Do you think the Basement Tapes may be wandering somewhere in the Deep Web?

So lately I've been reading about the Deep Web and how it contains very rare material and stuff. Could it be that those tapes are buried somewhere in there?

If they are, I wouldn't be at all surprised. I was reading up on the deep web about a month ago for a school assignment, and this actually did cross my mind. Ironically, maybe a week later I was watching something columbine related on youtube, and in the comment section, someone brought up the basement tapes, and another user made a comment saying something to the effect of "get on Tor and find it. Or, learn how to use the deep web". Again, I wouldn't be surprised, and with the incredibly secretive nature of the "culture" that gets into that area of cyberspace, it wouldn't surprise me that they haven't leaked any sort of screen shots or anything if they have in fact seen it. If so, it is more than likely shared through Darknet.

summer09 wrote:

So lately I've been reading about the Deep Web and how it contains very rare material and stuff. Could it be that those tapes are buried somewhere in there?

It wouldn't surprise me at all. I believe someone discussed this point on SBB, I think on there it was mentioned that someone had claimed to see snippets of the Basement Tapes in very early news footage after Columbine. This could very well be just a rumor but it was a similar story to what i'd heard on other websites. I was a member of a Columbine community back in hmm maybe 2002/3, the community no longer exists but the same discussion was going on there and there were claims of video clips of The Basement Tapes been shown on the news. I assume if this was true and clips were shown on a minor or foreign news show then it could be possible that such clips were just lost in the vast sea of the internet. I remembered this information merely because it seemed to be the same story repeated several times now and again. Another point i remembered was that there were reports of the clips been shown in black and white.

I'm very skeptical and feel this is more than likely nothing more than a rumor, however i won't deny that there is a small possibility that the reports could be true. The Basement Tapes were mentioned by several media outlets in the early days immediately after the attack, so it would be easy for someone to claim they had seen them and sound somewhat convincing. I'm wondering if anyone else has ever heard anything similar, especially about the tapes been shown on the news or in black and white.

There's a distinct possibility that Brooks had copies of the tapes in his War Room.  However, when he "moved on" from Columbine, he either threw out or burned his research material.

I wouldn't be surprised if snippets of the basement tapes had aired on the news before the tapes were verboten.  There is also an audio clip, heavily censored, of Eric and Dylan talking in the BTs.

"And those two girls sitting next to you, they probably want you to shut the BEEP up too..." "yeah, I don't like you, Rachel and Jen or...whatever...you're stuck up little bitches," et cetera.  The censorship is a possible indicator of it airing on public media.  If we have audio, there is video.  Whoever made that video, somebody should ask where they got the sound clip.  Follow the bouncing breadcrumb trail.

FredPete wrote:

"And those two girls sitting next to you, they probably want you to shut the BEEP up too..." "yeah, I don't like you, Rachel and Jen or...whatever...you're stuck up little bitches," et cetera.  The censorship is a possible indicator of it airing on public media.  If we have audio, there is video.  Whoever made that video, somebody should ask where they got the sound clip.  Follow the bouncing breadcrumb trail.

In this version was the swearing fully censored or did it sound like a bad editing job?  

I'm not sure if somebody posted this on here already but the full basement tape rant section seemed appropriate to this thread.

ERIC: "...and those two girls sitting next to they probably want you to shut the fuck up, too! Jesus! Rachel and Jen.. and.. whatever."

DYLAN: "Jesus, you’re on a roll."

ERIC: "Rachel and Jen and whatever the fucK little"

DYLAN " I don't like you, Rachel and Jen, you're stuck up little bitches, you're fucking little fuckin Christianity, Godly little whores!"

ERIC: "Yeah.. 'I love Jesus! I love Jesus!'  shut the fuck up!"

DYLAN "What would Jesus do? What the fuck would I do..? *he acts like he's shooting the camera with his hand, with sound to accompany it*"

ERIC: "I would shoot you in the motherfucking head! Go Romans! Thank God they crucified that asshole."

It seems to be the general consensus this is what they are saying.
I don't have a source on this but I've heard many times it was Rachael Scott's father when he viewed the tapes that recorded this clip as some kind of proof that they targeted his daughter on purpose. I believe this could be quite possible that he would record this and why Mr Scott would think such a thing. It's interesting to note prior to this rant they mention "Nick." The only class with "Nick," "Jen" and "Rachael" in it was their Psychology class. So it is highly doubtful they were talking about Rachael Scott.

