What lessons have you learned during your Columbine research?

I was wondering what lessons everyone has learned during their research that have impacted their lives.

I read Dylan Klebold's journal and seeing all the beautiful and intelligent things about love, life, existence, and the universe made me realize that everyone has good in them somewhere deep down. Even someone who did something as awful as he did. It made me realize: What does that say about people who have slighted me a little? Because of that I no longer hate any people, I hate asinine actions. It made me realize I should see the good in everyone and extend fraternal love to even those others consider unlovable. I actually got a stainless steel ring engraved with the quote which was the turning point for me, along with Dylan's name and dates. It serves as a sort of purity ring to remind me of all this.

What lessons has your Columbine research taught you?

WendlaBergman wrote:

I was wondering what lessons everyone has learned during their research that have impacted their lives.

I read Dylan Klebold's journal and seeing all the beautiful and intelligent things about love, life, existence, and the universe made me realize that everyone has good in them somewhere deep down. Even someone who did something as awful as he did. It made me realize: What does that say about people who have slighted me a little? Because of that I no longer hate any people, I hate asinine actions. It made me realize I should see the good in everyone and extend fraternal love to even those others consider unlovable. I actually got a stainless steel ring engraved with the quote which was the turning point for me, along with Dylan's name and dates. It serves as a sort of purity ring to remind me of all this.

What lessons has your Columbine research taught you?

That there are a lot of creepy girls fantasizing about two teen murderers who has been dead for over 15 years…

Meh. I don't think it's creepy. It isn't as if they're harassing survivors or victims' families. To each their own. (Maybe I'm biased though since I find the boys very attractive, Dylan moreso than Eric IMO.)

1. Mental health is a more serious matter than most people asssume it is. Very disturbed/ill/dangerous/confused/maladapted/etc individuals can go under the radar for years. Cho case in point.

2. What the media say within 2 weeks from the event is gonna last forever, even if its hogwash and gets corrected later on.

3. People will want to see their idols ... precisely the way they want to see them, not the way they really are/were. That's true for actors, sports stars and music stars, but seems to be equally true about killers.

4. Its not difficult to make a spree killing at all.

5. You meet zounds of people daily in RL or online, and there's a very real chance some of them will be criminals or even killers (Thanks for nothing Gill and Lanza).

Beware of some of the women you meet online.

(And men, too, I guess.)

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.],
I tend to agree with you. Sure, some people take it too far but then again some people take anything they are involved in or interested in too far.
I believe that as long as you aren't trying to hurt others or yourself, there is nothing wrong with it.

Being a Columbiner has taught me some of the most fundamental lessons I've ever learned.
It has taught me to be more open minded in many ways.It has taught me more empathy and compassion.
It has taught me to look at events and people in other ways, from other angles than many people do.
As painful as being a Columbiner can be(because it's hard not to be affected by all the heartrending sadness of the tragedy)
,I feel I would have not learned all those lessons without having become a Columbiner and I'm very grateful for them.

Columbine research, as well as other research that it has lead me to, has taught me that (or at least made me thing about the fact that) the things most people think matter (money, job, status, and pretty much everything between) don't really matter, and that the way we live life in this society is not necessarily the best at all.

I learned how much a person's mental health can affect the ones around them

Also, I learned a lot of great tools for digging up archive websites : )

Lastly, I developed a taste for dark German industrial music and synth pop. I don't know if that stemmed from being a fan of electronica already, but I've been listening to some odd stuff as of late.

Some conclusions should be made. For example, that bullying (in any form) bring enormous damage to the psyche and this can have negative consequences for society as a whole. Everyone has the right to be heard and appreciated, and not just in accordance with established stereotypes and norms. Nor should all the problems be blamed on adolescence. I was surprised how no one noticed the depression of Dylan, even close friends and parents. I think that people need to be more literate in mental health issues. Good deeds can cause a chain reaction, but evil can also cause a chain reaction.

eli27 wrote:

Columbine research, as well as other research that it has lead me to, has taught me that (or at least made me thing about the fact that) the things most people think matter (money, job, status, and pretty much everything between) don't really matter, and that the way we live life in this society is not necessarily the best at all.

And here I fully agree with you.

To never accept the media's narrative. Not just in this case, but in all cases.

That no research, counseling or intervention will ever dissuade these people who are wholeheartedly committed.

That these crimes will never stop.

That mental illness is prevalent in these events, or at least abnormal thought processes.

Recognizing these factors have made my life easier, in that I don't obsess over the "What ifs" and the "Whys".

I would even venture that the same conclusions can be applied to all the other mass shootings. Just my opinion.

Tomb wrote:

To never accept the media's narrative. Not just in this case, but in all cases.

That no research, counseling or intervention will ever dissuade these people who are wholeheartedly committed.

That these crimes will never stop.

That mental illness is prevalent in these events, or at least abnormal thought processes.

Recognizing these factors have made my life easier, in that I don't obsess over the "What ifs" and the "Whys".

I would even venture that the same conclusions can be applied to all the other mass shootings. Just my opinion.

Agreed on all

That the grey area is about 96%, the white 2% and the black 2% aswell.

That I'll never get an answer for WHY.

And that no amount of research will bring healing.

But I'll never stop trying anyway

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] I agree wholeheartedly. When you can move past the WHYS and WHAT IFS, it becomes a lot easier. Like most people, I searched for those answers and never found one that made sense. So I gave those two unanswerable conundrums up and delved into research that is way more important than the WHYS.

WendlaBergman wrote:

I was wondering what lessons everyone has learned during their research that have impacted their lives.

I read Dylan Klebold's journal and seeing all the beautiful and intelligent things about love, life, existence, and the universe made me realize that everyone has good in them somewhere deep down. Even someone who did something as awful as he did. It made me realize: What does that say about people who have slighted me a little? Because of that I no longer hate any people, I hate asinine actions. It made me realize I should see the good in everyone and extend fraternal love to even those others consider unlovable. I actually got a stainless steel ring engraved with the quote which was the turning point for me, along with Dylan's name and dates. It serves as a sort of purity ring to remind me of all this.

What lessons has your Columbine research taught you?

Actually, reading Dylan's diary made me sympathize with him a whole lot less. His rambling about halcyons tipped me off that it wasn't just depression that he had.