A disturbing new internet trend has emerged, with numerous support pages for James Holmes appearing on Tumblr. The Daily Shift’s Jessica Thompson investigates…
A drawing of James Holmes on Tumblr
A number of Tumblr accounts have popped up on the internet in support of James Holmes, the 24-year-old behind the shootings in Aurora, Colorado. The Tumblr accounts were set up by teenage girls, who uploaded photos of themselves wearing plaid, and drinking Slurpees.
They call themselves “Holmies”.
What’s the significance, you ask? Well, beneath his body armour, Holmes was wearing plaid flannel. And when he was 18 he addressed a science camp, and his introduction stated that his dream was to own a Slurpee machine.
The term “fangirling” comes to mind when I read the numerous articles on these teenage girls, who dress in plaid, and post their support of this killer on Tumblr.
There are over two-dozen of these Holmes-related Tumblr pages, all supporting the killer, calling for his freedom, using his photo as avatars, and sporting fan-made comics, such as this one. (I have since been contacted by the creator of the image who has stated she did not include the paragraph at the end).
So what exactly are Holmies? They seem to be a whole new culture, utterly devoted to the support of James Holmes.
Here are a few characteristics of the group.
1. The afore-mentioned love of plaid and slurpees.
The teenage girls in question have been posting photos of themselves dressed in plaid shirts, trousers, and even shoes. Many of them are drinking Slurpees in tribute to murderer, Holmes.
2. The crazy campaign to write to James Holmes.
Many of these girls plan to write to Holmes in prison. What they’ll say, I don’t want to know.
3. The fan art that covers the support pages.
There are a large number of images, much like the one below, published on these Tumblr accounts.
But why? Most teenagers fangirl over Justin Bieber or One Direction or JLS – why a murderer? Physically, Holmes isn’t bad-looking. Is that the reason he’s so popular with these girls? Are they obsessing over him in a sexual way?
Here’s what these “Holmies” are saying (taken directly from
http://freeholmes.tumblr.com/
):
Hi. I don’t want to send you hate or anything, but I do not have a tumblr and I am curious. Could you please elaborate on what you mean when you say “…I must admit, i’m on James side.”? Like why? What are your thoughts?
well from my point of view he was just a man who was failing to follow in the footsteps he was expected to and rejected from all the women he pursued, I think he was mad at the world and wanted to take it out out on someone and this was his way of expressing it, it didn’t really seem like anyone tried to get to know him enough so he never really opened up and it just built up more and more and more until it exploded in a fit of rage, he needed help and no one gave it to him, his mental state wasn’t the best and it was somewhat inevitable, I’m not saying it was no fault of his own but I don’t think it’s all just him being a monster, who knows, maybe I just want him to be a good man and maybe my info is completely off but we all have our opinions, I can’t really draw a completely accurate conclusion just from the media, I would have to get to know him, which I would love, hope that clears that up and thank you for not immediately deeming me a disgusting individual for having some compassion for a human being.
The Holmies trend is slowly but surely being noticed on Twitter, with many people expressing their disgust. Here are just a few of the tweets in question.
The behaviour of these girls is simply incomprehensible. Are they glorifying, and in many cases, worshiping, a murderer? And if so, are they doing it for attention? Fun? Love, lust, obsession?
Their unfathomable actions lead to many questions. Would they support this man if he had murdered their friends or family? I think not.
Would they obsess over him if they had been lying on a cinema floor, feet from him, playing dead, and praying that he wouldn’t see them breathing and shoot? Doubtful.
It just goes to show what kind of people live in this world.
Follow me on Twitter: @Jess__Thompson
What’s your opinion? Are these girls right to support Holmes? Or are they just sick? Feel free to comment below.
Lead image courtesy of freeholmes.tumblr.com.
Related articles
- James Holmes Tumblr ‘Holmies’ Shock Internet (mashable.com)
Yeah, but you only search for the worst Tumblrs to get information about us, Holmies, I am a Holmie too, and I think he is inocent, do you know why? Because there’s a lot of information that fucking proves it. You should see other blogs or Tumblrs or whatever the fuck you want if you want information, not all of us are glorifying him, and we do not think of him as our savior or whatsoever, he ain’t no Chtulhu.
You should totally read this article
http://willyloman.wordpress.com/2012/07/22/aurora-massacre-what-does-the-location-of-the-gas-mask-tell-us-what-about-security-cameras-are-they-related/
and try to find better Tumblrs next time, do your job, inform the people, they need to now what the media is motherfucking hiding. I think this is a false flag from the FBI.
Hi there, and thanks for your comment, I’m glad to hear from you. Your’e absolutely right, the tumblr accounts I skimmed through are the worst, and they’re the ones the media is most focused on. However, I have tried to get in touch with a few holmies, it’s difficult enough through Tumblr. I’d be extremely interested in hearing your point of view, and will drop you an email if you’re interested in being interviewed for a follow-up article. Thanks again for your comment.
[...] the past few weeks. The creators of these pages refer to themselves as “Holmies”. In a recent article, I covered this new internet trend, and provided you with information gotten through research of [...]
[...] the past few weeks. The creators of these pages refer to themselves as “Holmies”. In a recent article, I covered this new internet trend, and provided you with information gotten through research of [...]
[...] Holmies: a sick point of view? [...]
Reblogged this on The View from The DJ booth .
Reblogged this on All About The Exposure and commented:
What’s your opinion of this disturbing trend?