FredPete wrote:

I wouldn't be surprised if snippets of the basement tapes had aired on the news before the tapes were verboten

I strongly agree.

Again this is only from memory of what I remember being discussed on other sites from a while back, but if anyone remembers those graphic sites that were quite popular in the 90's and early 2000's and posted all kinds of horrifying pictures (I don't remember the names of them or if they are still around) But there were claims of E/D's suicide pictures been posted on there before the National Enquirer posted them, likewise there were rumors of parts of the basement tapes been posted on there as well. This is somewhat interesting as the photos now have been released, so perhaps somebody did upload parts of the tapes on there also.

queenfarooq wrote:

FredPete wrote:

"And those two girls sitting next to you, they probably want you to shut the BEEP up too..." "yeah, I don't like you, Rachel and Jen or...whatever...you're stuck up little bitches," et cetera.  The censorship is a possible indicator of it airing on public media.  If we have audio, there is video.  Whoever made that video, somebody should ask where they got the sound clip.  Follow the bouncing breadcrumb trail.

In this version was the swearing fully censored or did it sound like a bad editing job?

Here is the video:  

I've seen some news stations that do a horrible editing job too.  I'm not sure if professional vs amateur censorship is always distinguishable, also taking into account that the censor word-list often changes, sometimes in bizarre ways.  (E.g, beeping or blanking out the word "dead" or, as I recall from my younger years, "damn."  Neither one of which is regularly censored these days.)  And if it was a fan who leaked the audio, why would they censor?  A crazy fan-kiddie wouldn't censor.

queenfarooq wrote:

I'm not sure if somebody posted this on here already but the full basement tape rant section seemed appropriate to this thread.

ERIC: "...and those two girls sitting next to they probably want you to shut the fuck up, too! Jesus! Rachel and Jen.. and.. whatever."

DYLAN: "Jesus, you’re on a roll."

ERIC: "Rachel and Jen and whatever the fucK little"

DYLAN " I don't like you, Rachel and Jen, you're stuck up little bitches, you're fucking little fuckin Christianity, Godly little whores!"

ERIC: "Yeah.. 'I love Jesus! I love Jesus!'  shut the fuck up!"

DYLAN "What would Jesus do? What the fuck would I do..? *he acts like he's shooting the camera with his hand, with sound to accompany it*"

ERIC: "I would shoot you in the motherfucking head! Go Romans! Thank God they crucified that asshole."

It seems to be the general consensus this is what they are saying.
I don't have a source on this but I've heard many times it was Rachael Scott's father when he viewed the tapes that recorded this clip as some kind of proof that they targeted his daughter on purpose. I believe this could be quite possible that he would record this and why Mr Scott would think such a thing. It's interesting to note prior to this rant they mention "Nick." The only class with "Nick," "Jen" and "Rachael" in it was their Psychology class. So it is highly doubtful they were talking about Rachael Scott.

The beginning of the transcript is not audible on the clip.  It starts after the part about Nick.  Sounds like it has a gap in the middle too.

If Darrel Scott managed to record portions of the tapes, does that mean he smuggled an audio recorder into the sheriff's department, or a video recorder?  (I highly doubt he has copies of the tapes, or if he did, that they have not been destroyed by now.)  I wonder what kind he used.  That was back in '99 or the early '00s, technology has made leaps and bounds since then--yet he managed to ferret a recorder into the viewing room?  (If this is true...ah...gotta love the Jeffco Barney Fife Squad.)

queenfarooq wrote:

FredPete wrote:

I wouldn't be surprised if snippets of the basement tapes had aired on the news before the tapes were verboten

I strongly agree.

Again this is only from memory of what I remember being discussed on other sites from a while back, but if anyone remembers those graphic sites that were quite popular in the 90's and early 2000's and posted all kinds of horrifying pictures (I don't remember the names of them or if they are still around) But there were claims of E/D's suicide pictures been posted on there before the National Enquirer posted them, likewise there were rumors of parts of the basement tapes been posted on there as well. This is somewhat interesting as the photos now have been released, so perhaps somebody did upload parts of the tapes on there also.

