Was Eric always that rageful?

The only "outburst" I remember from pre-high school Eric was when he screamed at Dylan during a soccer game (I think Dylan shrugged and told his parents that "Eric is like that sometimes").

But I'm wondering; was he always so full of rage, or did this happen later in life? Do we have any interviews from people who knew him before he moved to Colorado? I think that kids are more prone to outbursts than teens and adults, since they're still testing the boundaries of what is and isn't socially acceptable, and if I'm right in that I'd think Eric would have had more outbursts earlier in life.

Thoughts?

When Eric was an underclassmen, so in 9th or 10th grade I believe he punched a wall but other than that you don’t hear a lot of things about angry Eric. Now the summer before junior year that’s when he yelled it Dylan about the soccer game. But it always seems that junior year that was the tipping point for both of them. And I always wonder what happen around that time? Because there are signs of distress even before the van break in.

We have some ideas of why Dylan started to feel the way he was feeling around Junior year but not a lot about Eric. Junior year is when Eric started dressing differently as well. He started dressing all in black with his combat boots, no longer preppy like he used to

Screamingophelia wrote:

When Eric was an underclassmen, so in 9th  or 10th grade I believe he punched a wall but other than that you don’t hear a lot of things about angry Eric. Now the summer before junior year that’s when he yelled it Dylan about the soccer game. But it always seems that junior year that was the tipping point for both of them. And I always wonder what happen around that time? Because there are signs of distress even before the van break in.

We have some ideas of why Dylan started to feel the way he was feeling around Junior year but not a lot about Eric. Junior year is when Eric started dressing differently as well. He started dressing  all in black with his combat boots,  no longer preppy like he used to

Didn't Eric also yell at a girl in the high school parking lot and Dylan got upset about it? She ran into Dylans car or something like that accidentally?

bradt93 wrote:

Screamingophelia wrote:

When Eric was an underclassmen, so in 9th  or 10th grade I believe he punched a wall but other than that you don’t hear a lot of things about angry Eric. Now the summer before junior year that’s when he yelled it Dylan about the soccer game. But it always seems that junior year that was the tipping point for both of them. And I always wonder what happen around that time? Because there are signs of distress even before the van break in.

We have some ideas of why Dylan started to feel the way he was feeling around Junior year but not a lot about Eric. Junior year is when Eric started dressing differently as well. He started dressing  all in black with his combat boots,  no longer preppy like he used to

Didn't Eric also yell at a girl in the high school parking lot and Dylan got upset about it? She ran into Dylans car or something like that accidentally?

Yes and Dylan told him to get back in the car. Dylan wasn’t upset.

Screamingophelia wrote:

When Eric was an underclassmen, so in 9th  or 10th grade I believe he punched a wall but other than that you don’t hear a lot of things about angry Eric. Now the summer before junior year that’s when he yelled it Dylan about the soccer game. But it always seems that junior year that was the tipping point for both of them. And I always wonder what happen around that time? Because there are signs of distress even before the van break in.

We have some ideas of why Dylan started to feel the way he was feeling around Junior year but not a lot about Eric. Junior year is when Eric started dressing differently as well. He started dressing  all in black with his combat boots,  no longer preppy like he used to

When you look at the entire timeline of what we've been given it was 10th grade year where both boys started to change. It was when they were sophomores, not juniors. Eric definitely always had that explosive anger even back then. In his 10th grade year, he would always bitch and scream at Brooks, because they were about to be late to class, however, when Brooks told Eric to fuck off because he was in his car and didn't have his own, Eric started to hate Brooks. He started to hate Brooks so much that he decided to post his phone number on his website threatening his entire family along with him, and threatening to burn down his house, and piss on his and his families' bodies if I recall.

It was also at that point in their sophomore year in late 1996 where they started to vandalize people's houses (aka "Rebel Missions"), along with setting pipe bombs (they were already building them at that point), and would be on top of the roof shooting at kids with their BB guns who came to nearby houses for Trick or Treating. Dylan also started writing down in his journal in his 10th grade year pretty much stating he hated life in general, and all this other shit.

They were both ticking time bombs. It was only a matter of time. I really don't think either of those boys would've lived normal lives. I really don't.

Eric could have had bad attitude at 8 already [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

he was a virgin lol

Heinrich94 wrote:

he was a virgin lol

Well, he had a chance with Susan, but he only kissed her on the cheek. How lame is that?

bradt93 wrote:

Heinrich94 wrote:

he was a virgin lol

Well, he had a chance with Susan, but he only kissed her on the cheek. How lame is that?

Wouldn't be surprised if it was the first time he had ever had a girl in his room lol, he probably wouldn't have even known what to do with her even if she had stripped naked and begged him for his cock.

Kinda wish we had more footage of him interacting with his peers, like we see in the cafeteria tape. Would be interesting to see how beta/submissive/nice guy he was... which kinda reminds me of a theory I had.. I think one of the reasons he was able to "manipulate" adults (so many thought he was such a mature, responsible and intelligent young man) wasn't because he was the master of disguise that Cullen wants him to have been, but because he was so tame and harmless. Potential sexual partners and competing males may have smelt the weakness on him a mile off, but adults would have seen him as delightful since he wasn't likely to cause any problems.. just a theory, though.

Indeed he was intelligent but he was immature what goes to his tantrums.He was still a kid inside.

You all do realize you’re talking about 17-year-old children in a very conservative town, right? This is not a John Hughes movie... And again making fun of boys for being virgins isn’t really helping...

