Today (Sept. 23) is the 17th anniversary of Cullenbine

On this day seventeen years ago - Thursday, September 23, 1999 - Dave Cullen published the very first version of Cullenbine. It wasn't a book, but an article in Salon:
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

This was the article in which Cullen debunked the "She said yes" myth. Reporters for the Denver newspapers knew the story was a myth, but they weren't willing to report what they knew. Cullen was, and did. He does deserve credit for that.

The words "psychopath" and "depressive" do not appear in this article. Cullen's first article characterizing Eric and Dylan as "the psycho and the emo" appeared on the fifth anniversary of the massacre in 2004.

Interestingly, Cullen wrote this:

Quote :

The investigation has shattered the perception that Harris led the rampage and Klebold was barely more than a hapless follower. While Klebold seemed to have the more passive personality, one source after another stressed that they were “equal partners” in the assault. Among other details, forensic evidence confirms that they were responsible for a nearly equal split of the murders.

The investigation shattered that perception, but Cullen spent a lot of time gluing it back together in his book.

I've been away from the board for a while, and I can't come back right now, but I'll toss out this question: Is the general consensus here still that Cullen is wrong when he insists that Eric was a psychopath and Dylan was his cowering little emo sidekick? I hope so. Because he is.

Before I go, let me point out that, as of November 26 - the Saturday after Thanksgiving - Dylan will have been dead for as long as he was alive. Food for thought.

Take care, everyone.

Cullen is wrong, but it baffles me how he can stick with his story for so long, even tho a lot of people have called him out for his bs.

LPorter101 wrote:

On this day seventeen years ago - Thursday, September 23, 1999 - Dave Cullen published the very first version of Cullenbine. It wasn't a book, but an article in Salon:
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

This was the article in which Cullen debunked the "She said yes" myth. Reporters for the Denver newspapers knew the story was a myth, but they weren't willing to report what they knew. Cullen was, and did. He does deserve credit for that.

The words "psychopath" and "depressive" do not appear in this article. Cullen's first article characterizing Eric and Dylan as "the psycho and the emo" appeared on the fifth anniversary of the massacre in 2004.

Interestingly, Cullen wrote this:

Quote :

The investigation has shattered the perception that Harris led the rampage and Klebold was barely more than a hapless follower. While Klebold seemed to have the more passive personality, one source after another stressed that they were “equal partners” in the assault. Among other details, forensic evidence confirms that they were responsible for a nearly equal split of the murders.

The investigation shattered that perception, but Cullen spent a lot of time gluing it back together in his book.

I've been away from the board for a while, and I can't come back right now, but I'll toss out this question: Is the general consensus here still that Cullen is wrong when he insists that Eric was a psychopath and Dylan was his cowering little emo sidekick? I hope so. Because he is.

Before I go, let me point out that, as of November 26 - the Saturday after Thanksgiving - Dylan will have been dead for as long as he was alive. Food for thought.

Take care, everyone.

It is interesting you point out the Dylan thing because I was thinking of that the other day. April 30 next year will mark that same date for Eric.

And yes....I think that generally speaking the consensus around here is still that Cullen is wrong in his opinions.

I very much doubt he will ever admit to being wrong or getting facts wrong ever

I haven't seen anything from Cullen since he blocked me from his Twitter account.

LPorter101 wrote:

I've been away from the board for a while, and I can't come back right now, but I'll toss out this question: Is the general consensus here still that Cullen is wrong when he insists that Eric was a psychopath and Dylan was his cowering little emo sidekick? I hope so. Because he is.

Before I go, let me point out that, as of November 26 - the Saturday after Thanksgiving - Dylan will have been dead for as long as he was alive. Food for thought.

Take care, everyone.

You know my opinion:

• Yes Eric was a psychopath by all evidence we have.
  
• No, Dylan was a very active planner of the massacre, a disturbed individual who by all evidence already fantasized about violence and suicide before Eric did. He was not asidekick, he was an equal partner in crime.
  