There's excavation to be done, for sure.  I'd better stop before I get on an anti-government rant.

queenfarooq wrote:

FredPete wrote:

"And those two girls sitting next to you, they probably want you to shut the BEEP up too..." "yeah, I don't like you, Rachel and Jen or...whatever...you're stuck up little bitches," et cetera.  The censorship is a possible indicator of it airing on public media.  If we have audio, there is video.  Whoever made that video, somebody should ask where they got the sound clip.  Follow the bouncing breadcrumb trail.

In this version was the swearing fully censored or did it sound like a bad editing job?  

I'm not sure if somebody posted this on here already but the full basement tape rant section seemed appropriate to this thread.

ERIC: "...and those two girls sitting next to they probably want you to shut the fuck up, too! Jesus! Rachel and Jen.. and.. whatever."

DYLAN: "Jesus, you’re on a roll."

I don't recall Dylan saying "Jesus, you're on a roll" in the audio clips. lol Hmm..

queenfarooq, 

I am wondering if these people could have possibly confused hearing the snippets with seeing them? 

I hazily recall reading about people claiming the same thing many years ago. At the time, I doubted the majority of them because I had no idea at the time about all of the "layers" and elements of cyberspace where such things could be made privately available, and my skepticism was also coupled with the fact that many people who congregated in those sorts of forums and such, all of those years back, would talk a lot of nonsense. There was a LOT more honesty back then, too. It was a goldmine of information in the early days for the most part, but there were a lot of exaggerators and bold face liars, as well. Those sound snippets were available for quite a long time, even on places like "acolumbinesite". It could be that snippets of the videos with the audio were aired and then yanked, or it could simply be that the sound was played along with other video(s) that had been immediately released, and these people are having blurred recollections. 

Despite all of this, as I stated earlier, I still wouldn't be remotely surprised if portions or the entirety of these tapes were leaked to the deep web/"invisible internet", particularly early on, and they're only shared in strict confidence through Darknet--- or all of this could have even ended up within the dark internet. This may not be true at all, but it wouldn't be at all shocking.

I just wanna see them so bad

Don't we all?

FredPete wrote:

I've seen some news stations that do a horrible editing job too.  I'm not sure if professional vs amateur censorship is always distinguishable, also taking into account that the censor word-list often changes, sometimes in bizarre ways.  (E.g, beeping or blanking out the word "dead" or, as I recall from my younger years, "damn."  Neither one of which is regularly censored these days.)  And if it was a fan who leaked the audio, why would they censor?  A crazy fan-kiddie wouldn't censor.

I couldn't open your video clip (my computers fault) but i'm sure it is very similar to all the other ones floating around.
I feel the terrible censorship on the tape implies that it was done so because it was to be played publicly. However if that clip was played on the news I would imagine there would be numerous complaints due to the fact you can tell exactly what they are saying anyway. If the clip was released straight to the internet I highly doubt it would have been censored initially unless this happened somewhere along the way and we ended up with this version.
But you're right, censorship sometimes can be of poor quality and somewhat bizarre. I saw a music video today with the word "drugs" blanked out.

FredPete wrote:

If Darrel Scott managed to record portions of the tapes, does that mean he smuggled an audio recorder into the sheriff's department, or a video recorder?  (I highly doubt he has copies of the tapes, or if he did, that they have not been destroyed by now.)  I wonder what kind he used.  That was back in '99 or the early '00s, technology has made leaps and bounds since then--yet he managed to ferret a recorder into the viewing room?  (If this is true...ah...gotta love the Jeffco Barney Fife Squad.)

I believe if Mr Scott did record this portion of the tapes he would have had to smuggle in some kind of audio recorder.
What i'm interested in is if Mr Scott recorded this audio then either A) He saw the tapes more than once and the second time went back armed with a tape recorder, B) Someone else told him before he'd seen the tapes that a 'Rachael' was mentioned. Alongside which video the mention occurred on and at which point specifically in the video she was mentioned in order for him to record the correct bit. Or, C) Recorded everything then only released this bit as he believed at the time they were speaking about his daughter.

FredPete wrote:

There's excavation to be done, for sure.  I'd better stop before I get on an anti-government rant.

Haha, I think an anti-government rant would definitely not be out of place here.

tfsa47090 wrote:

queenfarooq, 

I am wondering if these people could have possibly confused hearing the snippets with seeing them?

