Eric and Dylan thoughts on how people think of them

What do you guys think Eric and Dylan would think of what people think of them? Some people understand what they did, some people hate their guts, some people idolize them. Do you think they would care on whether people loved or hated them, commended them or condemned them? I knew they wrote a lot really only about being remembered, but remembered in what way? Thoughts?

They got absolutely what they wanted. No other school shooting is as iconic nor has it gained as much notoriety. Even modern day shootings which result in a higher body count don't receive as much attention or interest and they never will. Columbine - the fact that is was the first of its time, the fact that it was two shooters that attended the school for 4 years and then did the massacre at the end of senior year and killed themselves inside the school, it got around the clock media attention for a whole month. 19 years later and people are still discussing and talking about them everyday. In terms of infamy and the attention over the act they were looking for, they certainly got it.

They didn't get what they wanted in terms of the massacre working out the way they wanted to....that was an absolute shit show. Bombs never went off, not a single person on either shit list was even injured. instead they got 13 instead of 500+. But it seems as though it still got as much attention and infamous as if it had. Even the two of them the way they wrote in there diary wasn't 100 PERCENT GENUINE and did have to do with them consciously thinking about the future audience, especially Eric its quite clear he's writing what he's writing with the awareness in the future people will be reading because of what he did... and the way they acted on the basement tapes probably had to do with that to.

I think Eric wanted to be remembered more than Dylan. Dylan, I think, in a way, was excited to go NBK, but didn't really care to much about what people would think. It seems he was more interested in dying and taking out a few people on the way, and also having a good time while doing so.

Eric however, wants, as he put it " to leave a lasting impression on the world." And he did, but not in the way he envisioned. Eric wanted mass destruction, total chaos. He didn't want to be remembered for having mental health issues and being labeled a psychopath. He wanted to be remembered for the destruction he caused, the lives he took. He wanted more than 500 people to die that day. And if he could get away with it A LOT more. He was methodical and grandiose in his planning, he wanted fame for what he would do. A way to get back at society for rejecting him constantly. I feel Eric had a great way of focusing on the negative and bad in his life, as I believe he was a total perfectionist and when things did not go his way or life showed him the results he did not want to see, he internalized his frustration and anger. This built up over time, obviously.

Anyway, to answer your question, if Eric were here to tell us what he thinks, I don't think he would care. He would probably say " I did what I had to do," or something similar. Seeing as his plans were a failure, he probably felt life was showing him once again how he wasn't good enough. His bomb making skills were average at best, and they did not go off. Even when he shot at them and they didn't go off, just another slap in the face.

The shooting was a failure, and they both knew this. After a while they stopped killing people. Why? Adrenaline wears off, killing is no longer the point. Getting the bombs to go off was the point, then everyone would die. But no, Eric couldn't even get that to happen, as I said before. And when for the few minutes he was shooting at the cops from the library, at the end, I'm sure he was like, " fuck this shit I'm out," and sat down and stuck his shotgun in his mouth. The whole thing was a failure in his eyes. I'm sure he'd be happy to know of all the sick individuals who looks up to him, but since his plans failed, I don't think he'd care to much of what people think.

As for Dylan, again, I think he'd care less than Eric. This was his way out. This was his way of having fun while the end point was to end his life. He hated his life, and wanted to kill himself for years before going NBK. What people thought of him? He could care less. He didn't want to live. End of story. He even lit a molotov cocktails on a table right where they both committed suicide in hopes of probably starting a fire and burning their bodies along with other fire damage. But I think I read a sprinkler put it out eventually... just my two cents.

evelynssye wrote:

I think Eric wanted to be remembered more than Dylan. Dylan, I think, in a way, was excited to go NBK, but didn't really care to much about what people would think. It seems he was more interested in dying and taking out a few people on the way, and also having a good time while doing so.

Eric however, wants, as he put it " to leave a lasting impression on the world." And he did, but not in the way he envisioned. Eric wanted mass destruction, total chaos. He didn't want to be remembered for having mental health issues and being labeled a psychopath. He wanted to be remembered for the destruction he caused, the lives he took. He wanted more than 500 people to die that day. And if he could get away with it A LOT more. He was methodical and grandiose in his planning, he wanted fame for what he would do. A way to get back at society for rejecting him constantly. I feel Eric had a great way of focusing on the negative and bad in his life, as I believe he was a total perfectionist and when things did not go his way or life showed him the results he did not want to see, he internalized his frustration and anger. This built up over time, obviously.

