Vivian
asked
Dave Cullen:
(Hopefully no one has asked these.) 1) In the book, you mention that psychopaths rarely keep long-term goals; they simply get bored. How did Eric plan and execute the shooting/bombing if he was seemingly unable to maintain other goals? 2) Eric/Dylan (Eric especially) seemed to hate a lot of minorities. Why didn't they target any?
Dave Cullen
I'll take the easy one first, #2:
I didn't get the impression they did. Where did you sense that he/they did?
Scroll through Eric's "What I Hate!!!" website page, and you'll see him ripping on every category imaginable.
Be careful not to cherry pick phrases that might jump out at you like niggers, spics and fags. For most people, hearing that one time indicates their racist/homophobic/whatever. But Eric was lashing out at everyone. He uses every demeaning term to insult everyone he can--including people who like "cuntry" music and star wars, drive slow in the fast lane ...
Agent Fuselier counseled me many times to step back at the big picture, which Eric actually verbalized perfectly in the first line of his journal: "I hate the fucking world." That is not a one-off. It's not a cherry pick, because it is extremely representative and summarizing of all the rest--and telling that when he sat down to capture it, he began with that.
I have the whole "I Hate" page scanned onto my new Columbine Guide here: https://www.columbine-guide.com/colum...
I didn't get the impression they did. Where did you sense that he/they did?
Scroll through Eric's "What I Hate!!!" website page, and you'll see him ripping on every category imaginable.
Be careful not to cherry pick phrases that might jump out at you like niggers, spics and fags. For most people, hearing that one time indicates their racist/homophobic/whatever. But Eric was lashing out at everyone. He uses every demeaning term to insult everyone he can--including people who like "cuntry" music and star wars, drive slow in the fast lane ...
Agent Fuselier counseled me many times to step back at the big picture, which Eric actually verbalized perfectly in the first line of his journal: "I hate the fucking world." That is not a one-off. It's not a cherry pick, because it is extremely representative and summarizing of all the rest--and telling that when he sat down to capture it, he began with that.
I have the whole "I Hate" page scanned onto my new Columbine Guide here: https://www.columbine-guide.com/colum...
More Answered Questions
Neil Brennan
asked
Dave Cullen:
(Not finished the book yet but...) Columbine is amongst the finest books I've read all year - wondering if there were any particular dark moments in the writing process? Both on your end with frustrations in the writing process and in other ways with the dark subject matter...
Corey Heinz
asked
Dave Cullen:
Hi Dave, I just finished "Columbine," and found it riveting all the way through. Very well done! The question I kept wondering while reading was, upon publication, what was the reaction like from the survivors you wrote about? Were they mostly pleased with the story you told? Did they feel that you gave an accurate depiction of all the events? Or were they upset with how you portrayed the community and tragedy? Thanks
Ami
asked
Dave Cullen:
Columbine really helped me to understand the story behind that tragedy, including the mentality of Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris. I think of it whenever I, unfortunately, hear of another similar tragedy. Do you feel like that analysis remains true for many of the similar shootings that we hear about, or have the intervening years changed your opinion?
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