 
It could very well be a case of mistaken identity. People may have even seen something else and believed it was the basement tapes.
I mean it still amazes me that some people online still insist the "CCTV Footage" from 'Zero Day' is the actual Columbine Library footage, despite the incorrect date and many other discrepancies. There are people on Youtube even now challenging others over how they know it's not Columbine footage. I've also witnessed some mistaking the Wellington Oliveria security camera footage for Columbine footage.

tfsa47090 wrote:

I hazily recall reading about people claiming the same thing many years ago. At the time, I doubted the majority of them because I had no idea at the time about all of the "layers" and elements of cyberspace where such things could be made privately available, and my skepticism was also coupled with the fact that many people who congregated in those sorts of forums and such, all of those years back, would talk a lot of nonsense. There was a LOT more honesty back then, too. It was a goldmine of information in the early days for the most part, but there were a lot of exaggerators and bold face liars, as well. Those sound snippets were available for quite a long time, even on places like "acolumbinesite". It could be that snippets of the videos with the audio were aired and then yanked, or it could simply be that the sound was played along with other video(s) that had been immediately released, and these people are having blurred recollections.

People would talk a great deal of nonsense back in the early days you're right, in some ways it was much simpler before all the documents were released. Back then, Eric and Dylan were severely bullied teens who loved Marilyn Manson and had parents that clearly let them run wild, and lets not forget the "dangerous cult" they were apart of known as the TCM. There wasn't much more to them than that. But as you mention it was a goldmine of information, if we had access to all these sites now it would be easier to distinguish between early myths and facts. As I mentioned before the thing that sticks in my mind the most is the reports the basement tapes had been seen in black and white. Of course it could have appeared black and white due to being filmed at night, shoddy lighting in the basement or because of the 90's style video camera used. But it's just something that sticks out in my mind. Likewise someone could have secretly recorded the basement tape footage resulting in bad quality.
There are so many options regarding the tapes / audio been released. It's a frustrating thought to ponder that there's a possibility someone out there researched Columbine in the early days and has been in possession of more than just this little snipped of audio.  

tfsa47090 wrote:

Despite all of this, as I stated earlier, I still wouldn't be remotely surprised if portions or the entirety of these tapes were leaked to the deep web/"invisible internet", particularly early on, and they're only shared in strict confidence through Darknet--- or all of this could have even ended up within the dark internet. This may not be true at all, but it wouldn't be at all shocking.

I agree, I wouldn't be surprised in the slightest if this was the case.

InFiNiNcEX5 wrote:

queenfarooq wrote:

FredPete wrote:

"And those two girls sitting next to you, they probably want you to shut the BEEP up too..." "yeah, I don't like you, Rachel and Jen or...whatever...you're stuck up little bitches," et cetera.  The censorship is a possible indicator of it airing on public media.  If we have audio, there is video.  Whoever made that video, somebody should ask where they got the sound clip.  Follow the bouncing breadcrumb trail.

In this version was the swearing fully censored or did it sound like a bad editing job?  

I'm not sure if somebody posted this on here already but the full basement tape rant section seemed appropriate to this thread.

ERIC: "...and those two girls sitting next to they probably want you to shut the fuck up, too! Jesus! Rachel and Jen.. and.. whatever."

DYLAN: "Jesus, you’re on a roll."

I don't recall Dylan saying "Jesus, you're on a roll" in the audio clips.  lol Hmm..

Yes, that is true. He did say that.

Oh shit I was writing a massive reply but hit some button by mistake and now it's gone

Anyway, long story short, (as far as I know) in the deep web what isn't useless or averagely uncomprehensible raw code, is all communities of people interested in more or less illegal stuff, I really don't think there's a Columbine community in there for the BT to be leaked in.
And I think it would have been known at least inside the Columbine-interest circle, if they had been (if you leak something, it's because you want it to be known/shared?)

I guess the sneaky audio-recorder job has been done for that portion we can hear, I highly doubt someone has been able to film the video too

Jenn wrote:

InFiNiNcEX5 wrote:

queenfarooq wrote:

FredPete wrote:

"And those two girls sitting next to you, they probably want you to shut the BEEP up too..." "yeah, I don't like you, Rachel and Jen or...whatever...you're stuck up little bitches," et cetera.  The censorship is a possible indicator of it airing on public media.  If we have audio, there is video.  Whoever made that video, somebody should ask where they got the sound clip.  Follow the bouncing breadcrumb trail.

In this version was the swearing fully censored or did it sound like a bad editing job?  

I'm not sure if somebody posted this on here already but the full basement tape rant section seemed appropriate to this thread.