Lizpuff wrote:

April 30 next year will mark that same date for Eric.

What no way that's my birthday.

Eric was not a psychopath.

shades wrote:

Lizpuff wrote:

April 30 next year will mark that same date for Eric.

What no way that's my birthday.

Oooh sorry for mentioning it!

That will be the date that Eric has been dead for as long as he was alive so 18 years exactly?

shades wrote:

That will be the date that Eric has been dead for as long as he was alive so 18 years exactly?

Yes May 1 2017 will mark the day that Eric has officially been dead for longer than he was alive. Nov 27 for Dylan. Here is some math bc I have nothing to do today

Dylan
Days he was alive:
6430 days OR
17 years 7 months and 9 days
Day that is the exact same amount of time since he died:
November 26 2016
Day he will officially be dead longer than he was alive:
November 27 2016

Eric
Days he was alive:
6585 days OR
18 years and 11 days
Day that is the exact same amount of time since he died:
April 30 2017
Day he will officially be dead longer than he was alive:
May 1 2017

Sad and fascinatingggggg. wow. What a morbid coincidence hahah. It's approaching the days where the boys will be dead longer than alive yet the history of their massacre lives on.

Recently, I was listening to an interview on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation who were interviewing a new York city resident. There was a bombing and he gave his initial impressions. That was Dave Cullen. No mention of Columbine or mentioning the fact he is a writer as far as I am aware of.

I do think he is reasonably good when he is able to get feedback from his interview subjects. When he doesn't he is indirectly carrying his own bias and may unnecessary misrepresent how people may feel or how they describe themselves.

LPorter101 wrote:

On this day seventeen years ago - Thursday, September 23, 1999 - Dave Cullen published the very first version of Cullenbine. It wasn't a book, but an article in Salon:
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

This was the article in which Cullen debunked the "She said yes" myth. Reporters for the Denver newspapers knew the story was a myth, but they weren't willing to report what they knew. Cullen was, and did. He does deserve credit for that.

The words "psychopath" and "depressive" do not appear in this article. Cullen's first article characterizing Eric and Dylan as "the psycho and the emo" appeared on the fifth anniversary of the massacre in 2004.

Interestingly, Cullen wrote this:

Quote :

The investigation has shattered the perception that Harris led the rampage and Klebold was barely more than a hapless follower. While Klebold seemed to have the more passive personality, one source after another stressed that they were “equal partners” in the assault. Among other details, forensic evidence confirms that they were responsible for a nearly equal split of the murders.

The investigation shattered that perception, but Cullen spent a lot of time gluing it back together in his book.

I've been away from the board for a while, and I can't come back right now, but I'll toss out this question: Is the general consensus here still that Cullen is wrong when he insists that Eric was a psychopath and Dylan was his cowering little emo sidekick? I hope so. Because he is.

Before I go, let me point out that, as of November 26 - the Saturday after Thanksgiving - Dylan will have been dead for as long as he was alive. Food for thought.

Take care, everyone.

Very nice to see you LPorter.
As far as your questions, yes! Cullenbine is a disgrace.It should be officially classified as fiction.

LPorter! YES, Hope things are going great for you Sir! Miss your words...

Dolph Lundgren has spoken.

shades wrote:

Eric was not a psychopath.

We will never know because Eric was barely 18 when he died. I have been told by my friend, who is a clinical psychologist, that you can't diagnose a client with that type of disorder until the subject is over 18,  and the frontal lobe part of the brain stops developing. Even so, that's not to say he wasn't on his way to becoming one. Henry Lee Lucas comes to mind. But we will never know for certain because we know so little about Eric's childhood, other than he was a military brat and had a bizarre childhood fascination with guns and explosives. We also know that he enjoyed mutilating his GI Joes, which he bought from a friend after his chest surgery in junior high. Other than that, there's not much.

Draw_It_White wrote:

I haven't seen anything from Cullen since he blocked me from his Twitter account.

