Articles like this is why so much information was misconstrued.

slippy123 wrote:

Norwegian wrote:

As for this whole 'goth/loner/outcast'- thing, none of that makes any sense. Im not sure where that even came from. I can't phantom how the media pushed that story and choze to believe in that stuff. It seems very familiar to how the media tacled the church burnings in Norway. It's this whole idea that when something seems to good to be true, it usually is.

I think people were quick to assume that all kids who aren't popular, listen to darker music, and dress different are losers.
At the end of the day the media is in the business of selling a good story, and the whole "trench coat wearing goths" shot up a school thing was a real attention grabber back then.

'99 was really at the end of the "Satanic Panic", but the TCM goth thing fit that narrative very well.

If you want some real misinformation, check out the National Enquirer article that gets posted every year around April. I don't think I can link it because it has the suicide pictures, but it's a simple search away. I guess E&D were members of some underground KKK group and that's how they found their guns and attack plans. Oh, and their "experts" determined that Eric shot Dylan. Everything is cited with anonymous sources AKA fake news. At least there is some sanity in the comments.

NeedaHaircut wrote:

If you want some real misinformation, check out the National Enquirer article that gets posted every year around April. I don't think I can link it because it has the suicide pictures, but it's a simple search away. I guess E&D were members of some underground KKK group and that's how they found their guns and attack plans. Oh, and their "experts" determined that Eric shot Dylan. Everything is cited with anonymous sources AKA fake news. At least there is some sanity in the comments.

The National Enquirer also said they had a "gay secret that made them kill." However, it is a tabloid. So what do we really expect from it?

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] Yeah, I forgot about the gay secret thing. It must have grown some legs though as I've seen it come up more than it should regarding this incident.

I find it quite strange that they try to say that since Dylan was shot in the left temple, and his guns were on his right side, Eric killed him. Also, they said that because Dylan's right elbow was on Eric's right knee, that was evidence enough that Eric killed Dylan.

rocdk wrote:

I find it quite strange that they try to say that since Dylan was shot in the left temple, and his guns were on his right side, Eric killed him. Also, they said that because Dylan's right elbow was on Eric's right knee, that was evidence enough that Eric killed Dylan.

I don't understand how those type of tabloids make money. I've never met anyone who took anything the Enquirer wrote about seriously.
I know they pay people to get exclusive photos of crime scenes and things of that nature, but 90% of their articles are filled with wild claims and misinformation.
I guess the fact that magazines like that are still in print is proof that there are a lot of very stupid people in this world

I dont think they were the most unpopular people. IDK why Brooks and other people even says that, because its contradicted by other sources. Sure, there were people that though of them as weird, there were people that hated them( sometimes this seems to have come their interactions with the two boys), sure they were bullied. But the bottom of the food Chain? Thats not the image that I get. And IDK where this is coming from, because Dylan seens like he was very well liked by people around him. I think the same is true for Eric. Even though Eric and Dylan had a reputation for bullying other students
But as a whole I dont see them as the two most unpopular kids.

NeedaHaircut wrote:

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] Yeah, I forgot about the gay secret thing. It must have grown some legs though as I've seen it come up more than it should regarding this incident.

It came up right after the massacre. One of the first articles that Dave Cullen ever wrote about Columbine addressed the issue.

[quote="hvernon"]

slippy123 wrote:

Norwegian wrote:

As for this whole 'goth/loner/outcast'- thing, none of that makes any sense. Im not sure where that even came from. I can't phantom how the media pushed that story and choze to believe in that stuff. It seems very familiar to how the media tacled the church burnings in Norway. It's this whole idea that when something seems to good to be true, it usually is.[/quote.

True. Goths tend to have all kinds of religious and political views. Most of them are pretty much harmless. The goths and metalheads Ive met are usually nice . My own personal experience is that the worst problem you can run into are elitists and gatekeepers, but other than that most people seems rather chill.

Satanism seems more or less like a personal philosophy for most satanists.

I think people were quick to assume that all kids who aren't popular, listen to darker music, and dress different are losers.
At the end of the day the media is in the business of selling a good story, and the whole "trench coat wearing goths" shot up a school thing was a real attention grabber back then.

'99 was really at the end of the "Satanic Panic", but the TCM goth thing fit that narrative very well.