"I Like Icke" Fans, T. J., and the Chardon Shootings

T. J. Lane, the alleged shooter at Chardon High School, Chardon, Ohio.

You have read much here lately of the Chardon shootings. Twilight Language may have been one of the first sites to note that according to the Facebook profile of T. J. Lane, one of Lane's favorite books is The David Icke Guide, and a person who inspired Lane is noted as "David Icke."

This blog's publishing of the initial Icke details caused quite a reaction among David Icke followers, who left comments filled with anger and disgust that this blog would merely report these facts and other hidden data.

Yet, not even the surface of the David Icke phenomenon was touched.

David Icke (above) reminds some folks, in appearance and in his cult following, of Marshall Applegate (below, seen as part of UFO's Bo and Peep) of later Heaven's Gate infamy.

Furthermore, T. J. Lane left other clues about his David Icke affection that were not mentioned.

Deeper exploration of T. J. Lane's "likes" reveals that many of his preferences reflect his David Icke (born April 29, 1952) leanings. For example, the only other person who "inspired" T. J. Lane is listed as Credo Mutwa (born July 21, 1921), a Zulu Sangoma or Shaman from South Africa. David Icke produced an interview of "his friend" Credo Mutwa, in which the Zulu shaman reveals "the story of the reptilian takeover of Planet Earth."

The February 27th notes on this blog about the Icke "favorites" of T. J. Lane resulted in fiery remarks (see comments here). To gain more insights about the Icke fan reaction, I interviewed the authors of a new book, Ritual America that is getting much attention among twilight language and conspiracy readers:

Adam Parfrey's and Craig Heimbichner's Ritual America.

Adam Parfrey & Craig Heimbichner

Loren Coleman (LC): In your new book, Ritual America, you mention a guy named David Icke. The alleged school shooter in Chardon, Ohio, T. J. Lane wrote on his Facebook page that one of the people who inspired him is David Icke. No one has blamed Icke for the Chardon shootings, but nevertheless, in a preemptive strike, there's been an amazing outpouring of Icke fans who have come to Icke's defense even though he's not been accused of anything. Why do you think this has occurred? 

Adam Parfrey (AP): It seems to me that the charismatic and compelling speaker David Icke mixes up believable concepts of high corporate crime with strange conceits that open up those risky ideas to derision—the reptilian alien villain, for example. The result of all this is to isolate Icke's audience into a cultic group of truth seekers who feel privileged to know and believe this strange mashup, and as cults are want to do, protect their charismatic truth-sayer from people who just don't "get it."

Craig Heimbichner (CH): One of the phenomena of American ritual culture, including the larger sociological "ritualizing" of response described in our book, is the intense emotionalism surrounding both secret brotherhoods and those who criticize them. We include several dramatic examples of this in our chapter, "Raising Tubal-Cain," which title is a play on the Master Mason password derived from Genesis 4:22 in the Bible, referencing the descendant of Cain, first killer. We also include David Icke in this chapter along with an excerpt representing his thinking on the Illuminati, the Matrix, the Lower 4th Dimension, and Satanism. 

Icke positions himself as an uber-critic of the Brotherhoods, tying them in to accusations of Zionism and alien intrigue. Those who are devoted to his thinking would naturally see criticism of Icke as part of that grand plot and hence I am not surprised that they are reacting as though a battle is on. Icke has cultivated that high-stakes mind-set, although I hasten to add that I don't blame him for any violence or shootings.

LC:  Despite what Icke admirers state about Icke being peaceful in his writings, doesn't Icke promote some bizarre notions that some humans are shape-shifting reptilians? 

CH: David Icke certainly does. We quote Icke in our book: "The reptilians and other manipulating entities exist only just outside the frequency range of our physical senses. Their own physical form has broken down and they can no longer reproduce. Thus they have sought to infiltrate human form and so use that to exist and control in this dimension. They chose the Earth for this infiltration..."

Kent Tayler cartoon

LC: How might a teenager internalize Icke's theories?

