"Columbine" by Dave Cullen--Parts II & III Discussion Guide by Allen Loibner-Waitkus

DISCUSSION GUIDE

COLUMBINE BY DAVE CULLEN

“Part II: After and Before” & “Part III: The Downward Spiral”

COVER PHOTO: Grief overcomes Columbine High School students Jessica Holliday and Diwana Perez moments after they fled the school during a violent rampage by two fellow students 20 April 1999.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Outline..............................................................5 Discussion Questions....................................15 Important Quotations...................................16 Footnotes........................................................20 The Downward Spiral Lyrics........................29 Important Photos...........................................32 Psychopathy Checklist.................................34 Juvenile Psychopathy Checklist.................35 Photos of Those Killed.................................36 Colophon & Links...........................................37

OUTLINE “PART II: AFTER AND BEFORE” “CHAPTER 20: VACANT” • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

“Blankness” Notifications of Victims’ Families Meeting at Light of the World Students “Out of Sync” with Parents Student/Media Relationship Rachel Scott’s Car Killers’ Families Hire Attorneys The Blame Game Conspiracy Theories The Crime Scene Dr. Dwayne Fuselier1 Kate Battan2 John Kiekbusch3 Likely Conspirators: Brooks Brown4 Chris Morris5 Robyn Anderson6 9 Others • Collection of Evidence & Crime Scene • Killers’ Handling of Evidence • 500 Interviews in 72 Hours “CHAPTER 21: FIRST MEMORIES” • Harris’s Childhood: Petty Crimes Signs Fireworks Explosions Starting Fires Military Brat His Parents Punishment Sports Minority Friends 5

Shy Fear of Failure Dreams of Being a Marine Doom7 His Brother “CHAPTER 22: RUSH TO CLOSURE” • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

“Healing Begins” Bodies Returned Inflated Accounts DeAngelis8 & Crying Masculinity & Emotion How Should They Finish Out the Year? Should the School Be Destroyed? “The Enemy” Evangelicals Response of Moderate Denominations Re-creation of Attack How Did the Killers Obtain the Guns? Mistakes Building the Bombs Robyn Anderson’s Police Interview Bomb Squad’s Findings Implications of the Bombs The Media’s Lens

“CHAPTER 23: GIFTED BOY” • Klebold’s Childhood: CHIPS9 Shyness Parents Sports “Hated to Lose” The Klebold House Judy & Brooks Brown Early Growth Temper • The Killers’ Similarities & Differences: Similarity—Younger of Two Sons Similarity—Two-parent Families 6

• • • •

Similarity—Two-child Families Similarity—Lived in Small Towns Difference—Klebolds Had More Money Difference—Harrises Were More Mobile Similarity—“Each boy grew up in the shadow of a single older sibling: a bigger, taller, stronger brother.” Similarity—Hobbies Similarity—Classes Similarity—Job Similarity—Friends Similarity—Clothing Choices Similarity—Clubs Difference—“Dylan always saw himself as inferior. The anger and the loathing traveled inward.” Sue10 & Tom11 Klebold’s Biography Sue & Tom Klebold Avoided Spoiling Their Sons The Klebold’s Actual House12 “Cradle to Reality”

“CHAPTER 24: HOUR OF NEED” • • • • •

• • • • • •

Reverend Marxhausen13 & the St. Philip Lutheran Church Klebold’s Funeral Arrangements Klebold’s Funeral Service Tom’s & Sue’s Reactions Klebold’s “Just Talk for a While” Eulogies: Tom: “Where did the guns come from?” Tom: “Where did the violence come from?” Tom: “What was this Nazi stuff?” Sue: “And the anti-Semitism?” Sue: “Dylan was half Jewish, what kind of sense did this make?” Unnamed Family Friend: “They were such good parents.” Unnamed Family Friend: “Dylan was a great kid.” Unnamed Family Friend: “He was like our son!” Byron: “I love my brother.” Story of Absalom14 Klebold’s Cremation Reverend Marxhausen & the Media Congregation’s Mixed Reaction Harris’s Funeral Harris Family & the Media 7

“CHAPTER 25: THREESOME” • • • • • • • • • • • •

How Harris & Klebold Met Brooks Brown Enrolls at Columbine “Three Aspiring Intellectuals” Harris “Breaks Through His Shell” Fake Suicide “I Am” Poem Harris’s Ugly Dreams Kibble15 “Understands” Klebold Antics of Killers, Zack Heckler, Nate Dykeman16 & Chris Morris The Threesome: Harris, Klebold & Heckler Harris’s Improved Doom Skills “Similarities Between Zeus and I”

“CHAPTER 26: HELP IS ON THE WAY” • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Reaction of Dave Sanders’s Daughters Shooting of Sanders17 Sanders Moved to Science Room 3 First Aid Officials Informed of Sander’s Condition Red Flag & “1 Bleeding to Death” “Tell my girls I love them.” SWAT Team Doesn’t Remove Sanders Paramedic Enters Sanders Declared Dead Sanders’s Story Gets Out Police Response Questioned Jeffco Sheriff’s Spokesman Lies “Pathetic” Statement “System a Disaster”

“CHAPTER 27: BLACK” • • • • • • 8

Harris & Klebold Evolve Harris’s “Look” Klebold’s Lesser Change Outcasts? Duster18 Enters TCM

“CHAPTER 28: MEDIA CRIME” • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

TCM & Goth Myths Unsupported Connections: Why? First Print Story Final Portrait Story Evolves Repeating It Back “Failure to Question” Jock, Hat & Black Myths Student=Witness Denver Post & Rocky Mountain News Clement Park PTSD Survivor’s Guilt Patrick Ireland’s19 Condition Makai Hall Hope for Patrick Ireland Anger Deflected Gay Rumors Goth Rumors Andrew Mitchell Shows Up Bullying? “Toxic” “The Data Is There”

“CHAPTER 29: THE MISSIONS” • • • • • • • • • • •

Harris’s “Crucial Step” “The Missions” Tularecito20 Snowball Incident Brooks Brown Spills His Guts Judy Brown’s21 Visit Harris Tricks His Dad Judy Brown’s 911 Call Timer Experiments Dean Place Dylan’s Lack of Happiness

“CHAPTER 30: TELLING US WHY” • • • • • • • • • • •

Jeffco’s Problem Rough Time for Brown Family “Open Space Meeting” Repeated Lies Disappearing File Wiretap Duran’s Admission Manes’s Confession Fuselier: “Why?” “The Basement Tapes” Harris’s Journal

“PART III: THE DOWNWARD SPIRAL” “CHAPTER 31: THE SEEKER” • • • • • • • •

Klebold & Girls Pain “VoDKa” Suicide Klebold’s Journal God Order Harris’s Journal

“CHAPTER 32: JESUS JESUS JESUS” • • • •

Churches & Mourners Prayer in Schools The Media & Cassie Bernall22 Craig Scott23

“CHAPTER 33: GOOD-BYE” • Klebold & God • Zombies • Missions • Petty Theft 10

• • • • • • • • • •

What Harris Hates First Bombs Zack Heckler Lands a Girlfriend “Harriet” Klebold Wants a Gun Klebold & Love Insane? Psychotic? Psychopathy Depression & Murder

