Were Eric and Dylan monsters in your opinion?

What do you guys think?

They sure tried their best to become monsters to be honest

No. They always said how smarter they were than everyone else but still failed to realize there's more to this world than bunch of dweebs at their school. Yes, yes I know Eric constantly talked about the "world" and how bad it is as a whole, but ask anyone, and 99.9% of people will tell you how dumb and immature they were when they were 17, 18 still in high school, inexperienced and all that, and how they outgrew all of their thoughts they had back then.

The problem with Eric and Dylan is they acted on their thoughts and frustrations and what did they achieve? Nothing, they wasted their own and other people's lives.

I'm positive if they didn't act on their temporary feelings they'd be still alive today, having fun, drinking beer, enjoying new technology and video games. And if they still were friends, they'd probably laugh and say "hey man, remember when we wanted to shoot up our school? LOL"

Now if you ask me, Eric was a higher potential for this, Dylan's brain was wired differently, he definitely needed some sort of professional help, Eric could definitely outgrow this on his own, had he not met Dylan I don't think this would happen at all. Everyone says Dylan was the follower but in my opinion it was the other way around, and there were no followers or leaders per se, I'm sure Dylan planted the 'mass shooting' seed in Eric's head and it just grew from there.

No bullying and stress from a college plus depression can make you change

What they did was horrible, but I don't think their monsters.

There is no such thing as monsters. There is no such thing as evil either.
There are people who act and view things differently and as a result make bad decisions.
There are people who are mentally ill and don't know any better.
There are people who do things to benefit themselves without thinking about others, simply because they aren't self aware.
But there are no inherently evil people.

i think in bottom line terms.. they killed 12 innocent people.. 11 were kids.. in a school.

Monsters.

TheSpiral wrote:

There is no such thing as monsters. There is no such thing as evil either.
There are people who act and view things differently and as a result make bad decisions.
There are people who are mentally ill and don't know any better.
There are people who do things to benefit themselves without thinking about others, simply because they aren't self aware.
But there are no inherently evil people.

Yeah. Could not say it otherwise. Thumbs up.

Fatheroftwo wrote:

i think in bottom line terms..  they killed 12 innocent people..  11 were kids..  in a school.

Monsters.

13 innocent people.. 12 were kids

No.Not in my belief. If they are then every last person who has ever killed someone should be labeled a monster no matter what.

No. As someone who struggles with mental illness themselves, I find it hard to call them monsters. They were mentally ill individuals who had been pushed there by other factors (the bullying etc.), and they let it get the best of them. They made some bad decisions. It wasn't as though they were heartless beings. Wasn't it Reb's Tape that had Eric crying and apologizing to his family about what he was going to do? The boys were human, too, and capable of feeling. They struggled with their illnesses and imo eventually succumbed to them. They both wanted to die and figured revenge was needed along with it. It was a terribly poor decision, but does it make them monsters?

I do not consider them monsters. I think both were suffering from things we can only imagine and pray we never have to deal with ourselves. Eric and Dylan had the world at their fingertips. If only they could have seen past the rage, hate and depression long enough to realize it. If only they could have gotten the help that both so desperately needed, maybe it would have saved 15 people from dying. The "if only's" of Columbine are sad to contemplate. So many chances lost to stop what happened.

Eric himself was forthcoming about his depression and anger issues, about having suicidal/homicidal thoughts. I honestly believe Eric wanted help, or at least wasn't opposed to it if he could get it. He didn't lie and say that everything was fine. Yet for some reason it was missed. I would love to have access to Eric's therapist notes.

Dylan needed help even more so then Eric. Dylan had gotten so far out of touch with reality that he mainly existed in repeat mode, probably just going thru the motions every day. Then that started to fail, when he began to stop being able to care for normal everyday personal needs, such as bathing and eating regularly. His journal is like a timeline slowly mapping the battle of losing himself to the depression, getting more out of touch. I think he had lost himself to a point that he couldn't ask for help, or felt that he was unworthy of being helped. Eric and Dylan did monstrous things, but were not monsters themselves. Both were just deeply troubled kids who needed help. Sadly neither received it.

Fuck no. The people who bullied them were the MONSTERS!!! Eric suffered a lot and hes in Heaven as we speak. He had enough bullying from school. Hes finally in a better place now may he RIP.

Definitely not.
They were not monsters, but very troubled youngsters who get too much motivation from each other.

My opinion is very close to that of [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.].
And I do agree with [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.], even the worst murderer should never be labeled as a "monster". Isn't it enough to consider them as "bad murderers"?

The jocks and the school system are the real problem. The system teaches kids to be mean to people that have different opinions and/or dress differently.

I think what they did was monstrous, but they were really just two messed up kids who got way too into a revenge fantasy. Sometimes I wonder if only someone could go back & shake them & tell them that it's all just high school bulls*t. You won't have to see or think about any of these people ever again after graduation.

Before or After they pulled the trigger?

No, I don't think they were monsters. I think society failed them and that they were both mentally sick. I believe people like Bundy, Ridgeway and Gacy were/are monsters. And psychopaths.