Ship within the clowns.
The Washington Publish printed an opinion piece defending the nice identify of clowns all over the place — fervently insisting President Trump doesn’t deserve the harlequin moniker his rivals often foist upon him.
“Donald Trump is not a clown. I should know,” reads the headline of the missive penned by Tim Cunningham — a self-described skilled clown of 24 years and board president of the not-at-all-terrifying-sounding nonprofit Clowns With out Borders.
The article cites a number of examples lefty commentators disparagingly portray Trump or his administration as clowns over time, together with MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell and political strategist James Carville.
However moderately than accepting the schoolyard-grade insult at face worth, Cunningham takes offense, providing a deep dive into the wealthy and storied historical past of clowns and clownery.
“Clown, capital C, is a valuable and varied art form; pantomimes, acrobats, magicians, dancers, stand-up comedians, vaudeville artists and jugglers are all examples of artists who incorporate Clown into their work,” he wrote.
He claims Trump’s brash type renders him unfit to put on the comically outsized pants and suspenders, nor the honking pink nostril — and definitely unworthy to brandish a squirting seltzer bottle.
“All Clown shares the common values of healing, empathy and reflection. Our work touches people in need of joy everywhere,” Cunningham writes, rattling off a collection of gigs he’s carried out at hospitals, battle zones, refugee camps and homeless shelters, allegedly to the delight of ailing kids.
“Clowns are more than children’s birthday party performers; we help people relax, heal and prompt others to think differently about the world,” he continues.
“Yet, our joyful work has been diminished into an insult … ‘Clown’ is used by almost everyone to belittle those seen as foolish or incompetent. The more we mistreat the word, the more we lose understanding of a sacred art form.”
He closes with a plea to “find a better metaphor to despise and depose fascism,” casually labeling the duly elected President of the USA a dictator.
“Keep Clown out of Trumpian comparisons, and for that matter, all politics. Offer Clown the respect it deserves and invoke us for good: in alliance with other artists, activists and humans who believe in a better, happier world.”