He blocked me too. I never said a single word to him about his book, but he was VERY obviously drunk tweeting once and it was getting ugly. I tweeted something along the lines of "dude, you're drunk, put the phone away" and he sent me a really sanctimonious DM about how badly I had hurt his feelings and what a terrible person I must be. Then he blocked me. The guy has (or at least, had at that time) a serious and obvious drinking problem. Drunk tweeting when you're a public figure on any level is a major clue, and that kind of defensiveness when called on it is a big sign of denial. I feel for him and hope he gets/has gotten help.

lurking_dragonfly wrote:

He blocked me too. I never said a single word to him about his book, but he was VERY obviously drunk tweeting once and it was getting ugly. I tweeted something along the lines of "dude, you're drunk, put the phone away" and he sent me a really sanctimonious DM about how badly I had hurt his feelings and what a terrible person I must be. Then he blocked me. The guy has (or at least, had at that time) a serious and obvious drinking problem. Drunk tweeting when you're a public figure on any level is a major clue, and that kind of defensiveness when called on it is a big sign of denial. I feel for him and hope he gets/has gotten help.

lol this is HILARIOUS

[quote="shades"]

lurking_dragonfly wrote:

He blocked me too. I never said a single word to him about his book, but he was VERY obviously drunk tweeting once and it was getting ugly. I tweeted something along the lines of "dude, you're drunk, put the phone away" and he sent me a really sanctimonious DM about how badly I had hurt his feelings and what a terrible person I must be. Then he blocked me. The guy has (or at least, had at that time) a serious and obvious drinking problem. Drunk tweeting when you're a public figure on any level is a major clue, and that kind of defensiveness when called on it is a big sign of denial. I feel for him and hope he gets/has gotten help.

I got into a match with Cullen. I can't remember what it was about. I think it might have been about his upcoming book or something . He then blocked me on twitter.

I don't think he's a bad person or anything. He just can't contain his anger.

Let us all be in continual hope that the awful movie based on Cullenbine that Lifetime was thinking about making back in 2012 is never made by them or anyone else.
They got a lot of criticism including some from a few victims families and they backed off but someone could always end up trying to film it.You never know.
I can see a company trying to get it out for the 2oth or 25th Anniversary.Shudders.

PaintItBlack wrote:

Let us all be in continual hope that the awful movie based on Cullenbine that Lifetime was thinking about making back in 2012 is never made by them or anyone else.

Lifetime. Oh, God.

Was Cullen's book supposed to be based off of the movie? The only documentary I remember seeing was the Discovery Channel's Zero Hour, a pieced together account of the tragedy from eyewitnesses. I have no doubt Lifetime would make caricatures out of the shooters/victims. Not a good scenario.

jada887 wrote:

PaintItBlack wrote:

Let us all be in continual hope that the awful movie based on Cullenbine that Lifetime was thinking about making back in 2012 is never made by them or anyone else.

Lifetime. Oh, God.

Was Cullen's book supposed to be based off of the movie? The only documentary I remember seeing was the Discovery Channel's Zero Hour, a pieced together account of the tragedy from eyewitnesses. I have no doubt Lifetime would make caricatures out of the shooters/victims. Not a good scenario.

No, Lifetime was going to base the movie entirely off the book.

PaintItBlack wrote:

jada887 wrote:

PaintItBlack wrote:

Let us all be in continual hope that the awful movie based on Cullenbine that Lifetime was thinking about making back in 2012 is never made by them or anyone else.

Lifetime. Oh, God.

Was Cullen's book supposed to be based off of the movie? The only documentary I remember seeing was the Discovery Channel's Zero Hour, a pieced together account of  the tragedy from eyewitnesses. I have no doubt Lifetime would make caricatures out of the shooters/victims. Not a good scenario.

No, Lifetime was going to base the movie entirely off the book.

Yikes.

Cullen is an opportunist and thankfully LPorter you have been there to call him out on the carpet. Salon...Really??? I read the exchange between you and Cullen on a website sometime back.