CH: Throw in hormones, video-games, drugs, social/family problems, and the belief that some X-Files style nightmare is the truth--aliens are leading the country--maybe even the classroom--and it's anyone's guess. It's conceivable that someone might decide to fight a nightmare by creating another one. It's a great tragedy however we finally explain it.

LC:  In what context does your Ritual America place David Icke?

AP:  Ritual America includes David Icke's material to show the modern day version of the anti-Mason, a lot of it risky and believable, and some of it is just so "out there" to cultivate its believers as wacky and isolated cultists. 

CH:  As I mentioned above, we place David Icke in a context of over a century of anti-Masonic authors, specifically quoting him on the Illuminati (after quoting James Wasserman, a current Epopt of the Illuminati in the OTO who gives an entirely different perspective). We write: "People don't quite know how to interpret the work of David Vaughan Icke, the 1952-born speaker and writer who famously describes leaders like George W. Bush and Queen Elizabeth II as being reptilian aliens. For Icke, borrowing from Nazi literature, situates Freemasonry as a Zionist-Illuminati structure with unlimited resources to drain human beings' energy and resources."

From Alex Cards: Parody Magic the Gathering Cards

Chardon Melonheads

"One can't be of an enquiring and experimental nature, and still be very sensible." - Charles Fort, Wild Talents (1932).


Credit: Weird Ohio.

There was an unfortunate school shooting at the Chardon High School in Chardon, Ohio, on February 27, 2012. My two overviews on this incident were previously posted here and here. See those for other details and decodes.

Forget the distractions. It is a deeper analysis of the place in association with the local legend of the Melon Heads that brings our attention into focus.



"Melon Heads" is the generic name given to legendary beings and urban legends in parts of Michigan, Ohio, and Connecticut, generally described as small humanoids with bulbous heads who occasionally emerge from hiding places to attack people. Different variations of the legend attribute different origins, but we need not get bogged down in those usual elaborate twisted origin myths.

In many ways, melon head sightings mirror the Dover Demon accounts of Dover, Massachusetts, and other large-headed cryptid encounters from the Midwest. 

Today, I'm only interested in the specific site of the Ohio sightings, in the context of the school shooting.

In the book I coauthored, Weird Ohio, there is more information on the Melon Heads. One quote from that article directly relates to this Chardon High School: "It's apparently a popular thing for local high school kids to do to drive around the area late at night, looking for them." "Them" are the melon heads, of course.

The alleged shooter T. J. Lane was caught on Wilder Road, Chardon, which is right down the Grand Army of the Republic Highway from Wisner Road, Chardon Township, Ohio.

It is along Wisner Road where sightings of "melon heads" have been reported.

The melon head stories of Ohio are primarily associated with the Cleveland suburban areas of Kirtland, Chardon, and Chardon Township. Chardon Township is the location of the Chardon High School, Chardon, Ohio, site of the recent school shooting.


Bridge on Wisner Road, Chardon Township, Ohio. Photo credit: Deadohio.com

Legend holds that the melon heads may be sighted along Wisner Road in Kirtland, and Chardon Township, Geauga County, Ohio. The melon head legend has been popularized on the Internet, particularly on the websites Creepy Cleveland and DeadOhio where users offer their own versions of the story. As mentioned above, the Weird Ohio entries are to be found here, Melon Heads.


Legend of the Melonheads was released in 2011. It is a horror fiction film loosely based on the Ohio legend of the melon heads in the Kirtland-Chardon area.

Chardon High School Shooting: 5 Shot, 3 Die, Suspect Caught

Columbine copycat? A cafeteria shooting. Photos on the Internet. Name game links to the Valentine's Day NIU shooting. This Monday brings news of a classic school shooting.


One student has been killed, four wounded (with a rumor circulating at 10 pm that another student has died), and one arrested on Monday, February 27, 2012, in Ohio. The shooter has been identified as Thomas J. Lane.

T. J. Lane is pictured on Facebook on the alleged shooter's page.

According to the Facebook profile of T. J. Lane, one of Lane's favorite books is listed as "The David Icke Guide," and a person the inspired Lane is noted as "David Icke."


