Lubbock Goes Nuts: The Jim Rose Circus Disaster

Lubbock, Texas used to be even more socially conservative than it is now.

Lubbock Is Better Than It Was

Believe it or not, Lubbock has loosened up a bit. We do have a share of pearl-clutchers and people who "know what's good for you", but we've kind of quit listening to them. So what happened? Well, the world, the internet, and life happened to Lubbock. It's impossible to keep a shroud over the town the way it was in the old days.

Lubbock Made Headlines For The Arrest Of The Jim Rose Circus

One of the most notorious examples of Lubbock being backwards happened when the Jim Rose Circus came to town in 1997. The group was known to perform and rock and roll events and they're antics were highly anticipated in the Hub City. I remember the Depot Warehouse was absolutely packed front to back. Although the room was supposed to hold 600 or so, I'm betting there was 1000 in there. You would think the police would have just called the Fire Department to "dump" the crowd due to being over the fire limit, but I guess someone had to prove a point.

You Can't Blame Lubbock Police

I'm going to pause now and say that the police were probably just following orders impressed upon them by some city leader. Most police realize it is frequently more dangerous to break up or shut down an event like this than to let it continue. I certainly could be wrong about this, but I want to give the police a pass.

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How The Jim Rose Circus Was Arrested In Lubbock

The show had been going on for just about 10-15 minutes. Among the controversial things we already saw was a woman wearing a see-through top laying on some sharp objects while things were busted on her. Then, the "Mexican Transvestite Dildo Wrestling" was introduced. Two wrestlers were introduced who's costumes included masks and rubber penis-shaped appendages. It was presented to the audience that one wrestler "won" when he put the appendage in the others mouth. Sorry, but it was hilarious.

The Shocking Ending To How The Jim Rose Circus Was Stopped

After the wrestlers left the stage we heard scuffles and off-stage banter along the likes of "Oh no...." and "C'mon" at which point the show was shut down. Jim Rose and some of his performers, along with some others were arrested. The arrest made national news and again made Lubbock sound like Hicksville, Texas.