Columbine, the book

Columbine, by Dave Cullen is worth reading if you are interested in psychopathology and why people do violent things.

Eric Harris was a psychopath and Dylan Klebold suffered from depression. These two were so depressed and alienated from life that they both believed that all of humankind, even themselves, were better off dead. Based on this belief, they set out to kill as many people as they could, and to push their statement into as many heads and hearts as they could.

The question is in my mind, did anyone really hear and what difference has it made?

Dave Cullen is a reporter and a journalist. He spent 10 years collecting information from multiple perspectives and trying to make sense out of this tragedy. Mr. Cullen is not looking to blame, accuse, or persecute. He is looking to understand. I think he does an excellent job and I learned a lot from this book.

The most important thing I learned is that we do not take kids and adolescents seriously in our culture. Our children are not perceived as an assett but as a liability. They are not to be invited or expected to participate significantly in our society but rather to be segregated, stay in their place, and comply with adult expectations. Those kids who submit and comply will be not only rewarded but adulated while those kids who question the hypocrisy are perceived as trouble and marginalized.

Eric and Dylan understood the game and decided to try to get the attention of the adult world by making a statement. The statement of violence and death was that they were not buying it. They acted out in response to what Holden Caufield called in the Catcher In The Rye, the "big lie".

They did get our attention, but sadly, not much understanding. Mr. Cullen makes a good beginning at collecting the facts but even the word "Columbine" strikes fear into the hearts of those who have a vested interest in the status quo and who would want to subjugate young people to keep them in their place. Unfortunately, not everyone is willing to submit to the system and when the vengeance bubbles over it becomes deadly.

As a therapist, I don't know what I would have had to offer either Eric or Dylan other than understanding for their anger, reassurance for their fears, and hope that they might find something in the world that would make their lives worth living for.