed
the claims made by the FBI.

“That’s stereotyping pretty much,” said one Juggalo. “You know
people who don’t listen to the music or are not a fan or a family
are going to think we are violent people when they see hatchet men
[emblem of Juggalos] or Juggalo stuff.”

Insane Clown Posse’s members, Shaggy 2 Dope and Violent J, agree
and are suing the FBI along with the American Civil Liberties Union
of Michigan, claiming that profiling Juggalos as a gang violates
Juggalos’ constitutional right to express themselves. Further, the
gang classification could subject Juggalos to routine stops,
detainment, and interrogation by local and federal law enforcement
based solely on their music preferences. 

“I think it’s ridiculous to consider the Juggalos a gang,” says
journalist Camille Dodero, who has written about Juggalos and
Insane Clown Posse for Gawker and the Village Voice. “In some ways
it’s almost ironic. These are a group of people that no one else in
America has ever cared about and then this one band gave them a
sense of identity–like it was a support group.”

Dodero says Juggalos often come from lower class backgrounds and
although some of them commit crimes, not all of them do.

“And that’s not to say that there are that many kids doing it.
It just so happened that somebody caught onto the fact that those
kids who have that hatchet man sometimes steal things,” says
Dodero. “That is part of who ICP has been reaching though, people
with really bad upbringings.”

ICP, who grew up in lower class households just like their fans,
have targeted victims as their audience. These include kids who
were homeless, came from an abusive family, or were molested. The
result is a world where these young people have escaped the life
they were dealt for a supportive community they’ve helped create.
One they lovingly refer to as “family.”

The FBI said it could not comment on pending litigation, but the
effects of the gang label may have already impacted the next
Gathering of the Juggalos. The 2014 music festival had to change
locations multiple times thanks in part to the fears of local
residents, fears Insane Clown Posse has said are associated with
the gang classification.

Approximately 7:56.

Written and produced by Paul Detrick. Field produced by Alex
Manning and Detrick. Additional camera by Jim Epstein.