Anyway, to answer your question, if Eric were here to tell us what he thinks, I don't think he would care. He would probably say " I did what I had to do," or something similar. Seeing as his plans were a failure, he probably felt life was showing him once again how he wasn't good enough. His bomb making skills were average at best, and they did not go off. Even when he shot at them and they didn't go off, just another slap in the face.

The shooting was a failure, and they both knew this. After a while they stopped killing people. Why? Adrenaline wears off, killing is no longer the point. Getting the bombs to go off was the point, then everyone would die. But no, Eric couldn't even get that to happen, as I said before. And when for the few minutes he was shooting at the cops from the library, at the end, I'm sure he was like, " fuck this shit I'm out," and sat down and stuck his shotgun in his mouth. The whole thing was a failure in his eyes. I'm sure he'd be happy to know of all the sick individuals who looks up to him, but since his plans failed, I don't think he'd care to much of what people think.

As for Dylan, again, I think he'd care less than Eric. This was his way out. This was his way of having fun while the end point was to end his life. He hated his life, and wanted to kill himself for years before going NBK. What people thought of him? He could care less. He didn't want to live. End of story. He even lit a molotov cocktails on a table right where they both committed suicide in hopes of probably starting a fire and burning their bodies along with other fire damage. But I think I read a sprinkler put it out eventually... just my two cents.

Good point. And yeah, it is odd how their plans were to kill hundreds of people then once they got out of the library and having a chance to kill a bunch more, they didn't even attempt on anyone. So yeah, it's likely that Eric realized this whole thing was a bust and lost huge morale and the adrenaline was dying out. As for Dylan, he was having the time of his life, just following Eric around. He just wanted to die, so to him, I believe, this was still a huge success. But to Eric, a huge fail.

ChaotixBoy wrote:

evelynssye wrote:

I think Eric wanted to be remembered more than Dylan. Dylan, I think, in a way, was excited to go NBK, but didn't really care to much about what people would think. It seems he was more interested in dying and taking out a few people on the way, and also having a good time while doing so.

Eric however, wants, as he put it " to leave a lasting impression on the world." And he did, but not in the way he envisioned. Eric wanted mass destruction, total chaos. He didn't want to be remembered for having mental health issues and being labeled a psychopath. He wanted to be remembered for the destruction he caused, the lives he took. He wanted more than 500 people to die that day. And if he could get away with it A LOT more. He was methodical and grandiose in his planning, he wanted fame for what he would do. A way to get back at society for rejecting him constantly. I feel Eric had a great way of focusing on the negative and bad in his life, as I believe he was a total perfectionist and when things did not go his way or life showed him the results he did not want to see, he internalized his frustration and anger. This built up over time, obviously.

Anyway, to answer your question, if Eric were here to tell us what he thinks, I don't think he would care. He would probably say " I did what I had to do," or something similar. Seeing as his plans were a failure, he probably felt life was showing him once again how he wasn't good enough. His bomb making skills were average at best, and they did not go off. Even when he shot at them and they didn't go off, just another slap in the face.

The shooting was a failure, and they both knew this. After a while they stopped killing people. Why? Adrenaline wears off, killing is no longer the point. Getting the bombs to go off was the point, then everyone would die. But no, Eric couldn't even get that to happen, as I said before. And when for the few minutes he was shooting at the cops from the library, at the end, I'm sure he was like, " fuck this shit I'm out," and sat down and stuck his shotgun in his mouth. The whole thing was a failure in his eyes. I'm sure he'd be happy to know of all the sick individuals who looks up to him, but since his plans failed, I don't think he'd care to much of what people think.

As for Dylan, again, I think he'd care less than Eric. This was his way out. This was his way of having fun while the end point was to end his life. He hated his life, and wanted to kill himself for years before going NBK. What people thought of him? He could care less. He didn't want to live. End of story. He even lit a molotov cocktails on a table right where they both committed suicide in hopes of probably starting a fire and burning their bodies along with other fire damage. But I think I read a sprinkler put it out eventually... just my two cents.

Good point. And yeah, it is odd how their plans were to kill hundreds of people then once they got out of the library and having a chance to kill a bunch more, they didn't even attempt on anyone. So yeah, it's likely that Eric realized this whole thing was a bust and lost huge morale and the adrenaline was dying out. As for Dylan, he was having the time of his life, just following Eric around. He just wanted to die, so to him, I believe, this was still a huge success. But to Eric, a huge fail.

