What ‘Holly Hobby Lobby’ Has Learned … and Her Next Move
Kelsey Bolar /
She has endured thousands of vicious, personal attacks on Twitter and other social media, but Holly Fisher – now famously known as “Holly Hobby Lobby” – admits she has a breaking point.
“I don’t care if someone calls me fat,” Fisher says in an exclusive interview with The Daily Signal.
What makes me sad is to know there are so many people who can’t see the difference between a woman in America, standing in front of the flag that represents our freedom – on Independence Day – holding the First and Second Amendments rights in her hands … and this woman who would honestly kill every single person in this country if given the chance.
Fisher, a 27-year-old native of Charleston, W. Va., is referring to a photo posted on Twitter comparing her to Reem Riyashi, a Palestinian mother from Gaza City who blew herself up, killing four Israelis, in a Hamas suicide bombing attack in 2004.
@HollyRFisher Holly Hobby Lobby the new face of the American Taliban pic.twitter.com/TplRb6Wyr8
— Michael Stone (@pdxprogressiveX) July 6, 2014
Someone posted the far-fetched meme in response to a picture Holly posted of herself standing in front of an American flag on the Fourth of July, hoisting a rifle in one hand and a Bible in the other. “My First and Second Amendment rights,” she emphasizes again.
Fisher initiated her nickname, Holly Hobby Lobby, a week earlier when she showcased her support for the Supreme Court’s June 30 Hobby Lobby decision by posting a photo of herself wearing a “pro-life” T-shirt and holding a Chick-fil-A cup in front of one of the arts-and-crafts chain’s West Virginia locations.
https://twitter.com/HollyRFisher/status/484111186880114688
As The Daily Signal previously reported, the Army wife and mother of three became an Internet sensation, attracting intense attention from both sides of the debate over Obamacare, abortion, and religious freedom.
“Before that Hobby Lobby picture that happened a couple of weeks ago, I had about 20,000 Twitter followers,” she says.
Now, followers of @HollyRFisher have more than doubled to top 46,300, and she has two of her own hashtags: #HollyHobbyLobby and #IStandWithHolly.
She became a point of contention among political activists, with media appearances including Fox News Channel.
When asked about the roots of her conservative views, Fisher says:
I’ve always been the most passionate about pro-life issues, but my understanding of conservative values over the years has only solidified my standing as a conservative.
Her husband, David Fisher, is an Afghanistan veteran who served in the Army. They grew up attending the same church in Charleston and got married in 2006, when he was in basic training. She left college after he was deployed to Washington state.
David served seven years in the 4-23 Infantry Division, 5th Stryker Brigade, out of Fort Lewis, Wash.
In 2009, Fisher gave birth to the couple’s first baby, Ruston, while her husband served a tour in Afghanistan. He didn’t return home for good until Ruston was 10 months old.
“That was rough,” she says.
Husband David met 2-month-old son, Ruston, while home on leave from Afghanistan for two weeks.
Two years later, with baby number two on the way, David Fisher left the Army with the rank of sergeant and the couple returned to their home in West Virginia.
Holly Fisher then gave birth to two girls (Jenna, 2, and Norah, 1), and says it’s because of them that she’s able to withstand the personal attacks on Twitter and in the news media:
I have two daughters and when they grow up, if they have these conservative values, I want them to be able to talk about them without having to worry about these vicious attacks.
Holly Fisher shows off daughters Jenny (left) and Norah.
Although she dismisses the left’s repeated argument that conservatives are conducting a “war on women,” Fisher says she doesn’t think her picture would have generated the same response had it been a 40-year-old man standing in front of an American flag, holding a gun:
A younger conservative woman is not really popular right now … {T]he left with minorities, women or even black people at this point, they want to make you feel ‘less than’ if you’re a conservative because they want you to think they have your best interest at heart.
As for the attacks about her personal appearance, Fisher says she can brush them off.
“I don’t see it as misogynistic. I just see it as people who are so intolerant and weak-minded that they cant have an appropriate debate so they just start name-calling.”
Fisher also acknowledges the presence of “vile people” on both sides of the political debate, though she veers away from the kind of language used on her:
As much as I disagree with them, I have never felt the urge to find the president of Code Pink and call her bigoted and nasty names.
Instead, she finds inspiration in those who stood by her. After going viral, she received an outpouring of support from fellow defenders of the First and Second Amendments.
“When people saw how the left reacted, they just wanted to rally around me and show me that I’m not alone and I have support,” she says.
@HollyRFisher I think you are brave and it's really about time people started standing up for their beliefs and not stand quietly! Go Holly!
— Kimberly B. (@kimberlyb783) July 3, 2014
As for critics such as Michael Stone, an atheist blogger for religion website Patheos who called her “the new face of American Taliban,” Fisher says she hopes they’ll “open their eyes and realize, maybe you are the intolerant one, maybe you are the hateful one.”
Now, she’s focused on breaking away from the Holly Hobby Lobby meme to pursue a career in politics.
“I don’t know if I would ever run for office – maybe when I get older and my kids are older – but I know I always want to be involved,” she says.
The Fisher kids: Jenna (8/10/11), Norah (8/14/13), and Ruston (9/15/09)
In her free time, Fisher consults with Republican candidates in West Virginia, hoping to increase the party’s representation in state office.
Her ultimate goal?
Just keep that brave face on, keep standing up, and let people know – especially the younger generation – they’re not along in their thinking and its OK to stand up for what you believe in.
This story was updated to clarify David Fisher’s military service.