“CHAPTER 34: PICTURE-PERFECT MARSUPIALS” • Patrick Ireland’s Recovery Condiment Understanding of Tragedy Communication “How Long?” Valedictorian • Something Missing • Wooden Crosses • Killers’ Crosses • “Are You Ready to Forgive?” • “Dad Destroys Crosses” • The Carpenter “CHAPTER 35: ARREST” • • • • • •

• • • • •

School Computer Parents’ Reactions Threesome Over Harris’s Anger Natural Born Killers24 Thing Klebold Identifies with: Nine Inch Nails’s The Downward Spiral25 David Lynch’s Lost Highway26 Too Simplistic Harris Gets Sloppy Byron Klebold27 Kicked Out Klebold Explores a Spree Harris Takes Note of School Shooters 11

• • • • • • • • • • •

Harris Researches Guns “Harriet” Waves? 19 People, 19 Failures Harris Loses Virginity Klebold Gets Caught/Harris Doesn’t Picking on Underclassmen Killers Detonate Pipe Bombs Killers Break into Van Arrest Dylan Folds Harris Blames Klebold

“CHAPTER 36: CONSPIRACY” • 3 Possible Crimes: Participation in Attack Participation in Planning Guilty Knowledge • Killers Sloppy • Friends Break Quickly, But Not Far • Witnesses Identify Robert Perry & Joe Stair • Conspiracy Theory Slips Away • 3rd Shooter? • What Accounts for the Confusion? • DeAngelis’s Memory • Accurate Picture Impossible • Kristi Epling28 & Harris’s Notes • Epling Admits Letters Exist • Dan • The Marines Theory • Luvox • Killers’ Parents’ Interviews Ground Rules • Tom & Sue Klebold’s Interview: Stuffed Animals Privacy Tom & Dylan Best Friends “Tight Buddies” No Girlfriend Judy Brown & Harrises Ask to Read Anything • No Other Interviews • NRA Convention 12

• • • • • • • • • •

Marylin Manson29 Tom Mauser30 Charlton Heston31 Vacuum After Conspiracy Theory Evaporates “Final Act Among Their Cruelest” “Real Objective: Why?” No One to Try Except Gun Providers Sheriff Stone “Drives Team Nuts” “Blackout” Tornadoes Hit Oklahoma

“CHAPTER 37: BETRAYED” • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Wayne Harris: Eric Needed Help Dr. Kevin Albert Diversion Program Sounds Ideal Boys Punished Pipe Bomb Found Killers’ Response to Arrest Klebold Starts Seeing It Harris’s Way Andrea Sanchez Harris Embraces Murder & Klebold Retreats Klebold Tells Brooks Brown About Website Browns Call the Cops Diversion Intake Meeting Court Hearing Approved for Diversion Browns Keep Calling the Cops Guerra’s Search Warrant Harris Takes Website Down

“CHAPTER 38: MARTYR” • • • • • • • •

“Martyrs’ Hall of Fame” Perpetua & Felicity32 Possession & Letters “Enemy Shook Free” Valeen Schnurr33 “Usurper” Brad & Misty Bernall: “Blessed Parents of the Martyr” Emily Wyant34: “Why Are They Saying That?” 13

• • • • • • • •

Wyant’s Interview Book Suggested She Said Yes: The Unlikely Martyrdom of Cassie Bernall Craig Scott’s Erroneous Account Police Inform Bernalls Daughter’s Story Untrue Wyant-Bernall Dinner Schnurrs & Book Publisher “Marketing a Columbine Martyr”

“CHAPTER 39: THE BOOK OF GOD” • • • • •

“Screws Tightening” The Book of God “Natural Selection Failed” Harris’s Lies Fuselier: Harris a Psychopath35

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS • What’s up with the title of “Part II”? • Provide a brief character sketch of each killer. Were they similar? What drew them together? • How did Dylan see himself? How did his self-image compare to objective assessments (for example, based on his social calendar, how his friends saw him, etc.)? • Pretend you are Sue Klebold. How would “you” (Sue) feel about Dylan and the controversy? • How do you feel the media handled Columbine? • How do you feel Jeffco handled Columbine? • What role did depression play in the attack? Would Dylan have killed people if he’d been diagnosed and treated? • Identify the key characteristics of a psychopath. Explain how psychopathy differs from psychosis, and why it’s so dangerous. Illustrate how Eric Harris fit the profile. Were there any contradictions between his behavior and the profile? • Where do psychopaths come from? Describe the current theories. How often are psychopaths violent? • Explain which subset of psychopathy Eric Harris falls into. • Can psychopathy be cured? What have we learned about treatment? Identify the early warning signs.

IMPORTANT QUOTATIONS •

• “‘You know, he might have lived,’ the Rohrboughs’ pastor would tell fifteen hundred mourners at Danny’s funeral. ‘He chose to stay there and hold the door for others so that they might go out before him and make their way to safety. They made it and Danny didn’t.’” • “‘I smell the presence of Satan,’ Reverend Oudemolen thundered from the pulpit Sunday morning. ‘What we saw Tuesday came from Satan’s home office. Satan had a plan. Satan wants us to live in fear in Littleton. He wants us to see black trench coats or people in Goth attire and makeup and here’s what he wants us to feel: Look how powerful and scary Satan is!’” • “Reverend Don Marxhausen disagreed with all the riffs on Satan. He saw two boys with hate in their hearts and assault weapons in their hands. He saw a society that needed to figure out how and why—fast. Blaming Satan was just letting them off easy, he felt, and copping out on our responsibility to investigate. The ‘end of days’ fantasy was even more infuriating.” • “Had the propane bombs detonated, they would have incinerated most or all of the inhabitants of the commons. They would have killed five hundred people in the first few seconds. Four times the toll in Oklahoma City. More than the ten worst domestic terrorist attacks in U.S. history combined.” • “That same day, officials announced the discovery of the big bombs, and their destructive power. It instigated a new media shock wave. But, curiously, journalists failed to grasp the implications. Detectives let go of the targeting theory immediately. It had been sketchy to begin with, and now it was completely disproved. The media never shook it off. They saw what happened at Columbine as a shooting and the killers as outcasts targeting jocks. They filtered every new development through that lens.” • “Absalom skillfully ingratiated himself to his father, the court, and all the kingdom but secretly plotted to seize the throne. Eventually, he thrust Israel into civil war. He appeared poised to vanquish his father, but David’s generals prevailed. The king was

