About

"Jumping is not a crime" is a phrase and image series used on the Internet by Jumpstyle dancers, the participants of the Jumpstyle meme.

Origin

The first use of "Jumping Is not a crime", dates back to May 2006, with a video by VideoPunk, with the claim that "Base jumping is not illegal thus "not a crime":

The first use of "Jumping is not a crime" by the jumpstyle community dates back to May 2006, when YouTube user guerrillas, uploaded a video of himself jumpstyling, with the video titled "Jumping is not a crime":

Spread

• In January 2007, the dutch music label Digidance released a jumpstyle music compilation album called Jumping is Not a Crime, containing 24 tracks suitable for jumpstyle videos (containing the distinctive distorted bass). On the cover, a jumper silhouette was depicted surrounded by the words JUMPING IS NOT A CRIME.

• The album has increased the popularity of the phrase and variations of the jumper silhouette began appearing online.

In jumpstyle videos

In FL Studio tracks and jumpstyle mixes

Image series

The jumper silhouette has inspired a series of images, used in forums and YouTube videos:

The overspread of the Jumpstyle meme in 2007 has sparked some controversy and hatred towards the dance resulting in a variation of the image:

Facebook

Facebook currently has 36 groups on Facebook with the phrase an a name, varying from "jumping is my style an not a crime" to "jumping is not a crime, it's a handicap". It also has 7 pages. Almost all the pages' logos have the jumper silhouette surrounded by the phrase.