Tears of a Clown

I do not like clowns.  It probably stems from some combination Stephen King's IT, and pictures of John Wayne Gacy.  I'm not given to irrational phobias either.  I tolerate spiders, snakes, rodents and suchlike, as long as we keep our respective habitats sorted properly.  But clowns?  I do not like clowns.
I'm not exactly afraid of clowns though, it's more of a vague sense of irritation when I see one, and a feeling of being sort of spooked out by the nature of them (extends to mimes as well).  I can't entirely explain the creepiness of clowns to those who don't feel it on an ontological level.
Needless to say, the trend of lurking clowns, no doubt instigated by some brainless internet stooge and apparently becoming something of a trend, causes me some trouble. Here's why: I'm not a violent person, but that is primarily because of my upbringing and my core beliefs in love, grace and the brotherhood of humankind.  I believe in non-violence, because I believe that violence only begets more violence and the world is a brutal enough place without my fear-induced blood lust being added to the mix.
That being said, I tend to think that I could straight up murder some creepy clown who showed up in my backyard or in a deserted parking lot.  I would not be acting as the clear thinking Christian man that I try to be, I would be responding to that clown the way most people respond to a bee in their underwear, which is in a focused state of panicked agitation.  That merry prankster should pray I'm not armed.
One clown has been shot. It's really only a matter of time before someone gets killed over a stupid prank, because I'm pretty sure I'm not alone.
I can see how this started out funny. I think clowns in general started out funny, but at some point things outlive their cultural epoch, like burlesque shows and black face.  I think perhaps this is the nadir of clowns as a cultural phenomenon.  What began as a way to perform rollicking slapstick and indulge a talent for making things out of balloons, is now nothing more than a creepy punch line to a joke that goes too far to really be funny to any non-psychopath.
I actually do understand the entertainment value in sheer chaos and disturbance.  I've been to a Gwar show, I get it.  But clowns lurking?  It's just too sinister to allow me to believe it's anything but a cynical ploy to get attention and maybe gut-shot.
Y'all need to quit, or someone's gonna get dead.