By Chris Cosci

Why do people hate mimes? Mimes are quiet people who usually keep to themselves, often found self-contained in large, invisible boxes. Yet for some reason, people develop seriously violent reactions at the mere sight of these performers.

In film and television, mimes are often portrayed as obnoxious people who are routinely punched, kicked or generally pummeled by angry bystanders. While I'm not aware of any real-life incident involving the beating of a mime, the idea seems to be a common fantasy.

If you think about it, mimes are probably wonderful people. They don't talk, so that probably means they're great listeners. They can sit in invisible chairs, so you don't have to add extra seating to the dining room table when you invite them to dinner. And given their extraordinary ability to mimic climbing ladders, leaning on walls and walking into the wind, they would make great partners for a game of charades.

Some might argue that mime is a simple and unexciting skill. How hard is it lean your body forward and pretend you can't walk? The truth is, professional mimes use many techniques that are cultured and developed in high-profile mime schools such as London's Ecole de Mime Corporel Dramatique (roughly translated: Mime School).

So this brings us back to the main question: what is it about mimes that stirs up such animosity? While there are probably many theories, I think the core of the issue lies in the fact that many mimes look basically like clowns -- only without the red nose, bright hair and oversized shoes.

Like mimes, clowns usually wear white make-up and perform comical routines built around physical gestures. The main difference is that people don't normally hate clowns. Instead, people often have an incurable fear of clowns that apparently stems from a traumatic childhood experience that is somehow shared by 98% of the world population.

Some psychologists claim that the cause of this fear comes from the make-up, which is perceived as a mask that hides the true identity of the person underneath -- that identity possibly being a flesh-eating monster with an insatiable appetite for circus audiences. Still, for some people, the fear of clowns is very real. Although it is occasionally referred to as clownophobia, many scientific communities instead use the term coulrophobia, which sounds not only more like something handled by professionals, but less like something made up by a five-year-old.

In any case, the entertainment industry often likes to feed off this common fear. Stephen King capitalized on it in his book "It," which features an evil clown that terrorizes a group of children. The horror movie "Poltergeist" also earned scares with a terrifying scene featuring a clown doll that comes to life and tries to strangle its owner. Then there's the cult film classic "Killer Klowns from Outer Space." But in that case, the terrifying spelling of the title is actually scarier than anything in the film itself.

The point is, many people are afraid of clowns and I believe this somehow translates into people's general hatred of mimes. I'm not quite sure why people simply hate mimes instead of being afraid of them. Maybe it's because mimes don't have the sadistic, water spouting weaponry that clowns have. Instead, the only thing a mime has is his invisible sword, which is rather easy to defend against -- especially if you always carry around your invisible shield.

I guess this issue will remain a mystery. There's a chance the whole thing started after some horrible event caused by mimes, but we'll never know. They're not talking.