The Columbine Massacre

I recently read an article from Taz about the death penalty how it should only be used for the most evil. It no secret that Taz and I don't agree on the death penalty and never will but that's not why I'm writing this article. I want to discuss the Columbine Massacre and specifically Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold. Now Taz believes that Dylan Klebold was evil and doesn't mention Eric Harris. I said in a comment to Taz that I didn't think either one of them was evil. Taz strongly disagrees with me. I made a blanket statement about these two young men and now I would like to correct that statement with how I feel about Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold.

First, the disturbing facts of this case. On Tuesday, April 20, 1999 Eric David Harris, age 18 and Dylan Bennett Klebold, age 17 entered Columbine High School in Littleton, CO armed with shotguns and semi-automatic rifles and began shooting their classmates and teachers. Their plan originally was to set off bombs in the school cafeteria, wait for the students to come running out and pick them off one by one. The next step would have been to wait for the rescue teams and police to show up and gather in the parking lot and then detonate the bombs that were in each of their cars. Fortunately, they were not good at making bombs so when the explosives in the cafeteria didn't detonate, they entered the school and began shooting. In all, they killed 13 students and 1 teacher while injuring injured 24 more before taking their own lives. This is just a brief description of the shootings and I did this purposely. I have read the timeline and accounts of that day and they're just way too graphic to go into here.

Now Taz had stated that Dylan Klebold was evil and I could not disagree more and let me tell you why. Taz is right in one aspect in that there was an evil person present that day but he has it backwards it wasn't Klebold, it was Eric Harris. The following information came from a group of Psychiatrists and FBI psychologists from around the country who met to discuss Columbine. Klebold and Harris, many believe, were two peas in a pod but that could not be further from the truth. They were complete opposites that complimented each other very well. Dylan was for the most part a hot-head but very depressed. He was on medication to help him with his depression. He really didn't want to hurt anyone, just himself. But Eric needed Klebold to keep him fired up and Klebold needed Harris to keep him calm. These experts all agree that Eric Harris was the "mastermind" behind Columbine and that Klebold simply went along.

Eric Harris on the other hand was a sweet-faced boy, well mannered, very well spoken and cool headed. But those were his only redeeming qualities. Eric was a cold, calculating killer who, unlike Klebold who wanted to hurt himself, wanted to hurt other people and make them suffer. Eric Harris was an honest to goodness psychopath. On Harris's website, he opens his journals by saying "I hate the f***ing world! Hate is what consumed him in so many ways that it drove him to kill. Harris had a major superiority complex and absolutely hated the "morons" around him.

"YOU KNOW WHAT I HATE!!!.The people who use the same word over and over again. Read a f***ing book or two and increase your vo-ca-bu-lary..f***ing idiots!"- Eric Harris.

This was only one of four pages of things that Harris hated in this world. He was a very angry and mentally ill individual. Now what people think of what a psychopath is, it rarely has to do with murder and they are very hard to diagnose. Psychopaths don't suffer from delusions or hallucinations. They are very lucid and know exactly what they are doing. It's there train of thought and how the perceive the world that gets them into trouble. Harris wasn't crazy or insane as he and Klebold planned this massacre for over a year. Each knew exactly what they were doing, they were just doing it for different reasons.

The experts agree that Eric Harris was beyond reach of getting help for his psychosis while they think that Klebold, with the proper treatment, could have gone on to live a productive and happy life. They feel that had Harris reached adulthood, honing his killing skills, he could have done something to rival 9/11. He wanted EVERBODY dead. For all we know, and please don't take this wrong, Columbine could have been a blessing as far as Harris is concerned because who knows what he might have done as an adult.

Now this brings me to what could have happened had people been more aware. Harris's website was a huge red flag that he was not stable and someone was going to get hurt. A composition that Harris wrote was also a clue to the violence he was capable of and while he's teacher found it to be graphic and disturbing; he did nothing. I cannot ask all teachers to be psychologists and see it for what it really is so I don't blame the teacher for this nor do I blame the parents for this or the hundreds that visited Harris's website. I blame the breakdown in his society that didn't catch the warning signs. Was Eric Harris heartless? For the most part Yes. Was he evil? For the most part Yes. But he did show a little compassion for someone that he didn't get along with.

On the day of the shootings Harris ran into Brooks Brown out in the parking as Harris was unloading his duffle bag full of bombs from the car. Harris and Brown had a longstanding series of disagreements and they had finally made amends. Harris was quoted as saying to Brown "Brooks, I like you now. Get out of here! Go Home! And with that Brown left the school but later was considered a suspect in the case.

Taz has seen evil in Dylan Klebold's eyes, but I didn't and I can't argue what another man sees in someone. Taz has been around the block a few more times than I have and has more experience with psychopaths and killers in general. I didn't see evil in either of the boy's eyes. I saw anger, hatred, hurt and a total disregard for human life. We will truly never know what Dylan and Eric were thinking when they tried to go down in history as the most notorious mass murderers in the world. If I had to pick which one of these boys was evil, it would have to be Eric Harris. I am the eternal optimist so it is hard for me to say that two boys that had not reached adulthood nor had their brains fully developed are evil. There is no getting around the fact that what they did was to bring evil to Earth that day. It was a vial and disgusting show of violence towards innocent people for no reason. They achieved infamy, if that's what they wanted, but sadly for them they are not around to enjoy that fame. They were the victims of themselves and that something they will not have to live with.

One last note: If you want to see what being at Columbine was like that day, I would highly recommend a movie called "Elephant". It does not mention Columbine but it is a mirror image of what happened that day. Please be warned that this movie is very graphic at the end. I found this movie to be both brilliant and disturbing at the same time. You will see what I mean if you watch it.