SLT 2012 - Columbine Project

2. Opening Statement
“We are convinced that the only way to truly honor all of the
victims of this and other related tragedies is to move clearly
and methodically toward an understanding of why they
occur…” – Susan and Tom Klebold
Columbine will forever stain history as a tragic and
devastating event. The killers, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold
were too quickly labeled by the media; taking the easiest and
quickest assumption of the “revenge seeking goths”. In order
to comprehend their motives, one must first understand each
boy as an individual. Although both Eric and Dylan committed
the same crime, their reasons for murder are traceable
through their personalities, past, and are revealed to be
starkly different.

3. Warning Signs
 The inability for teens to withhold information-
showing off, asking for help, Freudian slips
 Social isolation – confined to their rooms alone
 Behavioral changes – depression vs psychopathy
 Outlets of emotion – journal entries

5. Emily’s Family

6. “How did you not see it
coming?”
Loving, normal parents
“Dylan had made parenting easy”
Eric’s therapy
How much can you expect them to
know?
83% believe that the parents are
responsible- 6 months after the
attack

7. Thirteen Years Later
 What we now know- depression and
psychopathy
 The parents were always around
 Sympathy for the parents- What they’ve
gone through
 “The most lonely people on the planet”
The O magazine interview

8. Dylan’s Motives
 Loved explosions and the water –
…”what a glorious escape.”
 Uniqueness equated loneliness - …”go
to school, be scared & nervous, hoping
that people accept me.”
 Seeker – “one man in search of
answers”
 Attempted to feel superior like Eric – “My
wrath for January's incident will be
godlike.”

9. Dylan’s Motives
 Theft showed unscrupulous nature – Eric’s influence
 Notebook expressed feelings of “alienation”
 Contributed to depression
 Why he grappled on to Eric

10. Eric’s Motives
 Expressed his outrage and
frustration towards inferiors
 Established his lasting superiority
 Enjoyment, thrill, hate
 Natural selection
 “show them who is god”
 “I want to leave a lasting
impression on the world”

11. A Friendship
 No one knows exactly how their friendship
started
 The leader and the follower
 Why Dylan needed Eric
 What Matt Stone has to say about
Columbine and about school in general

12. Eric’s Criminal Development
 Vandalism
o Targeted houses of those he thought were
inferior
o Oct 21,1997-Broke into lockers at school
 Petty Theft
o Rental Signs
 Felony Theft
o Jan 30, 1998-Broke into van
 Murder
o April 26,1998-Outlined attack on a high school

13. Psychopathy – What is it?
A personality disorder in which a
person displays antisocial and
impulsive behavior, disregard for
societal standards, and no signs of
fear or guilt.

14. Psychopathy
 Psychopaths are not loners.
 They put forward a confident, “in
control” façade.
 They appear normal
 They go for the extra-ordinary look

15. “Charming, but Callous”
 When someone catches a
psychopath doing something
reckless, they have the ability to
talk their way out of it, and place
the blame on someone else.
 Due to their comfort with lying,
they can pass lie detector tests.
 When caught stealing or doing
something violent, many blame it
on amnesia, temporary insanity,
multiple personality disorder or
blackouts to justify the crime.

16. Psychopathy
 When someone asks a psychopath a direct question,
they might sneakily evade the answer, by providing
responses, that don’t directly answer the question and
bring the conversation somewhere else.
 In many instances, when caught, they plead sympathy
and promise to change, but use the fragile partner as a
means of getting ahead and getting stronger.

17. Conclusion
Eric’s psychopathy and Dylan’s
depression weren’t ignored, they just went
unnoticed. As a nation we continue to
struggle with the motives behind the
killing spree, and we must come to
understand that there is no one to blame
but the killers themselves for this tragic
event.