An intentional dichotomy between E&D's T-shirts?

As we know, Eric wore a shirt with Natural Selection emblazoned on the front. while Dylan wore one that read Wrath.

I've always thought that was interesting, because of the connotations both of these terms carry.

Natural Selection is obviously closely tied with Evolution, and as it is understood nowadays at least, is often thought to signify a materialistic, purely scientific non-supernatural universe.

Wrath on the other hand, while technically it just means anger, usually isn't used to describe human anger in modern times. It usually has a connotation of Divine Wrath, or the Anger of God.

So it seems like Eric's shirt is espousing a materialistic worldview, while Dylan's espouses a religious one.

I Wonder if they did this on purpose.

I think they did it on purpose, that day was special for them so I believe that they wanted to show through the shirts, their ideologies or thoughts. Natural Selection is something that Eric mentioned many times and something that mean a lot to him in his murder thoughts and Dylan -and Eric too-, believed that they were godlike so the wrath shirt and the meaning of the word with the Anger of God makes a lot of sense in what they wanted to transmitted that day, based in what they thought about themselves and the world and eventually wanted to say and show.

Dylan also thought of himself to be 'god-like' so it really doesn't surprise me that he pictured his destruction as a divine wrath. Eric I think also thought of himself as superior to others but not in the same way. I really don't think Dylan wore it for any religious purpose.

Venganza wrote:

As we know, Eric wore a shirt with Natural Selection emblazoned on the front. while Dylan wore one that read Wrath.

I've always thought that was interesting, because of the connotations both of these terms carry.

Natural Selection is obviously closely tied with Evolution, and as it is understood nowadays at least, is often thought to signify a materialistic, purely scientific non-supernatural universe.

Wrath on the other hand, while technically it just means anger, usually isn't used to describe human anger in modern times. It usually has a connotation of Divine Wrath, or the Anger of God.

So it seems like Eric's shirt is espousing a materialistic worldview, while Dylan's espouses a religious one.

I Wonder if they did this on purpose.

It makes so much sense. I also think their t-shirts were important in their final statements and not just apparel for the day. Eric mentioned many times in his diary and his school essays how influenced he was by existentialist and nihilist ideas in philosophy (Hobbes and Nietzsche) and in literature (Stanislaw Lem), not to mention the video games (Doom) and the movies (Apocalypse Now, Starship Troopers) and figures like Hitler and Charles Manson. It seems he made up his own idea of what natural selection entails and it has very little to do with actual natural selection!

Dylan may not have had a rigid religious view but his diary shows he believed in occult concepts and a sort of life beyond this world and in an afterlife. He seemed to believe in thoughts and other dimensions beyond this material world. He did say his anger and revenge would be terrifying. Since he saw himself as a god above mere zombies, it makes sense that his anger would be wrath.