informed first of the triumph, then of his son’s death. ‘David’s grief made the victory like a defeat, and the people stole silently into the city,’ Marxhausen read from 2 Samuel. ‘David wept and cried out, “O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! Would God I had died for thee, O Absalom, my son.”’” • “Dylan and Zack needed Eric. Someone had to do the talking. Eric needed an audience; he also craved excitement. He was cool and detached, tough to rattle. Nothing seemed to faze him. Dylan was an unlit fuse. Eric led the parade. Perfect fit.” • “Eric enjoyed the act of creation. ‘I often try to create new things,’ he wrote in a freshman English paper titled ‘Similarities Between Zeus and I.’ He hailed both of them as great leaders, finding no fault in their pettiness or malice but identifying common inclinations. ‘Zeus and I also get angry easily and punish people in unusual ways,’ he wrote.” • “For Dylan, different was difficult. For Eric, different was good.” • “Eventually, after the TCM heyday was over, Eric got himself a trench coat. Dylan followed. They wore them to the massacre, for both fashion and functional considerations. The choice would cause tremendous confusion.” • “We remember Columbine as a pair of outcast Goths from the Trench Coat Mafia snapping and tearing through their high school hunting down jocks to settle a long-running feud. Almost none of that happened. No Goths, no outcasts, nobody snapping. No targets, no feud, and no Trench Coat Mafia.” • “The writers assumed kids were informing the media. It was the other way around.” • “‘Student’ equaled ‘witness.’ Witness to everything that happened that day, and anything about the killers. It was a curious leap. Reporters would not make that mistake at a car wreck. Did you see it? If not, they move on. But journalists felt like foreigners stepping into teen culture. They knew kids can hide anything from adults—but not from each other. That was the mentality: Something shocking happened here; we’re baffled, but kids know. So all two thousand were deputized as insiders.”

• “Eric totally rocked on the missions. Dylan enjoyed them, too—he liked the camaraderie, especially. He fit in there, he had a role to play, he belonged. But the missions were brief diversions; they were not making him happy. In fact, Dylan was miserable.” • “Eric would prove the easier killer to understand. Eric always knew what he was up to. Dylan did not.” • “Everything about Dylan screamed depressive—an extreme case, self-medicating with alcohol. The problem was how that had led to murder. Dylan’s journal read like that of a boy on the road to suicide, not homicide.” • “[Dylan Klebord] sat down and considered who loved him. He listed their names on a page in his journal. He drew little hearts beside three. Nineteen people. Nineteen failures.” • “So what accounted for all the confusion? ‘Eyewitness testimony, in general, is not very accurate,’ one investigator explained. ‘Put that together with gunshots going off and just the most terrifying situation in their life, what they remember now may not be anywhere near what really happened.’ Human memory can be erratic. We tend to record fragments: gunshots, explosions, trench coats, terror, sirens, screams. Images come back jumbled, but we crave coherence, so we trim them, adjust details, and assemble everything together in a story that makes sense. We record vivid details, like the scraggly ponytail flapping against the dirty blue T-shirt of the boy fleeing just ahead. All the way out of the building, a witness may focus on that swishing hair. Later, she remembers a glimpse of the killer: he was tall and lanky—did he have scraggly hair? It fits together, and she connects it. Soon the killer is wearing the dirty blue T-shirt as well. Moments later, and forever after, she is convinced that’s exactly what she saw.” • “The crumbling conspiracy eliminated the primary mission of the task force. The all-star team was left to sort out logistical issues: exactly what had happened, and how. Those were massive investigations, easy to get lost inside. Investigators wanted to retrace every step, reconstruct each moment, place every witness and every buckshot fragment in place and time and context. It was a Herculean effort, and it drew the team’s attention from the real objective: Why? The families wanted to know how their children died, of course, but that was nothing compared to the 18

underlying question.” • “The Schnurrs were less understanding with the publisher. The editor attended the dinner, and Shari asked him to slow down. Her husband followed up with an e-mail. ‘If you go ahead and publish the book, just be careful,’ he wrote. ‘There’s a lot of conflicting information out there.’ He suggested that Plough delay publication until the authorities issued their report. Plough declined.” • “In July, the Wall Street Journal ran a prominent story titled ‘Marketing a Columbine Martyr.’ The publishing house was obscure, but Zimmerman had called in a team of heavy hitters. For public relations, the firm hired the New York team that had handled Monica Lewinsky’s book. Publication was two months away, and Misty had already been booked for The Today Show and 20/20. The William Morris Agency was shopping the film rights around. (A movie was never made.) An agent there had sold book club rights to a unit of Random House. He said he was marketing ‘virtually everything you can exploit—and I mean that in a positive way.’” • “Dr. Fuselier set down the journal. It had taken him about an hour to read, that first time, in the noisy Columbine band room, two or three days after the murders. Now he had a pretty good hunch about what he was dealing with: a psychopath.”

FOOTNOTES things, but he was forced to hold his tongue so as not to step on the toes of the Jeffco sheriff’s department.

as the student who was told to go home by Eric Harris, one of the shooters, just minutes prior to the shooting.

Battan, Kate—A detective for the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department, Battan was named lead investigator of the Columbine Massacre when she arrived at the scene and kept the position throughout the investigation following the massacre.

DWAYNE FUSELIER, PhD

Fuselier, Dwayne, PhD—The head of the FBI’s domestic terrorism unit in Denver at the time of the attack. His son, Brian, was inside Columbine during the shooting, though he was unharmed. Fuselier, a master hostage negotiator and a veteran of the standoff at Waco, Texas, volunteered his services to the Jeffco sheriff’s department and quickly became an essential member of the investigative team charged with unraveling what, exactly, had caused Eric and Dylan to commit such a horrific act. Fuselier became known as an “expert” on the boys’ psychological states in the years, months, and days leading up to the shooting, and was the first person to float the theory that Eric Harris had suffered from psychopathy. Because of the FBI’s restriction on his talking to the press, Fuselier often found himself, in the aftermath of the shooting, in possession of valuable information, which could have set the record straight on many 1

Kiekbusch, John—Jeffco Division Chief and direct supervisor of Battan, Kiekbusch was a rising star who had just been promoted to senior command. 3

Morris, Chris—One of Eric and Dylan’s friends and a coworker at Blackjack who, out of fear and guilt, reported himself to 911 directly after learning about the attacks. Chris knew that the boys were messing around with pipe bombs, and that Eric had asked to store napalm at his house, but had no idea that they were planning an attack. Chris eventually helped investigators to implicate Phil Duran in the sale of the firearms used in the attack through agreeing to a wiretap. Chris was a member of the Trench Coat Mafia, the Columbine clique which was erroneously believed to be behind the attacks.

BROOKS BROWN

Brown, Brooks William—A student at Columbine High School during the massacre that took place on 20 April 1999 in Littleton, Colorado. Brooks Brown was friends with both Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, the two perpetrators of the Columbine Massacre. Brown is known mostly 4

ROBYN ANDERSON

Anderson, Robyn—Dylan Klebold’s 18-year-old prom date (though not a love inter6

est) who, because she was old enough, bought guns for the killers, not (apparently) knowing their intentions.

