A reply to the Littleton rant..
I have been fascinated with the Columbine tragedy. What could possibly make two teenagers kill 12 (I believe it was) of their peers is a mystery to me. You said that you did not believe that what they did was right, but by agreeing with their motives you are actually giving them credibility and that is something they DO NOT deserve.
I guess my take on the entire Littleton thing is this: Two mentally disturbed kids went unnoticed in the system and killed innocent children. I do not believe they had a right to or even a reason; I do not believe that they had it so darn hard. To begin with, I believe Dylan and Eric were the bad guys and I dare not place them on a heroic level as some outcasts may. I have read far too many articles that make them out to be martyrs. They are nothing of the sort. If they were really, truly that unhappy about their social standing that they felt they had to kill everyone, well don't you think maybe they would have tried to talk or make friends with people? They didn't.
Dylan enjoyed his place in the school. He liked being the under-dog. You know, I have been told that I have an 'outgoing' personality, this may be true, but I know for a fact that you don't need to have my personality to make friends. All you have to do is say hello to ONE person you usually don't greet and you've made a friend. All you have to do is try to be accepted and you will be.
Now you may ask, "Why do I have to try to be accepted? Why can't we all just get along and live a marvellous and happy life and have all of society join hands and sing?" Well here is why: Certain characteristics in society are unacceptable. To hate everyone, glare at people, and think thoughts of murder? That is not right. I would NEVER stand for that. If you are a nerd and different, that alone will not separate you from society. I am a nerd I have tons of nerd friends, we get along great and none of us contemplate murder, death, or suicide.
They best way I can describe who in my opinion Dylan and Eric were, I will venture to explain to you what they must be like. Recently, I spoke with a boy that everyone hated in my school. I decided to talk to him one day, just 'cause I felt bad for him, the 'outcast'. We talked for about an hour. During that time he lied to me, made fun of my beliefs and tried to make himself out to be a victim of society. I did not let this deter my attempts at making him my friend. When I thought I had finally succeeded, he said the worst thing I think another human being can ever say:
"I agree with what those kids did in Littleton, but I don't agree with their method." This is where I thought he would redeem himself, but he went on to say, "I would have used more bombs and not so much gunfire."
I asked him a question then, "Would you kill me then, friend?" The answer, a cold and determined, "Yes. I wouldn't hesitate to shoot you." I couldn't believe it, I gasped.
"Yes even now, knowing you. To me, you are just a member of a society that has treated me so f____ing bad and I would not think twice about murdering you."
From this I gathered that we would not be friends, but not because of me, the dreaded 'normal' member of society, but because of him; because he LIKED being the exile. In the same way, I think Dylan and Eric wanted to be the ones who were hated. They had no higher purpose in killing. They just killed for the sake of destruction. They made videos and blamed the kids in Columbine, their parents, the world, but all along they were the cause of their own demise. I suppose I would hate society too if I knew the reason it hated me was because of who I was and not because of what I looked like. Maybe that's why so many people are fake they try to make sure the 'real' them is never seen. Eric and Dylan were despicable and never for a second do they deserve anything but strong disapproval.
They were weak for they never asked for help. They were cowards because they killed themselves in the end. They were fools because they caused their own problems. And finally, they were pathetic because they thought they would get sympathy. They don't deserve our understanding and I am sad to say I am glad that they have left the earth because God only knows how much more horror they could have caused.
That's how I feel about Columbine, what I think about Dylan and Eric. I hope I didn't step on any toes, but I don't apologize if I did. I am right.
Those two crazy psychos were wrong. Thanks!
- Renata