Columbine

[Rev. Rye]

This is just a thread about me bitching, sorry. I am related to Eric Harris, one of the Columbine killers. Hes my 2nd cousin. Today in health class, we watched a video on bullying. Columbine was mentioned and I happend to tell the person next to me I'm related to Eric. The whole class heard I guess and started bitching at me like I am Eric. According to them sense I am related to him, I am going to do what he did. Now I dont wanna sound like I am defending him, but my whole family knows Eric was a good person. Bullying made him do what he did. I just think its ironic that we were watching a video on bullying, and they had to go and bully me.

Really, I'm sorry if I may seem to be overstepping my bounds, after all, he is your second cousin. However, the fact is that the idea of him as a tragic figure led to a school shooting by bullying is just naive. I mean, there are certainly some shooters like that (Elizabeth Catherine Bush, who went from aspiring nun and human rights activist to school shooter comes to mind.) The fact is that Eric and Dylan had both had long-standing trouble with the juvenile authorities (I suppose the fact that Eric was the cold, calculating one makes it easier to believe that he was a tragic victim) and shortly before committing the massacre actually taunted the police who thought they had reformed. Furthermore, while they certainly were victims of bullies, they also dished out as good as they got to underclassmen and those they decided were "fags." And, I know it's really common for people around killers to be surprised that they, of all people, snapped.

Of course, he is still your second cousin, not mine.