Okay just in case there’s people on tumblr who were too little in 2016 to actually remember it yourself, I cannot stress enough that the clown sightings were a thing. That’s not a bit that people just made up like pretending that people in camo are invisible. This is a real tweet from the time:
Oooh I remember this exchange! Or something similar. Because it made me think a lot about the bizarre way clowns are viewed in society
like, any other profession– including other types of performers– there would not even be any miscommunication here. The answer would be obvious (what is an actual marching band, as opposed to people dressed up as one? What is an actual football player, as opposed to someone dressed up as one? An actual ballet dancer? An actual figure skater? The answer is clear, we know the difference between a profession and a costume)
And yet somehow, with clowns, there is some vein of eldritch horror that creeps through our perception of them… a whisper that suggests they are something beyond a profession or a costume. and that “something” is not clear, but lurks hidden in shadows of a mystery too terrifying for consciousness to grasp
