In the Agora: Columbine Documents: Disturbing or Mundane?

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July 07, 2006

Columbine Documents: Disturbing or Mundane?

The Denver Post has a feature story today about the release by the Jefferson County (CO) sheriff's office of over 900 pages of documents related to the Columbine High School shooting. The documents range from school assignments and drawings to store receipts and a notebook kept by one of the killers' parents. (The full .pdf document can be accessed from the link above.)

Although many of the pages are disturbing in hindsight, and things such as a "to-do" list of specific preparations for the attack are obviously chilling, what strikes me about much of the material is how unremarkable it actually is. Articles by the Denver Post and other media outlets make much of the many sketches depicting weapons and violence. However, I had many friends in middle school and high school who liked to draw very similar things, yet never engaged in any sort of violence.

In fact, I'd say that a fascination with weapons and warfare is a fairly common phase for young men to go through. How, then, can we distinguish between a harmless interest of this sort and a real inclination toward violence? There are no easy answers. Above all, parents, relatives, teachers, and other adults must be truly engaged in the lives of young people to detect the real warning signs of trouble.

Posted by Eric Seymour at July 7, 2006 12:48 PM

Comments

Amen brother. There is a story by Richard Bauchman (aka Steven King) in which a high school student takes his dad's gun and takes over the classroom. The only reason I bring it up, after I read it in 8th grade, a bunch of guys I was with laughed and said "What is original about that? I think about it all the time, I'm just not dumb enoug to act on it."

Posted by: Anonymous at July 7, 2006 02:56 PM | permalink

There's a Calvin & Hobbes cartoon (it's in the first 50-odd pages of the 2nd volume of the complete collection, I think) where Calvin daydreams about using a F-15 loaded with missiles to destroy his elementary school. To be sure, Calvin doesn't like the school, not the occupants, but could Bill Waterson be charged with inciting violence? Is Calvin subject to arrest for this?

Posted by: Nathan Mates at July 7, 2006 06:27 PM | permalink

"Is Calvin subject to arrest for this?"

My money is on the tiger. :) I love Calvin & Hobbes!!

Posted by: lawyerchik1 at July 7, 2006 06:29 PM | permalink

Update: it's page 25 of the second volume of the complete collection. And, how much this differs from the plans is a little questionable.

Posted by: Nathan Mates at July 8, 2006 12:58 AM | permalink

How seriously has anyone ever explored the possibility that Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold tipped the threshhold of sanity and took violent action based on their hateful fantasies because they were taking anti-depressants? I know of two suicides where I suspect that anti-depressants made the difference between depression and impulsive action; and because the guns were available, the impulsive violent thought was acted on. Harris had been taking Luvox, and who knows if Klebold was taking anything on his own?

Posted by: david at July 9, 2006 11:14 AM | permalink

Fascination with weapons is one thing; fantasizing about killing people in your school is another.

Combined with a fascination with Hitler and nihilism, the parents should have known something was seriously wrong.

Unfortunately, too many people were wearing blinders in this case.

Posted by: SingleMind at July 10, 2006 07:08 AM | permalink