SCREENSHOT OF DOOM

Doom—(typeset as DOOM in official documents and stylized as DooM in other media) is a 1993 first-person shooter (FPS) video game by id Software. It is considered one of the most significant and influential titles in video game history, for having helped to pioneer the now-ubiquitous first-person shooter. The original game was divided into three nine-level episodes and was distributed via shareware and mail order. The Ultimate Doom, an updated release of the original game featuring a fourth episode, was released in 1995 and sold at retail. In Doom, players assume the role of an unnamed space marine, who became popularly known as “Doomguy,” fighting his way through hordes of invading demons from Hell. With one-third of the game (nine levels) distributed as shareware, Doom was played by an estimated 15–20 million people within 7

two years of its release, popularizing both the business model of online distribution and the mode of gameplay, and spawning a gaming subculture. In addition to popularizing the first-person shooter genre, it pioneered immersive 3D graphics, networked multiplayer gaming, and support for customized additions and modifications via packaged files in a data archive known as “WADs.” As a sign of its effect on the industry, first-person shooter games from the genre’s boomed in the 1990s, helped in no small part by the game’s release, became known simply as “Doom clones.” Its graphic violence, as well as satanic imagery, made Doom the subject of considerable controversy. The Doom franchise was later continued with the follow-up Doom II: Hell on Earth (1994) and numerous expansion packs, including Master Levels for Doom II (1995), and Final Doom (1996). Originally released for MS-DOS, the games have been ported to numerous other platforms. Once the game’s source code was released in 1997, it spawned even more adaptations, as fans further ported the code to countless devices, even on machines that were not designed to run games. The series started to lose mainstream appeal as the technology of the Doom game engine was surpassed in the mid-1990s, although fans have continued making WADs, speedruns, and modifications to the original. The franchise again received pop-

ular attention in 2004 with the release of Doom 3, a retelling of the original game using id Tech 4, with an associated 2005 Doom motion picture. A reboot of the series, simply titled Doom and powered by id Tech 6, was released in 2016 and focused on returning to the fast paced action of the first two games. DeAngelis, Frank—Columbine High School’s principal at the time of the massacre. 8

CHIPS—(“Challenging High Intellectual Potential Students”) Klebold attended Normandy Elementary in Littleton, Colorado for the first two grades before transferring to Governor’s Ranch Elementary and became part of the CHIPS program. 9

SUE KLEBOLD

Klebold, Sue—The mother of Dylan Klebold, one of the two shooters at Columbine High School in 1999 who killed 13 people before ending their own lives, a tragedy that saddened and galvanized the nation. Susan came from a prominent family in Columbus, Ohio, the granddaughter 10

of a philanthropist who build the local Jewish community center that bears his name. She and her husband Tom met at Ohio State University where both were art students. They married in 1971. Tom was eventually hired as a geophysicist for an oil company in Denver, Colorado, and Susan has worked as both a counselor at Arapahoe and Colorado Community Colleges. In 1990 the couple established Fountain Real Estate Management to oversee their rental properties. Sue Klebold has spent the last 15 years excavating every detail of her family life, and trying to understand the crucial intersection between mental health problems and violence. Instead of becoming paralyzed by her grief and remorse, she has become a passionate and effective agent working tirelessly to advance mental health awareness and intervention. Klebold, Tom—Tom met Susan Yassenoff when both were art students at Ohio State University, where he was a year ahead of her. Susan came from a prominent Jewish family in Columbus, the granddaughter of the late philanthropist and construction magnate Leo Yassenoff, who built the local Jewish community center that bears his name. Tom, who also grew up in Ohio, had lost both his parents by the time he was a teenager. They married in 1971. Their first child, Byron, came along in 1978. Tom, who had majored in sculpture before turning to engineering, 11

found work in metro Denver as a geophysicist for Champlin Oil Co. during the oil and gas boom and the family began shaping its own American Dream in suburbia.

in suburbia.” Marxhausen, Don—The Lutheran minister at the church the Klebolds briefly attended. His decision to serve as the officiant at Dylan Klebold’s funeral made his a controversial figure. 13

Absalom—The third son of King David by his wife Maacah, Absalom seemed to have everything going for him, but like other tragic figures in the Bible, he tried to take what was not his. A description of him said no man in Israel had a more handsome appearance. When he cut his hair once a year—only because it became too heavy—it weighed five pounds. It seemed everyone loved him. Absalom had a beautiful sister named Tamar, who was a virgin. Another of David’s sons, Amnon, was their half-brother. Amnon fell in love with Tamar, raped her, then rejected her in disgrace. For two years Absalom kept silent, sheltering Tamar in his home. He had expected his father David to punish Amnon for his incestuous act. When David did nothing, Absalom’s rage and anger seethed into a vengeful plot. One day Absalom invited all the king’s sons to a sheep-shearing festival. When Amnon was celebrating, Absalom ordered his soldiers to kill him. After the assassination, Absalom fled to Geshur, northeast of the Sea of Galilee, to the house of his grandfather. He hid there three years. David missed his son deeply. The Bible says in 2 Samuel 13:37 that David 14

THE KLEBOLD’S HOUSE

The Klebold House—“In 1990, as metro Denver encroached into Jeffco, the Klebolds retreated beyond the hogback, the first strip of foothills hundreds of feet high, which from the air looked like the bumps along a hog’s back. The hogback functions like Denver’s coastline—it feels like civilization ends there. Roads are scarce; homes are distant and highly exclusive. Shops and commerce and activity are almost nonexistent. The family moved into a rundown glass-and-cedar house on Deer Creek Mesa, inside a panoramic rock formation, a smaller version of the Red Rocks Amphitheater, a few miles away. Tom gradually brought the house back into stunning shape. Dylan officially lived in the backcountry now—part-time country boy, riding over to the populated side every morning for school 12

“mourned for his son day after day.” Finally, David allowed him to come back to Jerusalem. Gradually Absalom began to undermine King David, usurping his authority and speaking against him to the people. Under the pretense of honoring a vow, Absalom went to Hebron and began to gather an army. He sent messengers throughout the land, proclaiming his kingship. When King David learned of the rebellion, he and his followers fled Jerusalem. Meanwhile, Absalom took advice from his counselors on the best way to defeat his father. Before the battle, David ordered his troops not to harm Absalom. The two armies clashed at Ephraim, in a large oak forest. Twenty thousand men fell that day. The army of David prevailed. As Absalom was riding his mule under a tree, his hair got entangled in the branches. The mule ran off, leaving Absalom hanging in the air, helpless. Joab, one of David’s generals, took three javelins and thrust them into Absalom’s heart. Then ten of Joab’s armor-bearers circled Absalom and killed him. To his generals’ surprise, David was heartbroken over the death of his son, the man who tried to kill him and steal his throne. He loved Absalom dearly. David’s grief showed the depth of a father’s love over the loss of a son as well as regret for his own personal failures which led to many family and national tragedies. These episodes raise disturbing questions. Was Amnon inspired to rape Tamar because

of David’s sin with Bathsheba? Did Absalom murder Amnon because David had failed to punish him? The Bible does not give specific answers, but when David was an old man, his son Adonijah rebelled in the same way Absalom had. Solomon had Adonijah killed and executed other traitors to make his own reign secure.

and Robyn. As freshmen, he would sometimes accompany Dylan and Eric when they would throw firecrackers and pull pranks on houses of people they didn’t like. Eric referred to these as “the missions” in his journals.”