ERIC: "...and those two girls sitting next to they probably want you to shut the fuck up, too! Jesus! Rachel and Jen.. and.. whatever."

DYLAN: "Jesus, you’re on a roll."

I don't recall Dylan saying "Jesus, you're on a roll" in the audio clips.  lol Hmm..

Yes, that is true. He did say that.

Oh good, something "new" for me to listen to.  We take what we can get these days. ;)   Kinda funny comment.  

I hate to say this because I'm sure while a good chunk of the BTs is deplorable there is some comedic moments between Frick & Frack in all their immature wisdom.

InFiNiNcEX5 wrote:

Jenn wrote:

InFiNiNcEX5 wrote:

queenfarooq wrote:

FredPete wrote:

"And those two girls sitting next to you, they probably want you to shut the BEEP up too..." "yeah, I don't like you, Rachel and Jen or...whatever...you're stuck up little bitches," et cetera.  The censorship is a possible indicator of it airing on public media.  If we have audio, there is video.  Whoever made that video, somebody should ask where they got the sound clip.  Follow the bouncing breadcrumb trail.

In this version was the swearing fully censored or did it sound like a bad editing job?  

I'm not sure if somebody posted this on here already but the full basement tape rant section seemed appropriate to this thread.

ERIC: "...and those two girls sitting next to they probably want you to shut the fuck up, too! Jesus! Rachel and Jen.. and.. whatever."

DYLAN: "Jesus, you’re on a roll."

I don't recall Dylan saying "Jesus, you're on a roll" in the audio clips.  lol Hmm..

Yes, that is true. He did say that.

Oh good, something "new" for me to listen to.  We take what we can get these days. ;)   Kinda funny comment.  

I hate to say this because I'm sure while a good chunk of the BTs is deplorable there is some comedic moments between Frick & Frack in all their immature wisdom.

There is a part in this audio clip, where apparently Eric says "yeah", but it wouldn't make any sense cuz he would be responding to himself. So I am wondering, is it perhaps Dylan saying "yeah"? And their voices are hard for me to tell apart in this audio clip.

Jenn wrote:

InFiNiNcEX5 wrote:

Jenn wrote:

InFiNiNcEX5 wrote:

queenfarooq wrote:

FredPete wrote:

"And those two girls sitting next to you, they probably want you to shut the BEEP up too..." "yeah, I don't like you, Rachel and Jen or...whatever...you're stuck up little bitches," et cetera.  The censorship is a possible indicator of it airing on public media.  If we have audio, there is video.  Whoever made that video, somebody should ask where they got the sound clip.  Follow the bouncing breadcrumb trail.

In this version was the swearing fully censored or did it sound like a bad editing job?  

I'm not sure if somebody posted this on here already but the full basement tape rant section seemed appropriate to this thread.

ERIC: "...and those two girls sitting next to they probably want you to shut the fuck up, too! Jesus! Rachel and Jen.. and.. whatever."

DYLAN: "Jesus, you’re on a roll."

I don't recall Dylan saying "Jesus, you're on a roll" in the audio clips.  lol Hmm..

Yes, that is true. He did say that.

Oh good, something "new" for me to listen to.  We take what we can get these days. ;)   Kinda funny comment.  

I hate to say this because I'm sure while a good chunk of the BTs is deplorable there is some comedic moments between Frick & Frack in all their immature wisdom.

There is a part in this audio clip, where apparently Eric says "yeah", but it wouldn't make any sense cuz he would be responding to himself. So I am wondering, is it perhaps Dylan saying "yeah"? And their voices are hard for me to tell apart in this audio clip.

Yes, I agree that it is a bit difficult to tell them a part. Usually I can make out Eric's distinct accent (I'm from the midwest myself) but they almost start sounding like one symbiotic unit in their passionate, somewhat tipsy rant. You almost expect them to start finishing one another's sentences.

Quote :

Anyway, long story short, (as far as I know) in the deep web what isn't useless or averagely uncomprehensible raw code, is all communities of people interested in more or less illegal stuff

I encourage anyone who hasn't already done so, to have a poke around the Deep Web. It humorous (wanna buy an atomic bomb?) and gross (lots and lots of pedo sites).