Screamingophelia wrote:

When Eric was an underclassmen, so in 9th  or 10th grade I believe he punched a wall but other than that you don’t hear a lot of things about angry Eric.

I remember Kathy Harris talking about this very subject to Mauser's parents, and if memory recalls, she said that Eric was rarely angry. I am not sure if she is referring to Eric's temperament in the days leading up to the massacre, or if she's talking about the years prior.

Screamingophelia wrote:

You all do realize you’re talking about 17-year-old children in a very conservative town, right? This is not a John Hughes movie... And again making fun of boys for being virgins isn’t really helping...

I'm not exactly making fun of Eric, though he didn't end up doing anything that didn't warrant it.. I'm just trying to point something out, though I may be crass in doing so.
I can sympathize with him and his point of view. I didn't loose my virginity for nearly a year after my male friends, so I'm aquinated with not only that frustration. I also share an awful lot of interests/views/beliefs/likes with Eric, and so I can identify with him a lot. I just hate that he threw his life away and those of innocent people, because things get better and he could have done great things with his life. he was intelligent and different enough to be cool, in my eyes, but that coolness ended on April 20th.

If I had been one of his peers I think I would have been his friend, though he may have hated me.. but I really wish I could have been his older brother or an older peer who was a role model. I wish him and Dylan didn't die that day as much as I wish their victims didn't.

Rebbie556 wrote:

Indeed he was intelligent but he was immature what goes to his tantrums.He was still a kid inside.

It's not always that simple, unfortunately. Eric didn't have any control over his temper because of an imbalance in his brain chemistry, there's a reason if he was taking fluvoxamine. There are indeed many people with sharp minds on the borderline / bipolar spectrum that just go full blown psychotic when a minor inconvenience happens, it's something they have no control over

Amarantha wrote:

Rebbie556 wrote:

Indeed he was intelligent but he was immature what goes to his tantrums.He was still a kid inside.

It's not always that simple, unfortunately. Eric didn't have any control over his temper because of an imbalance in his brain chemistry, there's a reason if he was taking fluvoxamine. There are indeed many people with sharp minds on the borderline / bipolar spectrum that just go full blown psychotic when a minor inconvenience happens, it's something they have no control over

You think Eric may have been BPD? I've wondered about that for awhile but never seen it mentioned till now

I've read in the net that psychiatricmedications for ppl with bipolar disorder could make it worse
For example having manic episodes making it even worse , homicidal thoughts and the list continues
We can't diagnose post mortem, but I'm 100% sure Eric had BPD everything he had speaks for BPD.
I wonder if the medication has same effects on BPD as in bipolar....

I have bipolar and I'm taking lithium. It mostly helps though I'm having problems now, because our beloved poodle died on May 30th who was with us for 15 years. I'm still grieving over that.

bradt93 wrote:

I have bipolar and I'm taking lithium. It mostly helps though I'm having problems now, because our beloved poodle died on May 30th who was with us for 15 years. I'm still grieving over that.

I'm sorry about your dog; that's always so hard. i hope knowing that 15 yrs was a nice, long life helps bring you and your family some comfort.

No. He mentions in the Basement Tapes about keeping piling on the rage, doing hand gestures. It takes a lot of shit in your life over a considerable amount of time to hold so much hatred and anger.

Did he always have it in him?
You would almost have to think he always had it in him. It takes a LOT of building up to go on a murderous rampage and then commit suicide.

Did he always show it?
Just on occasion. It would’ve ruined his dream plan. Remember — the amount of people he fooled and the adults that would’ve considered him “charming.” (At least those they didn’t know him).

He was depressed. He was suicidal. He was homicidal. He was angry.

He was, for lack of a better phrase, very troubled.

From what Ive read,he became more resentful the older he got. If I remember correctly. I dont think anything set him ofg like a run in with the law. Langmann suggested that there were probably a number of setbacks, such as that incident, which became a probable motive for hes attack.

Rebbie556 wrote:

I've read in the net that  psychiatricmedications for ppl with bipolar disorder  could make it worse
For example having manic episodes making it even worse , homicidal thoughts and the list continues
We can't diagnose post mortem, but I'm 100% sure Eric had BPD everything he had speaks for  BPD.
I wonder if  the medication has same effects on BPD as in bipolar....

I have bpd, and i've used fluvoxamin. Sorry, English is not my native language. It was horrible

One has to wonder how much of the image of Eric as "full of rage" is because of the perps taking "You know what I hate" from MadTV, for fun, rather than the attack or his other comments.

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I would compare it to the image of him one sometimes sees as a camo wearing, prepper, patriot-movement, sovereign citizen type of McVeigh acolyte due to their aspirations of being a marine and topping McVeigh's body count and saying things like America Love it or Leave it.

I don't think he always got it in him and always hated how Sue seems to insist that Dylan wasn't a monster but happily just throws Eric under the "crazy angry out of nowhere" bus, even when they had obvious similar anger issues. Eric was just more vocal, and probably, as Randy Browns says too, bc of how things were handled at his house.
I have an ex military dad and he has a real nightmare of a temper when he gets angry, I can easily believe Eric was just an amplified version of what he saw at home.
Moving around constantly, losing friends, being small and thin, strict parents at home, bullying at school, few friends and too much free and alone time... I mean, there's just too much of shit someone that young can resist, without a single vent, before he explodes.