NATE DYKEMAN

ZACK HECKLER

Heckler, Zack (aka “Kibble”)—“Zack seems very private and there isn’t a lot of information about him. His last name was even kept out of Sue’s [Klebold] book, though she mentions him fairly frequently as being a close friend of Dylan and Nate. I’m not sure how good of friends he was with Eric. Zack and Dylan were reportedly very close until Zack began dating Devon Adams. Dylan was also good friends with Devon, but was nonetheless very jealous of Zack and Devon’s relationship, and he and Zack began to grow apart a little. Zack is one of the three friends doing the “gun pose” with Dylan and Eric in the senior class photo, the other two being Brooks 15

Dykeman, Nate—One of Eric’s friends who was off-campus at the time of the shooting. Once he hears that the shooters inside Columbine are wearing trench coats, he becomes “terrified” that Eric and Dylan are responsible. While the attack is still going on, Nate calls Tom Klebold, Dylan’s father, to ask him to check Dylan’s closet for a trench coat—the coat, Tom finds, is missing. Nate, like Zack Heckler and Chris Morris, was aware that Eric and Dylan were building pipe bombs in the months leading up to the attack, and also noticed that both had been cutting school and sleeping in class, but had no idea that the two of them had been planning anything so drastic. 16

DAVE SANDERS

Sanders, Dave—The Columbine High School coach who helped hundreds of students escape Columbine. He was shot by the killers and bled to death in a science classroom. Most people, including a judge, agreed that he would have lived had law enforcement’s handling of the situation been swifter and better organized. 17

Duster—A duster is a light, loose-fitting long coat. The original dusters were fulllength, light-colored canvas or linen coats worn by horsemen to protect their clothing from trail dust. These dusters were typically slit up the back to hip level for ease of wear on horseback. Dusters intended for riding may have features such as a buttonable rear slit and leg straps to hold the flaps in place. For better protection against rain, dusters were made from oilcloth and later from waxed cotton. Dusters were the recommended “uniform” for Texas Rangers. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, both men and women wore dusters to protect their clothes when rid-

ing in open motorcars on the dirt roads of the day. Western horsemen’s dusters figured little in Western films until Sergio Leone re-introduced them in his movies The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly and Once Upon a Time in the West. The latter played for many months in Paris and was in part credited with a revival of the duster in men’s fashions in that city. Similarly, in the film genre of heroic bloodshed, primarily through Chow Yun Fat and John Woo, the hero is often seen wearing a duster. They gained renewed popularity in the late 20th century and are now a standard item of western wear. In modern times, leather dusters are worn by motorcyclists to prevent road rash.

PATRICK IRELAND

Ireland, Patrick—Was involved in the worst part of the shooting in the schools library where he spent his lunch with his friends Makai Hall, Daniel Steepleton, Corey DePorter, and Austin Eubanks. After Pattie Nielson entered the library with Evan Todd, he hid under a table together with his friends Makai and 19

Dan even though at first he thought it was just a joke; the other two hid under a different table. When the gunmen entered the library and shouted, ”Everybody with white hats get up” he closed his eyes and played dead. After some time and a lot of shooting he heard Makai groan in pain. He looked over and saw that both of his friends had been shot. Patrick decided to crawl over between them to provide first aid but passed out because he had been shot in the head twice but hadn’t noticed this before. He passed in and out of consciousness for two hours but was woken by the fire alarm eventually. While still lying on the floor under a table relatively near to the site of the suicide of both gunmen, Partick heard coughing which a lot of people believe to be the last moments of Dylan Klebold who shot himself in the head but didn’t die instantly but drowned in his own blood. Patrick still hadn’t noticed that he was shot and decided that he had to get out of there immediately but he couldn’t stand up since he had been shot in his leg. He crawled towards a window and managed to pull himself up. He wanted to jump out in case nobody was there to help him, but luckily members of the SWAT team saw him and parked their car right under the table to pull Patrick out. He was brought to St. Anthony Central Hospital and later moved to Craig Hospital. The whole time he insisted that he had been shot inside an emergency room and that both

shooters had been wearing masks. After the Sandy Hook Shooting he gave an interview on this feeling due to still living with a bullet in his brain. Tularecito—The deformed and mentally handicapped child in John Steinbeck’s Pastures of Heaven that Franklin Gomez rescued from the roadside whose name means “little frog.” Despite his mental retardation, Steinbeck describes him as having an “ancient wisdom” in his face. He possesses the ability to draw and carve “remarkably correct animals.” Unfortunately he is prone to fits of ravenous violence if one of his creations is dropped or broken. After a violent attack on Bert Munroe, Tularecito is institutionalized. 20

RANDY & JUDY BROWN

massacre, but despite the warrant, Harris’s house was not searched. The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department lied about being made aware of the website by the Browns until years after the massacre.

NATURAL BORN KILLERS PHOTO

Brown, Judy—The mother of Brooks Brown, she had several run-ins with Harris, many of which she reported to the police. She and her husband, Randy, took printed copies of several pages of Harris’s website to the sheriff’s office. A deputy drafted a warrant to search Harris’s home, which may have stopped the

Natural Born Killers—A 1994 American satirical black comedy crime film directed by Oliver Stone and starring Woody Harrelson, Juliette Lewis, Robert Downey Jr., Tom Sizemore, and Tommy Lee Jones. The film tells the story of two victims of traumatic childhoods who became lovers and mass murderers, and are irresponsibly glorified by the mass media. The film is based on an original screenplay by Quentin Tarantino that was heavily revised by writer David Veloz, associate producer Richard Rutowski, and director Stone; Tarantino received story credit. Jane Hamsher, Don Murphy, and Clayton Townsend produced the film, with Arnon Milchan, Thom Mount, and Stone as executive producers. The film was released on 26 August 1994 in the United States, and also screened at the Venice Film Festival on 29 August 1994. It was a box office success, grossing over $50 million against a production budget of $34 million, and received generally 24

CASSIE BERNALL

Bernall, Cassie—One of the victims killed in the library and an Evangelical junior at Columbine. She was seen by many as a martyr for voicing her belief in God before being shot. The story was later proved to be completely untrue. Following the Columbine Massacre, her mother, Misty Bernall, published a book about Cassie—She Said Yes: The Unlikely Martyrdom of Cassie Bernall. 22

Scott, Craig—Rachel Scott’s brother. He was fighting with Rachel before the incident. When his friends were killed by Dylan, he played dead, covered in blood, but not harmed. He was hiding under Table 16 with his friends: Isaiah Shoels, and Matthew Kechter. Dylan called Eric over, making a racist joke, then shot Isaiah Shoels in the chest. Then he 23

shot Matthew Kecher.

positive reviews from critics, who praised the cast’s performances, the humor, plot, and combination of action and romance, but found the film much too violent and graphic. Notorious for its violent content and inspiring “copycat” crimes, the film was named the eighth most controversial film in history by Entertainment Weekly in 2006.

