What do you think was the main reason for Columbine?

This has to be the most debated question pertaining to a school shooting ever. What do you think was the driving motive for Eric and Dylan that culminated them into shooting up the school? The most argued reasons are bullying, mental illness, lack of success with friends and girls and no one accepting them.

But what would your own opinion be? One you know that is genuine and solid and one that you firmly stand by.

Stupidity and edgyness.

I believe the reasons for this shootings lie in the beliefs and mental states of Dylan and Eric.

The feeling they were powerless, weak and rejected combined with some mental health issues such as depression that made them think they had nothing to lose. Then the more they thought about it the more extreme they became.

Numbness and powerlessness

INFAMY

Eric: Isn't it fun to get the respect that we're going to deserve?

Powerlessness, wanting to be heard, because it could happen, it was a certain time in a certain place.... hard to explain if you weren't a teen in 1999 and two kids who fed off of each other in a toxic way. Eerily they knew people would remember them for a long time.

Smaller reasons would be bullying, boredom and one kid who wanted to die but had a slow burning rage he kept inside for a really long time (I dare say since he was a kid, he got so embarrassed and upset that he had to be by himself for a long while to calm down) and exploded in the most violent way possible. I always found it interesting how Sue describes the day Dylan was born. It was so quiet and he was so peaceful yet the way he left was violent and loud.

All of the above. Truly, I think it was just a perfect storm of all these different issues coming together, throw in some toxic masculinity, two boys with raging hormones feeding off each other. There will never be just ONE thing that causes this.

Where do you see the toxic masculinity from? I don’t see that. I’m asking genuinely :-)

Don’t think it happened because one of them had to prove how manly they were. And I don’t think they did it because they hated women.

It’s hard to use 2018 buzz words for something that happened 20 years ago. It’s a different time now.

I can kind of see Eric only because he was kind of the runt of litter, had health issues, was more creative and maybe sensitive and he had an older brother and father who seemed more of the “typical manly” type.

I think Dylan was fine with being a man and was raised to have positive attributes, I think he had an issue with his humanity as a whole.

Sure both of them wanted to date and wanted girls to notice them but hell i am female and was involuntary celibate and pissed off about it.

Screamingophelia wrote:

Powerlessness [...] two kids who fed off of each other in a toxic way.

I think it is mainly all about these two things. And I think it can also apply to most school shootings, except that most of them do it alone, and so feed off themselves with more and more bad ideas and hate.

@screamingophlia, totally agree. I was a senior in high school when Columbine happened. 19 years doesn't seem THAT long ago, but the world was a vastly different place.

EBE111715 wrote:

@screamingophlia, totally agree. I was a senior in high school when Columbine happened. 19 years doesn't seem THAT long ago, but the world was a vastly different place.

I was a senior too and yea,the world for us was so different

As a way of giving the world they hated the biggest "fuck you" they could think of. 

Why they hated the world so much, only they could say, but if I had to guess their mental states combined with the shitty school atmosphere made them feel as though they were living in hell.

Not sure but they were before their time with the internet and journals. You say anything offending on social media today you are fired and done (Roseanne). They wouldn’t have lived long if they lived in todays world.

Toxic masculinity from 2 cis gendered fucking white male Nazi's with easy access to weapons of war.

W.A.R. wrote:

Toxic masculinity from 2 cis gendered fucking white male Nazi's with easy access to weapons of war.

Are you being sarcastic?

Sane One wrote:

Not sure but they were before their time with the internet and journals. You say anything offending on social media today you are fired and done (Roseanne). They wouldn’t have lived long if they lived in todays world.

Yea, I think people are easily offended and what to make up whatever meanings they want to any words.

Bullying and mental illness.

I miss 1999. It really was a different time.

Screamingophelia wrote:

W.A.R. wrote:

Toxic masculinity from 2 cis gendered fucking white male Nazi's with easy access to weapons of war.

Are you being sarcastic?

That poster is probably doing a parody of today's collegiate political environment (which is admittedly somewhat embarrassing in some ways) but Errogant's constant overload of rage rage rage and Dyldo's putzy patheticness aren't that far off the mark from "toxic masculinity," which has existed as long as masculinity itself, probably. It's just that when we think of toxic masculinity we think of bullies, not the bullied--but the masculinity of the bullied or failed males--or whatever pathetic deviations thereof--can be quite pathetic as well, its own brand of "toxic." This may have manifested itself the worst in Elliot Rodger and (ugh) Marc Lepine.

Misanthropy, Hatred, anger, fame, revenge on society and not just bullies

eyutytuheu wrote:

This has to be the most debated question pertaining to a school shooting ever. What do you think was the driving motive for Eric and Dylan that culminated them into shooting up the school? The most argued reasons are bullying, mental illness, lack of success with friends and girls and no one accepting them.

But what would your own opinion be? One you know that is genuine and solid and one that you firmly stand by.

It could be anything. We would know if E or D were more specific on what the reason behind the attack was. I don't think bullying or music had to do with it. Tbh, I dont think they wanted to live any longer (D mainly) and nobody (i think) could see a future for them

I don’t think it was just one thing.


The January incidents (van and ketchup) I think solidified their bond.

Dylan didn’t have an outlet for his anger until Eric

Every time they were bothered, bullied, rejected, embarrassed etc.. it just added to their anger

I don’t think it could have happened without the two of them together.


Something interesting about the basement tape transcripts I find is the fact that Eric when he was on his own he was crying and talking about old friends. He was vulnerable but not around Dylan.

Screamingophelia wrote:

I don’t think it was just one thing.


The January incidents (van and ketchup) I think solidified their bond.  

Dylan didn’t have an outlet for his anger until Eric

Every time they were bothered, bullied, rejected, embarrassed etc.. it just added to their anger

I don’t think it could have happened without the two of them together.


Something interesting about the basement tape transcripts I find is the fact that Eric when he was on his own he was crying and talking about old friends. He was vulnerable but not around Dylan.

Agreed, it was a mix of things. The main thing was their relationship. Let's not forget that they were the perfect mixture of fire and gasoline. Columbine wouldn't of happened if Dylan never met Eric and vise versa.