Comprehending ColumbineOn April 20, 1999, two Colorado teenagers went on a shooting rampage at Columbine High School. That day, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold killed twelve fellow students and a teacher, as well as wounding twenty-four other people, before they killed themselves. Although there have been other books written about the tragedy, this is the first serious, impartial investigation into the cultural, environmental, and psychological causes of the massacre.Based on first-hand interviews and a thorough reading of the relevant literature, Ralph Larkin examines the complex of factors that led the two young men to plan and carry out their deed. For Harris and Klebold, Larkin concludes, the carnage was an act of revenge against the jocks who had harassed and humiliated them, retribution against evangelical students who acted as if they were morally superior, an acting out of the mythology of right-wing paramilitary organization members to die in a blaze of glory, and a deep desire for notoriety.Rather than simply looking at Columbine as a crucible for all school violence, Larkin places the tragedy in its proper context, and in doing so, examines its causes and meaning. |
Contents
1 | |
17 | |
CULTURAL WARS AT COLUMBINE | 39 |
THE PEER STRUCTURE OF COLUMBINE HIGH | 62 |
THE OTHER COLUMBINE | 82 |
ERIC AND DYLAN | 122 |
FROM OKLAHOMA CITY TO COLUMBINE | 155 |
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
administration adolescent adult American anti-Semitism antiviolence apparently April 20 assault athletes basement tapes behavior bombs boys Brooks Brown bullying cafeteria Cassie Bernall celebrity Christian coaches Colorado Columbine High School Columbine Research Columbine shootings Columbine students conflict resolution Cullen culture dents Dylan Klebold elite Eric and Dylan Eric Harris Eric's evangelical community evangelical students female football football players football team friends fucking girls Glen Ridge going goth harassment Harris and Dylan Harris and Klebold interview intimidation Jefferson County Sheriff's jocks kids kill Klebold and Harris knew Larkin leading crowd Littleton lives major males outcast students paramilitary parents peer group peer structure postmodern Predators Principal DeAngelis punk punk rock Rachel Scott rampage shootings Recorded April religious reported sexual shot skinheads social southern Jefferson County status subcultures talk teacher thing Trenchcoat Mafia victims videotapes violence York youth Zoba
Popular passages
Page 253 - Silverman is an assistant professor of government and public administration at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, City University of New York. He...