THE DOWNWARD SPIRAL COVER

The Downward Spiral— The second studio album by American industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails, released on 8 March 1994, by Nothing Records and Interscope Records in the United States and by Island Records in Europe. It is a concept album detailing the destruction of a man from the beginning of his “downward spiral” to his death by suicide. The Downward Spiral features elements of industrial rock, techno, and heavy metal music, in contrast to the band’s synthpop-influenced debut album Pretty Hate Machine (1989), and was produced by Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor and Flood. The Downward Spiral was conceived after the Lollapalooza 1991 festi25

val tour as a pivot for Reznor’s personal issues and the “negative vibe” felt by the band. The following year, Reznor moved to 10050 Cielo Drive in Benedict Canyon, Los Angeles, where actress Sharon Tate was murdered by members of the Manson Family. It was used as a studio called “Le Pig” for recording Broken (1992) and The Downward Spiral with collaborations from other musicians. The album was influenced by late1970s rock music albums such as David Bowie’s Low and Pink Floyd’s The Wall in particular, and focused on texture and space. The album spawned two singles, “March of the Pigs” and “Closer,” in addition to the promotional singles “Piggy” and “Hurt.” “March of the Pigs” and “Closer” were accompanied by music videos, with the former shot twice and the latter’s heavily censored. The Downward Spiral was a major commercial success, and established Nine Inch Nails as a reputable force in the 1990s music scene, with its sound being widely imitated and Reznor receiving media hype and multiple honors, while diverging into drug abuse and depression. It has been regarded by music critics and audiences as one of the most important albums of the 1990s, and was praised for its abrasive and eclectic nature and dark themes, although it was scrutinized by social conservatives for some of its lyrics. A remix album titled Further Down the Spiral was released in 1995. See pages 29-31.

Lost Highway—A 1997 neonoir film directed by David Lynch and co-written by Lynch and Barry Gifford. It stars Bill Pullman, Patricia Arquette, Balthazar Getty, and Robert Blake. The film follows a musician (Pullman) who begins receiving mysterious VHS tapes of him and his wife (Arquette) in their home, and who is suddenly convicted of murder, after which he inexplicably disappears and is replaced by a young mechanic (Getty) leading a different life. Lost Highway was financed by the French production company Ciby 2000 and was largely shot in Los Angeles, where Lynch collaborated with frequent producer Mary Sweeney and cinematographer Peter Deming. Lynch has described the film as a “psychogenic fugue” rather than a conventionally logical story, while the film’s surreal narrative structure has been likened to a Möbius strip. The film’s soundtrack, which was produced by Trent Reznor, features an original score by Angelo Badalamenti and Barry Adamson, as well as contributions from artists including David Bowie, Marilyn Manson, Rammstein, and The Smashing Pumpkins. Upon release, Lost Highway received mixed reviews and grossed $3.7 million in North America after a modest three-week run. Most critics initially dismissed the film as incoherent, but it has since attracted a cult following and critical praise, as well as scholarly interest. Lost Highway is the first of three Lynch films set in Los Ange26

les, followed by Mulholland Drive in 2001, and Inland Empire in 2006. In 2003, the film was adapted as an opera by the Austrian composer Olga Neuwirth. Klebold, Byron—Dylan Klebold’s older brother. 27

Epling, Kristi—A friend and classmate of Harris in German, Epling and Harris wrote notes in German to each other. In the notes, Harris alluded to the massacre. Epling lied about the notes and mailed them to a friend in another state to hide them. After the friend informed authorities about the notes, Epling confessed, but she was not charged with any crime. 28

MARYLIN MANSON

Manson, Marylin—Brian Hugh Warner, known by his stage name, Marilyn Manson, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, composer, actor, painter, author, and former music journalist. He is known for his controversial stage personality and image as the lead singer of the band Marilyn Manson, which 29

he co-founded with guitarist Daisy Berkowitz and of which he remains the only constant member. Like other members of the band, his stage name was formed by combining and juxtaposing the names of two American pop cultural icons of the 1960s: actress Marilyn Monroe and criminal Charles Manson. Manson is best known for records released in the 1990s, most notably Antichrist Superstar and Mechanical Animals, which (along with his public image) earned him a reputation in mainstream media as a controversial figure and negative influence on young people. In the U.S. alone, three of the band’s albums have been awarded platinum status and three more went gold, and the band has had eight releases debut in the top ten, including two number-one albums. Manson has been ranked number 44 in the “Top 100 Heavy Metal Vocalists” by Hit Parader, and, along with his band, has been nominated for four Grammy Awards. Manson made his film debut in 1997 as an actor in David Lynch’s Lost Highway. Since then, he has appeared in a variety of minor roles and cameos. He was interviewed in Michael Moore’s political documentary about gun violence, Bowling for Columbine, discussing possible motivations for the 1999 Columbine massacre; he denied allegations that his music was a contributory factor. From 13 to 14 September 2002, his first art show, The Golden Age of Grotesque, was held at the Los Angeles Contemporary

Exhibitions center. He unveiled a series of 20 paintings in 2010 entitled Genealogies of Pain, an exhibition showcased at Kunsthalle gallery in Vienna, on which he collaborated with Lynch. Mauser, Tom—The father of Daniel Mauser who was killed in the massacre at Columbine High School in 1999. Since that time, Tom has become a nationally recognized advocate for reforming our nation’s gun laws, and he has helped lead the successful effort to close Colorado’s gun show loophole in 2000. He is a board member and spokesperson for Colorado Ceasefire, one of the state’s leading organizations on gun violence prevention, and he played an active role in the passage of Colorado’s new gun laws in 2013. Tom is the author of Walking in Daniel’s Shoes, and often speaks to crowds wearing the shoes worn by his son, Daniel, on the day of the massacre. 30

CHARLTON HESTON

Heston, Charlton—A former Hollywood star and a supporter of Democratic politicians and civil rights in the 31

1960s, Heston later became a Republican, founding a conservative political action committee and supporting Ronald Reagan. Heston was the fiveterm president of the National Rifle Association (NRA), from 1998 to 2003. After being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 2002, he retired from both acting and the NRA presidency. Heston died in 2008. Perpetua & Felicity—The traditional view has been that Perpetua, Felicity, and the others were martyred owing to a decree of Roman emperor Septimius Severus (193–211). This is based on a reference to a decree he is said to have issued forbidding conversions to Judaism and Christianity, but this decree is known only from one source, the Augustan History, an unreliable mix of fact and fiction. Early church historian Eusebius describes Severus as a persecutor, but the Christian apologist Tertullian states that Severus was well disposed towards Christians, employed a Christian as his personal physician and had personally intervened to save several high-born Christians known to him from the mob. Eusebius’ description of Severus as a persecutor likely derives merely from the fact that numerous persecutions occurred during his reign, including those known in the Roman Martyrology as the martyrs of Madaura as well as Perpetua and Felicity in the Roman province of Africa, but these were probably as the result of local persecutions rather than empire wide ac-

tions or decrees by Severus.