The father of suspected Ohio school shooter TJ Lane has been busted several times for violence against women, including TJ's mom, according to court records. He had been warned to stay away from the boy and his mother, reports the Cleveland Plain Dealer. Dad Thomas Lane Jr. and TJ's mom were each charged with domestic violence against each other, and Lane served time in prison after trying to suffocate another women he later married. It's not clear what kind of relationship the father eventually maintained with his son. Friends said TJ was being raised by his grandparents, according to the newspaper.


The first Chardon victim has been identified as Daniel Parmenter, (as well as Daniel Parmentour in one earlier confused report). Others use the spelling Daniel Parmentor and Daniel Parmertor. In a strange coincidence, the victims of the February 14, 2008, Northern Illinois University shooting were students Gayle Dubowski, Catalina Garcia, Julianna Gehant, Ryanne Mace and 20-year-old Daniel Parmenter.


Late on the day of the shooting, The Guardian in London wrote the name as "Daniel Parmertor, 16." Intriguingly, some of the Guardian's wording also reflects material here, including this sentence: "In an odd twist, another similarly named student, Daniel Parmenter, 20, was killed four years ago this month in a shooting in Northern Illinois University." Furthermore, also during the evening, Reuters was using the spelling "Parmentor."


On Tuesday, February 28, 2012, officially, the names of the victims were announced: "The students who died from their injuries have been identified as Daniel Parmertor, 16, and Russell King Jr., 17."


Demetrius Hewlin died Tuesday morning.

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A school shooting has been reported at Chardon High School near Cleveland, Ohio, local law enforcement officer says (Monday morning, February 26, 2012).

Civil deputy Erin Knife with the Geauga County Sheriff's Office says the shooting was reported at Chardon High School. Gunfire at a high school outside Cleveland injured a number of students Monday morning, and at least one suspect has been taken into custody, officials said.

FBI agent Scott Wilson said that there was one suspected shooter, who is in custody. He said four students were wounded in the shooting and one died.

"CBS This Morning" correspondent John Miller reports that at least one of the students was critically injured.


The shooting was reported around 7:30 a.m. at the 1,100-student Chardon High School about 30 miles east of Cleveland, said Civil Deputy Erin Knife of the Geauga County Sheriff's Office. CBS affiliate WOIO-TV in Cleveland reports the shootings happened in the cafeteria before classes started for the day.

Television news footage showed anxious parents escorting children away from a school building, and ambulances could be seen outside. WOIO-TV reports the high school was evacuated and students were taken to an elementary school to be picked up by their parents. Students on school buses were dropped off back at their homes.

A spokeswoman for Cleveland's MetroHealth System said a medical helicopter was dispatched to the high school. Schools in the area were locked down.

Bob Herp, a Chardon trauma nurse, was at a command scene at a local Wal-Mart store where he said helicopters were on the ground.

Chardon is a city, about 30 miles east of Cleveland, of about 5,100 residents.


The name "Chardon" has two meanings of note. As a French word, it means "thistle." As a Sioux word, it means "sand bar."


+++


It was a day of the usual misinformation. At first, reports said there were two shooters.

Chardon students and Chardon area residents early in the day posted a striking photo of a person whom they say is the shooter, allegedly junior T.J. Lane. In it he is holding a sheet of paper that says, “02-26-12 XXXXXX High School” with the high school’s name blurred and what appears to be a handle on Omegle, the anonymous online chat service.

These reported photos of T.J. Lane holding guns are now said to NOT be of the Chardon shooter.

++++

If you have been watching the news carefully, there have been a slight increase in the number of single school shooting incidents. We should have seen this as an early warning sign of something bigger happening in the coming days.

Recent incidents include:

Wednesday, Feb. 22: A 9 year old boy (mother's name: Jamie Lee Chaffin; father's name, Jason Cochran) brought a 45-caliber gun to school, and it went off injuring an 8-year-old classmate Amina Kocer-Bowman at the Armin Jahr Elementary School, Bremerton, Washington State.