Columbine High School Massacre?

I'd like a few people's inputs on this (touchy) subject:





1. For those of you alive when this happened: What do you remember seeing on TV? What were your reactions? (FYI: I was very young when this happened, so I don't really remember the incident.)


2. What were some of the motives of the shooters? (Please try to be specific. I have heard and read several different ones.) What (or whom) do you personally blame?


3. How did they manage to get the guns into the school? (Or, more specifically, were there any metal detectors?)


4. What were some measures taken by the government and various schools after this incident? Do you think they are doing enough, or is bullying still a major problem in public schools? (I go to a Catholic School, and we have very few- if any- bullying problems.)


5. How do you personally think that this incident could have been prevented?





-Thanks in advance.

Columbine High School Massacre?
1. I remember sitting stunned as we watched kids, teachers, and administrators come out running of the school and law enforcement personnel going in. There were a lot of people crying, clinging to each other, or just staring at the school looking stunned. I called my kids just to tell them that I loved them. While I knew that they weren’t even in Colorado, I just needed the reassurance of hearing their voices.





2. Klebold and Harris were very angry young men. Harris’ journal was especially full of lists of people that he hated, including: Star Wars fans, racists, martial arts experts, people who mispronounce common worlds like “espresso”, as well as specific people. They had apparently been planning the assault for a year or so, having amassed an arsenal of almost 100 homemade explosive devices, as well as knives, guns, and rifles.





Blame is a more difficult issue, for there is a great deal of blame to go around. The two killers obviously bear the lion’s share; but as a parent of a 16 and 18 year old, I have a hard time believing that the parents had absolutely no signs that their children were angry and disturbed - and obviously they had to be storing the weapons and supplies someplace. In fairness, by all accounts the killers worked hard to keep everyone out of their little world; however, it would have taken a good bit of space to house nearly 100 homemade bombs. The parents clearly were not looking, and I pity them for the guilt and grief that they must now live with as a result of their negligence.





Lastly, I do not blame the victims. Kids are cruel; and learning to deal with people ridiculing you is a part of life. Some people do get more of their share than others, and I am not saying that teasing or bullying someone is right. I am just saying that being teased does not give one a right to kill. They were not alone - they obviously had each other - and they chose to focus on the negative things in life. Clearly that became the focus of their time together. In any case, their focus was not to kill a specific tormentor, but to massacre the entire school, if possible. Had their propane bombs gone off, it is likely the body count would have been over 500.





3. There were no metal detectors. It was an otherwise quiet school in an upper middle class community. Contrary to popular speculation, it appears that they were not members of the Trench Coat Mafia, merely acquaintanced with some of the members.





The pair had been watching traffic patterns so that they could use the weapons they had at hand to best effect. The two propane bombs (set for 11:17am) were brought in in duffle bags and the rifles and guns were hidden beneath trench coats bought for this event. Setting the duffle bags in the crowded cafeteria they went out to watch the explosion. It never came. The timers had either been defective or poorly rigged. However, two pipe bombs planted in a nearby field (to distract police) did go off at 11:19am, as planned. The pair went in and began stalking through the school.





4. Well, as your third question indicates many schools have installed metal detectors, security cameras, on-site police and/or private security patrols. There is also a lower tolerance for hate-speech in schools, and in the years following April 20, 1999 there were many students sent home, suspended, even some parents sued for their children’s websites, t-shirts, and artwork. What was, during my high school days, thought of as Goth fashion became reason to send a child to counseling. Mania no doubt also led to a great deal of the sort of bullying and teasing the killers complained of. Kids that were dark, hate-filled, or just considered antisocial were no longer merely weird, they were automatically suspected of being ‘potential-Columbines’. Many schools barred wearing trench coats. Searching the students bags became common. When I was in school, the only searches we underwent was routine drug-dog sniffing.





It can be rightly argued that school policies that prevent students from wearing slogans that might be considered hateful to certain people or groups is a violation of the first amendment. However, it is, I believe, a well-intentioned (admittedly unconstitutional) attempt to keep those kids safe. Just like American airline passengers are less likely to sit in their seats like good little hostages after 9/11/01, teenagers (and parents) are much less likely to tolerate those (adults or children) who go out of their way to seem threatening toward their children.





5. Of course it could have been prevented. Harris was, by virtue of his own writings, a sociopath. His parents could have read his journal. Any number of people knew about his website. Klebold could have had an attack of conscience. Had the killers’ activities (real life and online, as they spent a great deal of time researching explosives) and possessions been monitored by their parents, no doubt they would have discovered enough evidence to know that their sons needed help, even if they wished to believe that they wouldn’t go through with it.





Nice discussion question, by the way. Our kids are home-schooled, and I think I’ll assign this as current issues paper. Thanks for the brilliant idea!
Reply:1. Huge debates over their motive





2.Tormened in school lived a life of hate AND NO DOOM IS NOT A REASON video games did not help provoke it nor did it give them any intention to,I highly doubt Teacher William Sanders was hurling fireballs at the two Report It

Reply:I was living very close when this happened, in Englewood. The day before my birthday, I won't ever forget it.





1. I remember coming in at lunch with the TV on and my teacher crying, helicopter shots of the school and scenes of students escaping





2. Eric Harris was a psycopath, Klebold was just a follower


3. No metal dectors, they had bombs and guns


4. Bullying happens at my school all the time, but bullying WAS NOT the reason Columbined occured


5. If Harris was checked in some facility. You can't stop or counsel a person like Harris.





This event has haunted me since it happened, you wouldn't forget it if you were 8 years old and couldn't be happy on your birthday
Reply:1. I saw kids students and teachers fleeing from the school


2. Anger and resentment were most definitely motives for the shooters


3. No metal detectors - most schools in suburban areas didn't have a need for metal detectors. They most likely carried them in their gym bags or backpacks.


4. Many schools have heightened security, including metal detectors


5. The issue of bullying and teasing among students needs to be addressed, continually, There are many incidents such as this that could be prevented if staff and parents pay more attention to this type of problem.
Reply:I just remember thinking, "Oh God, where is your light?"
Reply:1) I remember seeing SWAT teams surrounding the school, and watching as the high schoolers ran from the building with their arms above their heads.


2) One of the main motives was the alienation; it permeated the shooters' lives to the point that people outside the school (parents) suspected a change in behavior. Personally, I blame the school for not taking earlier intervention. There were many signs of problematic behaviors that stem from bullying and alienation.


3) They brought them to school, as I recall, either in backpacks or their trenchcoats. There were not metal detectors at the schools. During that time period, school security was not heightened. Usually, you only experienced metal detectors at inner city schools; Columbine was in a nice suburb.


4) School security was hightened around the country. One of the most visible changes was the implementation of metal detectors. Initially, a lot of proactive measures were taken, but over time, many of them have relaxed and schools are back to almost pre-Columbine conditions. Bullying is still a problem. It has evolved from the obvious taunting to less-noticible pscyhological bullying and cyber-bullying.


5) I personally think the this incident could have been prevented. The events unfolded over a long period of time. Unfortunately, it takes a major incident to bring spotlight to problems in our society.





Great questions; I enjoyed analyzing several aspects of the event.
Reply:causes: the decline of american society and violent video games...


oh and the fact that an average teenager can get his hands on weapons might have something to do with this.


I dont see why Americans act so surprised when crap like this happens and yet do nothing to prevent the proliferation of gun in their own country.