VALEEN SCHNURR

Schnurr, Valeen—At gunpoint Schnurr was asked if she believed in God, to which she replied, “Yes. I believe in God.” The killers decided not to shoot her. When investigators proved Schnurr, not Cassie Bernall, declared her belief in God, many people shunned Schnurr for damaging Bernall’s legacy. 33

Wyant, Emily—Knowing Cassie Bernall’s martyrdom story was untrue, she did what she could to let people know the truth and was often ignored and shunned. 34

Psychopath—See pages 3435. 35

THE DOWNWARD SPIRAL NINE INCH NAILS SONGS AND LYRICS BY TRENT REZNOR “MR. SELF DESTRUCT”

Mr. Self Destruct

I am the voice inside your head (and I control you) I am the lover in your bed (and I control you) I am the sex that you provide (and I control you) I am the hate you try to hide (and I control you)

I take you where you want to go I give you all you need to know I drag you down, I use you up Mr. Self Destruct

I take you where you want to go I give you all you need to know I drag you down, I use you up Mr. Self Destruct I speak religion’s message clear (and I control you) I am denial guilt and fear (and I control you) I am the prayers of the naive (and I control you) I am the lie that you believe (and I control you) I take you where you want to go I give you all you need to know I drag you down I use you up Mr. Self Destruct You You You You You You You You

let let let let let let let let

I I I I

the the the the

am am am am

me me me me me me me me

do do do do do do do do

this this this this this this this this

to to to to to to to to

you you you you you you you you

(I (I (I (I (I (I (I (I

am am am am am am am am

the the the the the the the the

exit) exit) exit) exit) exit) exit) exit) exit)

needle in your vein high you can’t sustain pusher, I’m a whore need you have for more

I am the bullet in the gun (and I control you) I am the truth from which you run (and I control you) I am the silencing machine (and I control you) I am the end of all your dreams (and I control you) I take you where you want to go I give you all you need to know I drag you down, I use you up

Nothing Nothing Nothing Nothing Nothing Nothing Nothing

can can can can can can can

stop stop stop stop stop stop stop

me me me me me me me

now now now now now now now

“PIGGY” “HERESY” Hey pig Yeah you Hey pig piggy pig pig pig All of my fears came true Black and blue and broken bones you left me here I’m all alone My little piggy needed something new Nothing can stop me now ‘Cause I don’t care anymore Nothing can stop me now ‘Cause I just don’t care Nothing can stop me now ‘Cause I don’t care anymore Nothing can stop me now ‘Cause I just don’t care Hey pig Nothing’s turning out the way I planned Hey pig there’s a lot of things I hoped you could help me understand What am I supposed to do I lost my shit because of you Nothing can stop me now ‘Cause I don’t care anymore Nothing can stop me now ‘Cause I just don’t care Nothing can stop me now ‘Cause I don’t care anymore Nothing can stop me now ‘Cause I just don’t care Nothing Nothing Nothing Nothing Nothing Nothing Nothing Nothing Nothing Nothing Nothing Nothing Nothing

can can can can can can can can can can can can can

stop stop stop stop stop stop stop stop stop stop stop stop stop

me me me me me me me me me me me me me

now now now now now now now now now now now now now

He sewed his eyes shut because he is afraid to see He tries to tell me what I put inside of me He got the answers to ease my curiosity He dreamed up a god and called it Christianity God is dead and no one cares If there is a hell, I’ll see you there He flexed his muscles to keep his flock of sheep in line He made a virus that would kill off all the swine His perfect kingdom of killing, suffering and pain Demands devotion atrocities done in his name God is dead and no one cares If there is a hell, I’ll see you there Your god is dead and no one cares If there is a hell, I’ll see you there God is dead and no one cares If there is a hell, I’ll see you there (Your god is dead) God is dead and no one cares (and no one cares) (Drowning in his own hypocrisy) If there is a hell, I’ll see you there

“HERESY” Step right up, march, push Crawl right up on your knees Please greed feed (no time to hesitate) I I I I

want a little bit want a piece of it think he’s losing it want to watch it come down

Don’t like the look of it Don’t like the taste of it

Don’t like the smell of it I want to watch it come down All the pigs are all lined up I give you all that you want Take the skin and peel it back Now doesn’t that make you feel better? Shove it up inside, surprise, lies Stains like the blood on your teeth Bite, chew, suck (away the tender parts) I I I I

want want want want

to to to to

break it up smash it up fuck it up watch it come down

Maybe afraid of it Let’s discredit it Let’s pick away at it I want to watch it come down All the pigs are all lined up I give you all that you want Take the skin and peel it back Now doesn’t that make you feel better? The pigs have won tonight Now they can all sleep soundly And everything is all right

“CLOSER” You You You You

let let let let

me me me me

violate you desecrate you penetrate you complicate you

Help me I broke apart my insides Help me I’ve got no soul to sell Help me The only thing that works for me Help me get away from myself I want to fuck you like an animal I want to feel you from the inside I want to fuck you like an animal My whole existence is flawed You get me closer to god You You You You

can can can can

have have have have

my isolation the hate that it brings my absence of faith my everything

I want to fuck you like an animal I want to feel you from the inside I want to fuck you like an animal My whole existence is flawed You get me closer to god Through every forest above the trees Within my stomach scraped off my knees I drink the honey inside your hive You are the reason I stay alive

“RUINER” You had all of them on your side didn’t you? You believe in all your lies didn’t you? The ruiner’s got a lot to prove he’s got nothing to lose and now he Made you believe The ruiner’s your only friend well he’s the living end to the cattle He deceives The raping of the innocent you know the ruiner ruins everything he Sees Now the only pure thing left in my fucking world is wearing your disease How did you get so big? How did you get so strong? How did you get so hard? How did you get so long? You had to give them all a sign, didn’t you? You had to covet what was mine, didn’t you? The ruiner’s a collector he’s an infector serving his shit to his flies Maybe there will come a day when those that you keep blind will Suddenly realize Maybe it’s a part of me you took to a place I hoped it would never go And maybe that fucked me up so much more than you’ll ever know How did you get so big? How did you get so strong? How did you get so hard? How did you get so long? What you gave to me My perfect ring of scars You know I can see what you really are You didn’t hurt me nothing can hurt me You didn’t hurt me nothing can stop me now

“THE BECOMING” Help me Tear down my reason Help me It’s your sex I can smell Help me You make me perfect Help me become somebody else

I beat my machine it’s a part of me it’s inside of me I’m stuck in this dream it’s changing me I am becoming The me that you know he had some second thoughts

He’s covered with scabs and he is broken and sore The me that you know doesn’t come around much That part of me isn’t here anymore All pain disappears it’s the nature of my circuitry Drowns out all I hear there’s no escape from this my new consciousness That me that you know used to have feelings But the blood has stopped pumping and he’s left to decay The me that you know is now made up of wires And even when I’m right with you I’m so far away I can try to get away but I’ve strapped myself in I can try to scratch away the sound in my ears I can see it killing away all my bad parts I don’t want to listen but it’s all too clear Hiding backwards inside of me I feel so unafraid Annie, hold a little tighter I might just slip away It won’t give up it wants me dead Goddamn this noise inside my head

“I DO NOT WANT THIS” I’m losing ground You know how this world can beat you down I’m made of clay I fear I’m the only one who thinks this way I’m always falling down the same hill Bamboo puncturing this skin And nothing comes bleeding out of me just like a waterfall I’m Drowning in Two feet below the surface I can still make out your wavy face And if I could just reach you maybe I could leave this place I do not want this I do not want this I do not want this I do not want this Don’t you tell me how I feel Don’t you tell me how I feel Don’t you tell me how I feel You don’t know just how I feel I stay inside my bed I have lived so many lives all in my head Don’t tell me that you care There really isn’t anything, is there? You would know, wouldn’t you? You extend your hand to those who suffer To those who know what it really feels like To those who’ve had a taste Like that means something And oh so sick I am