As for the Basement Tapes, they say they don't want to release them because they're concerned about copycats, but does anyone think that the mystery surrounding those tapes is making the situation worse? Publicly saying that E/D's words are too dangerous for people to hear is attributing a lot of power to E/D. By saying E/D's videos are too "influential" for the public, it's keeping a mystical, god-like aura around E/D, and probably encouraging people to follow in their footsteps.

StinkyOldGrapes wrote:

As for the Basement Tapes, they say they don't want to release them because they're concerned about copycats, but does anyone think that the mystery surrounding those tapes is making the situation worse? Publicly saying that E/D's words are too dangerous for people to hear is attributing a lot of power to E/D. By saying E/D's videos are too "influential" for the public, it's keeping a mystical, god-like aura around E/D, and probably encouraging people to follow in their footsteps.

This is an excellent point that they don't seem to realize, obviously. They have made it worse. And it makes no sense considering they released their writings. I can appreciate that the videos are obviously more "graphic", but people already are and have been "following in their footsteps" for quite a long time, even before many of the documents were released. These people (JeffCo) make a load of money selling columbine documents and videos, anyway. The prices continually increase (the prices of things now, as opposed to when I bought some of them many years ago is rather alarming, but unfortunately not surprising).

I made a post in [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] thread a few months back (the video included in the post is what I'd mainly like to share here, from 2006):

tfsa47090 wrote:

I still don't think they're going to be released, either. I mean, you never know, and the "copycat" excuse is older than the hills, and so many have occurred since then, anyway. It seems that they feel that these tapes will be more fuel potential shooters will use to commit such acts. I don't necessarily agree with that, but I do think that is one of the reasons they have for keeping them locked up.

In this video from 2006, right before they released the documents/portions of their journals, the sherriff makes it clear (to me, at least) that releasing them would play right into their desires to be worshiped. When you look at the way some people already act, particularly on certain sites, it is hard to argue with him on that point, no matter how corrupt the whole law force there may be.

I have no idea how these things work, but Eric and Dylan's families and their attorneys may have also done something to prevent their release. If I am entirely wrong about that, please correct me.

Quote :

In this video from 2006, right before they released the documents/portions of their journals,the sherriff makes it clear (to me, at least) that releasing them would play right into their desires to be worshiped. When you look at the way some people already act, particularly on certain sites, it is hard to argue with him on that point

Why do people worship E/D? I'll tell you why: Because they have power. What the sheriff is doing by not releasing the Tapes is telling the whole world how much he FEARS Eric and Dylan. He is telling the whole fucking world that he is AFRAID of the power of E/D's words.

By not releasing the Tapes, they have given those tapes an importance they wouldn't have had otherwise.

Those tapes don't contain any dead bodies, nor do they contain anything we haven't heard E/D say a thousand times before. Those videos show them getting prepared and arming themselves, but the details of their attack is no secret, so potential shooters aren't going to learn anything new. There's no good reason for those tapes to stay censored.

StinkyOldGrapes wrote:

By not releasing the Tapes, they have given those tapes an importance they wouldn't have had otherwise.

Of course they have. They're utterly clueless. Indeed, without question, they've made it much worse than it would have been if they'd just shown/shared the stupid things. That's why I also wonder if Dylan and Eric's families/their attorneys have done something to help with keeping them under wraps.

tfsa47090 wrote:

StinkyOldGrapes wrote:

By not releasing the Tapes, they have given those tapes an importance they wouldn't have had otherwise.

Of course they have. They're utterly clueless. Indeed, without question, they've made it much worse than it would have been if they'd just shown/shared the stupid things. That's why I also wonder if Dylan and Eric's families/their attorneys have done something to help with keeping them under wraps.

I certainly agree with what you guys said here. Hiding the basement tapes (and all the other evidence for that matter) just arouses peoples suspicion of what might actually be on them.  Did they name and shame law enforcement or school officials and mock them for their incompetence in failing to stop them planning a mass shooting? Did they name others involved in the planning of the massacre? Were there more run ins with the cops we don't know about that were mentioned on the tapes? Failure to release the tapes screams 'we have something to hide.' To put it very crudely JEFFCO f'd up big time anyway, we know they have lied and we know they have made vital mistakes in the aftermath of Columbine. One could suggested a further public display of their failures could result in the blame being shifted heavily onto their department. As mentioned these thoughts are as a result of the tapes not been released.

