If it seems impossible to understand the mind of a teenager, the following news will only confirm that belief. In a strange twist to events following the Boston Marathon bombing, it appears that not just a few teenage girls have found themselves “crushing” on terrorist suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev (aka “Jahar“), finding it impossible to believe he willingly participated in the bombing.
According to the “New York Post,” literally “thousands of American teen girls” have become infatuated with Tsarnaev and are “leading a social-media movement to free him,” a la #FreeJahar on Twitter.
Strange takes on the bombing suspect
While it is difficult to believe that any 19-year-old would take the horrific actions that led to the deaths and injuries of so many at an innocent venue like the Boston Marathon, it is perhaps even more unbelievable that thousands of swooning teens would refuse to believe Tsarnaev is guilty.
Some liken Tsarnaev to a heartthrob akin to Justin Bieber. Tweeted one Tsarnaev supporter, “Yes I like Justin Bieber and I like Jahar but that has nothing to do with why I support him. I know he’s innocent, he is far too beautiful.” According to the “Daily Mail,“ another young woman tweeted, “’Y’all can judge me as much as you want. I’m on his side. This kid needs people behind him. I hope to meet him one day he fascinates me @J_tsar.”
Some have pity for his situation, tweeting, “’Poor Jahar… He’s only 19. ONLY 19… No one deserves to be in a 10×10… No one.” and “’Jahar is gonna go crazy in that cell alone with just a book… I wanna send money to him… Anyone have the address?”
Tattooing the terror suspect’s tweet
In perhaps the most unlikely and disturbing case, a young woman suggested that she planned to tattoo a tweet of Dzhokhar’s on her arm, which would read “If you have the knowledge and the inspiration all that’s left is to take action.”
This message was posted by the bombing suspect on April 8, 2013, just days before the deadly bombings. While the young woman has since changed her mind (no doubt as a result of the pressure she experienced after tweeting her intentions), it’s still incredible that when the country seems so united in their support for the Boston Marathon victims, some young people can still fail to see the seriousness of what occurred.
Conspiracy theories abound
Then there are those who don’t believe the Tsarnaev brothers committed the acts at all. Like many other modern events, this situation, too, has spawned many conspiracy theories. Only days after the bombing, a (by invitation only) Facebook page, “Dzhokhar Tsarnaev Is Innocent,” was created. Today, it has more than 8,000 followers. The page abounds with conspiracy theories regarding the innocence of the brothers.
Part of the conspiracy talk centers around Craft International, a company that trains law enforcement and military personnel for tactical situations. Those who believe in the Tsarnaevs’ innocence say that a government-funded group trained by Craft carried out the Boston Marathon attack and then assigned blame to the Tsarnaevs.
Responding to the conspiracy theories
According to the “Daily Mail,” a federal officer speaking on the condition of anonymity had this to say, “What a bunch of unbelievable idiots. These morons will make it much harder for the country to recover from this. I seriously hope ordinary people have their BS-detectors on full throttle.”