And maybe I don’t have a choice And maybe that is all I have And maybe this is a cry for help I do not want this I do not want this I do not want this I do not want this Don’t you tell me how I feel Don’t you tell me how I feel Don’t you tell me how I feel You don’t know just how I feel I want to know everything I want to be everywhere I want to fuck everyone in the world I want to do something that matters I want to know everything I want to be everywhere I want to fuck everyone in the world I want to do something that matters

“BIG MAN WITH A GUN” I am a big man (Yes I am) And I have a big gun Got me a big old dick and I I like to have fun Held against your forehead I’ll make you suck it Maybe I’ll put a hole in your head You know just for the fuck of it I can reduce you if I want I can devour I’m hard as fucking steel and I’ve got the power I’m every inch a man and I’ll show you somehow Me and my fucking gun I never can stop me now Shoot shoot shoot shoot shoot I’m going to come all over you Shoot shoot shoot shoot shoot I’m going to come all over you Shoot shoot shoot shoot shoot I’m going to come all over you Shoot shoot shoot shoot shoot I’m going to come all over you Me Me Me Me Me Me Me Me

and and and and and and and and

my my my my my my my my

fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking fucking

“A WARM PLACE” INSTRUMENTAL

gun gun gun gun gun gun gun gun

“ERASER”

“THE DOWNWARD SPIRAL”

Need you Dream you Find you Taste you Fuck you Use you Scar you Break you Lose me Hate me Smash me Erase me Kill me Kill me Kill me Kill me Kill me Kill me Kill me Kill me

He couldn’t believe how easy it was (he put the gun into his face) Bang! (so much blood for such a tiny little hole)

“REPTILE”

The needle tears a hole The old familiar sting Try to kill it all away But I remember everything

She spread herself wide open to let the insects in She leaves a trail of honey to show me where she’s been She has the blood of reptile just underneath her skin Seeds from a thousand others drip down from within Oh my beautiful liar Oh my precious whore My disease my infection I am so impure Devils speak of the ways in which she’ll manifest Angels bleed from the tainted touch of my caress Need to contaminate to alleviate this loneliness I now know the depths I reach are limitless Oh my beautiful liar Oh my precious whore My disease my infection I am so impure Oh my beautiful liar Oh my precious whore My disease my infection I am so impure Oh my beautiful liar Oh my precious whore My disease my infection I am so impure

Problems do have solutions you know A lifetime of fucking things up fixed In one determined flash Everything’s blue Everything’s blue in this world All fuzzy Spilling out of my head

“HURT” I hurt myself today To see if I still feel I focus on the pain The only thing that’s real

What have I become My sweetest friend Everyone I know Goes away in the end And you could have it all My empire of dirt I will let you down I will make you hurt I wear this crown of shit Upon my liars chair Full of broken thoughts I cannot repair Beneath the stains of time The feelings disappear You are someone else I am still right here What have I become My sweetest friend Everyone I know Goes away in the end And you could have it all My empire of dirt I will let you down I will make you hurt If I could start again A million miles away I will keep myself I would find a way

Sue and Dylan Klebold celebrate Dylan’s fifth birthday. 

A student just evacuated from the school is embraced by friends overjoyed she is safe. 

 The 21 April 1999 front page of the Denver Rocky Mountain News. Two anguished students embrace near the school early in the siege. “We didn’t think it was real and then we saw blood,” one student said. 

Investigators tackle the intricate task of marking evidence. 

 Daniel Rohrbough lies dead on a sidewalk, soda from a can he dropped trickling downhill near him. At left, students crouch behind a car with a police officer who aims his gun at the school. Dale Napoletano, 16, hugs his sister LeighAnn, 13, during a memorial service honoring Columbine’s victims. The service drew an estimated 70,000 people, including Vice President Al Gore. 

 Bloody shoes and socks lie outside St. Anthony Hospital Central.  Klebold and Robyn Anderson at the prom.

DR. ROBERT HARE’S PSYCHOPATHY CHECKLIST glib and superficial charm grandiose (exaggeratedly high) estimation of self need for stimulation pathological lying cunning and manipulativeness lack of remorse or guilt shallow affect (superficial emotional responsiveness) callousness and lack of empathy parasitic lifestyle poor behavioral controls sexual promiscuity early behavior problems lack of realistic long-term goals impulsivity irresponsibility failure to accept responsibility for own actions many short-term marital relationships juvenile delinquency revocation of conditional release criminal versatility

DR. ROBERT HARE’S PSYCHOPATHY CHECKLIST FOR JUVENILES gratuitous lying indifference to the pain of others defiance of authority figures unresponsiveness to reprimands or threatened punishment petty theft persistent aggression cutting classes and breaking curfew cruelty to animals early experimentation with sex vandalism and setting fires.

THE DEAD

The Columbine victims listed in the order in which they were shot, not in which the died. Remember: Despite being shot third, Dave Sanders was the last to die.

1. Rachel Scott

2. Daniel Rohrbough

3. Dave Sanders

4. Kyle Velasquez

5. Steven Curnow

6. Cassie Bernall

7. Isaiah Shoels

8. Mathew Kechter

9. Lauren Townsend

10. John Tomlin

11. Kelly Fleming

12. Daniel Mauser

13. Corey Depooter

COLOPHON

This discussion guide was created by Allen Loibner-Waitkus using Adobe InDesign CC 2019. The entire document uses only one font family: Gotham. The colors—other than black—used are Pantone 424, Pantone 652, and Pantone 5507. While numerous sources were used to create this discussion guide, it is impossible to give them all credit, but two important sources—Columbine by Dave Cullen and The Downward Spiral by Nine Inch Nails—MUST be cited: Cullen, Dave. Columbine. Twelve, 2009. Reznor, Trent. The Downward Spiral. Performed by Nine Inch Nails, Nothing Records and Interscope Records, 1994, itunes.apple.com/us/album/ the-downward-spiral/1147703572.

LINKS This study guide is best viewed online. It can be found using the class Blackboard shell or by going to https://issuu.com/allenloibner-waitkus/docs/partii-iiistudyguide. If you view the discussion guide online, you can click on the links below and view (or listen to) the items listed:

Pulitzer Prize-winning Photos of Columbine from the Rocky Mountain News Dave Cullen’s Website Dave Cullen’s Parkland: Birth of a Movement on Amazon Sue Klebold’s Website Sue Klebold’s Ted Talk Video Sue Klebold’s A Mother’s Reckoning: Living in the Aftermath of Tragedy on Amazon Misty Bernall’s She Said Yes: The Unlikely Martyrdom of Cassie Bernall on Amazon

Information on Natural Born Killers on IMDB Information on Lost Highway on IMDB The Downward Spiral by Nine Inch Nails on iTunes A Columbine Site (This is the actual title of the site.) Haunted by Columbine: Retro Report Documentary by The New York Times The Denver Post Mr. Loibner-Waitkus’s Website

LOIBNER-WAITKUS