Columbine

A term that commonly refers to a deadly school shooting in 1999 at the eponymous high school in the unincorporated area of Columbine (NOT Littleton), Colorado. The attack was carried out by gunman Eric Harris (18) and Dylan Klebold (17). Though common misconceptions point to cultural influences like Marylin Manson, DOOM and gothic subculture and the effect of school bullying, Dave Cullen's extraordinary expose of the tragedy dispels many of these myths.

To put it briefly, Eric was a psychopath who was obsessed with violence and formulated the attack, which was to be a bombing, for years. He fantasized about numerous, high-scale attacks, strived to outdo any previous instance of American domestic terrorism with hundreds of fatalities, and kept a detailed journal of every little facet of their plan. It was his idea. It could be said that Eric almost singlehandedly carried out the attacks. He was sadistic, without empathy and saw everyone as inferior.
Dylan was a depressive tagalong who simply wanted a way out of life. He looked to Eric for approval for everything. He was good at heart and almost chickened out more than once. He wrote about love and crushes in his journal and simply saw himself as a failure. He put very little toward the attacks.

Columbine was a tragedy heavily reported at the turn of the millennium, but so many were misinformed. Dave Cullen's Columbine is a modern marvel and everyone should read it before claiming to know everything about the massacre.

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