Yeah, Dylan was just happy to finally have the chance to die. I think he wrote in his journal once " Maybe going NBK with Eric would be a good way to go," or something along those lines. Can't remember right now. He knew the plans were a failure, but in his sick way, he was excited to get to killing people anyway. I think he was like, " Oh the plans failed. Oh well, better get killing so I can kill myself!" And they both decided this, once they realized the bombs were not working. It was no turning back at this point, however, for either of them. So I agree with you, Dylan was just happy to kill and be killed, while Eric, knowing his plans were a colossal failure, just wanted to end his life by the end.

evelynssye wrote:

I feel Eric had a great way of focusing on the negative and bad in his life, as I believe he was a total perfectionist and when things did not go his way or life showed him the results he did not want to see, he internalized his frustration and anger.

I think it was more Dylan who internalized his anger; Eric had a notorious temper that he hard time keeping under control.

QuestionMark wrote:

evelynssye wrote:

I feel Eric had a great way of focusing on the negative and bad in his life, as I believe he was a total perfectionist and when things did not go his way or life showed him the results he did not want to see, he internalized his frustration and anger.

I think it was more Dylan who internalized his anger; Eric had a notorious temper that he hard time keeping under control.

People tend to overlook Dylan's anger and Eric's depression, which leads people to believe Eric was the mastermind and Dylan was just some depressed follower, when both played an equal part to what happened. Sure, they got to that point of mass murder in a different way, but saying Eric manipulated Dylan or anything along those lines, isn't true in my opinion.

ChaotixBoy wrote:

but saying Eric manipulated Dylan or anything along those lines, isn't true in my opinion.

All I said was that Eric let his anger show a lot more frequently than Dylan.

QuestionMark wrote:

but saying Eric manipulated Dylan or anything along those lines, isn't true in my opinion.

All I said was that Eric let his anger show a lot more frequently than Dylan.

A lot of people say Dylan was a hothead. Interesting.

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Not sure this is the best thread for this, but didn't think my question was worth starting a new one.

Been reading over some of the witness statements and I find something quite striking.
Of those who did not know who Eric and Dylan were before the attack, a very large percentage of them report that, although they didn't know his name, they remember seeing Dylan in the halls of Columbine previously. But do not remember seeing Eric.
Dylan probably stood out because he was so tall and because of his manner of dress.

It's interesting to me because, in a way, I think this is part of what E & D hated about themselves, and by extension about other people.
Eric wanted to be noticed, to be taken seriously, to be respected. But most people didn't even "see" him. Dylan, on the other hand, felt like everyone was always staring at him, judging him. He probably would have liked to be invisible and unnoticed. Yet, Dylan stood out and Eric blended in.
I wonder if this was something they recognized in the other, or even discussed with one another.

thelmar wrote:

Not sure this is the best thread for this, but didn't think my question was worth starting a new one.

Been reading over some of the witness statements and I find something quite striking.
Of those who did not know who Eric and Dylan were before the attack, a very large percentage of them report that, although they didn't know his name, they remember seeing Dylan in the halls of Columbine previously. But do not remember seeing Eric.
Dylan probably stood out because he was so tall and because of his manner of dress.

It's interesting to me because, in a way, I think this is part of what E & D hated about themselves, and by extension about other people.
Eric wanted to be noticed, to be taken seriously, to be respected. But most people didn't even "see" him. Dylan, on the other hand, felt like everyone was always staring at him, judging him. He probably would have liked to be invisible and unnoticed. Yet, Dylan stood out and Eric blended in.
I wonder if this was something they recognized in the other, or even discussed with one another.

I agree with you 100%. However, I don't think it's something they really spoke about to each other. We will never really know. Dylan and Eric don't come across as the "talk about our feelings" type. They leaned towards writing them down in their journals.

Dylan towered over other students. That alone would have made him stand out. I'm not positive that the way he dressed would have been too much of something to make him stand out given the whole TCM thing. It was probably relatively normal to see someone in a trenchcoat at that point. Dylan was likely recognized quickly or remembered by students due to his stature alone.

Sue mentions in her book about stopping at a McDonald's and Dylan being uncomfortable with a laughing group of teenagers because he assumed they were laughing at him. They ended up leaving quickly because Dylan was making a fuss about it. Obviously, the teenagers weren't paying any attention to him. Dylan most certainly wanted to blend in or at least not stand out.