According to TV Tropes, everyone hates mimes. Okay, maybe not everyone, but mimes are not exactly beloved by one and all.
What’s with all the mime hate? TV Tropes theorizes it’s an Uncanny Valley effect, that is, when something gets very close to appearing human but isn’t quite all the way there (think ventriloquist dummy or clown) it creeps the hell out of people. Probably a lot to do with it, but I suspect it doesn’t help that mimes are also associated with street performers who follow people around and mock them. You make someone feel foolish and they can unleash a crazy amount of hate for it.
But I think it has everything to do with that painted face. Which I think is the same reason people are creeped out by clowns. And aren’t mimes really just a subset of clowns?
Anyway, in my latest story, The Invisible Box, a woman uses the idea that people would avoid a mime like the plague to get revenge. Personally I love how absurd the concept is, but it’s still so dark at the same time. Maybe that’s just me and my weirdo sense of humor, though.