I can see where they are coming from with the copycat theory as in some peoples eyes the tapes may make E/D look tough, cool and I hate to say it but more easy to relate to which could be very dangerous if viewed by the wrong person. Can you imagine the public outcry if the tapes were released and a copycat shooter cropped up after filming their own basement tape style rant. It could just be a better safe than sorry type of situation.
I often wonder if few people showed little interested in Columbine anymore they would have released the tapes by now anyway. I mean look at all the research communities, information sites and fan girls and boys that keep the memory of Columbine very much alive.
There would be mass interested if the basement tapes were released. Eric and Dylan have gone on this journey from relatively unnoticed high school kids to gaining huge notoriety, here we are 14 years later still talking and thinking about them, the basement tapes would magnify their "fame." Whilst other mass shooters don't seem to have generated as much public interest, focusing even more on one of the most well known school shootings there is could very well be enough to tip an already unstable person over the edge, if they want years of recognition then this is how you go about it.
I hope that made some kind of sense, i cut it right down because it seemed to be descending into my own kind of mad rant. Although i feel the tapes should be released for many reasons I still can understand why they haven't been on some level.

It's a very interesting point you raise tfsa04709 I also wonder how much control, if any over the basement tapes E/D's families have. I can't imagine them been best pleased about some of the drawings and journal entries that were released but that happened anyway. I'm not so clear over the legal process involved here and if the parents would have any control, i'm also not sure how much it matters if at all that they were under 18 when the majority of the filming took place, of course aside from Eric at the end.
I mentioned this before but Sue Klebold in 'Far From The Tree' mentions her distain at viewing the basement tapes:
"Seeing those videos was as traumatic as the original event" Sue said.
"I wanted to destroy the video that preserved him in that twisted and fierce mistake. From then on, no matter how lovingly he would be remembered by those who knew him, the tapes would provide a lasting contradiction to anything positive that could be said about his character." pg(593)
She later mentions feeling her sense of purpose is to explain who Dylan was and what he was like to her. pg(596)
It sounds like at least from the Klebold perspective that releasing the tapes would not be a likely option. If they did have some form of control over the release of the tapes it sounds as if they wouldn't want them released.

StinkyOldGrapes wrote:

does anyone think that the mystery surrounding those tapes is making the situation worse? Publicly saying that E/D's words are too dangerous for people to hear is attributing a lot of power to E/D. By saying E/D's videos are too "influential" for the public, it's keeping a mystical, god-like aura around E/D, and probably encouraging people to follow in their footsteps.

I think so, aswell - Also those copycats could want to be 'better than them' and not knowing E/D 'limits', they could try and do the impossible, possibly resulting in blowing the thing out of proportion just to be supposedly better than the superfamous Columbine shooters.
For 'limits' I mean that what's in the BT certainly covers a range of violence, but apparently they've shown their human side too (being sorry about the parents, as far as we know, don't know if there's else of the kind), now that could somehow weaken the idea that they were only a pair of evil monsters killing for the lulz, and 'godlike' role models.

Anyway is keeping them unreleased that's building up all the curiosity and mistery around them, I guess if they got released at the start they would have received another degree of interest.

Laeda wrote:

For 'limits' I mean that what's in the BT certainly covers a range of violence, but apparently they've shown their human side too (being sorry about the parents, as far as we know, don't know if there's else of the kind), now that could somehow weaken the idea that they were only a pair of evil monsters killing for the lulz, and 'godlike' role models.

Here's what I don't get. The Rampart Range video show's E/D laughing and shooting things, much like they'll do at Columbine. Although they were shooting targets, it's obvious they were picturing real people, and it's not hard to imagine they joked and behaved much the same during the real event. If anything makes E/D look live evil monsters who are "killing for the lulz", it's the Rampart video.

Reading E/D's journals, their words can be interpreted anyway you like. Was Eric pretending to be tough? Did he really see himself that way? Was his journal just a big joke? You can't tell, because you can't see his face. So potential homicidal nutcases are free to read whatever they want into Eric's words.

The whole world already thinks E/D are the two evilest teenagers on the planet and that shooting your classmates is cool, it can't get any worse than that.

I removed the comments in this thread pertaining to porn. Perhaps certain members haven't read the rules, but that shit offends me and I won't tolerate it on here.  If you people want to talk about child pornography and pornography with dead people, please go do it somewhere else.  This is not a forum to discuss this disgusting shit and I am getting really fed up with members disrespecting my rule of not posting about this shit.

This topic is being locked.