It is hard to forget the very disturbing documentary we watched last week about two high school boys who decided to massacre their school, Columbine High School. Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris set off bombs and shot multiple guns killing several people and injuring many. It was clear in the documentary that Eric Harris was a psychopath and there was not much that could have saved him. His personal journal was over flowing with evidence that he thought he was better than everyone else and most people were deserving of death. Dylan, on the other hand, hated himself and everyone else. He was extremely depressed and even suicidal, he expressed his desire to be violent in multiple ways. In class we discussed the idea that Dylan was highly influenced and manipulated by Eric Harris, the real psychopath behind the massacre at Columbine High School.
I think that Dylan was not a psychopath, but possibly a sociopath. I think his extreme depression and how much he was bullied may have been so traumatic that he became a sociopath. Sociopaths are violent, erratic, can have a lot of rage, and are able to form attachments. Dylan showed all of these signs. I think his violence and rage was worsened when Eric started having an influence on him. But, would Dylan still have been a part of the high school shooting if it weren't for Eric? Would he have gotten help from a counselor or therapist? Honestly, I think that Dylan would have committed suicide. I think without Eric's idea to take the lives of those who bullied them, Dylan would have settled for only taking his own life. Dylan wanted to die anyway, so what was the harm in following the lead of Eric and taking revenge on the people he hated.
Interesting post about what could have happened. Adding on to what you said, I think Eric's life would have turned out very differently as well if he hadn't met Dylan. I think that he wouldn't have been able to actually execute such a massacre by himself, but likely would have fantasized about doing so. Being a full-blown psychopath (according to the government), he probably could have pretended to be fully normal later in life. Considering what we saw in the documentary about his violent and hateful diary entries, I believe that he would end up extremely violent and dangerous as an adult.
ReplyDeleteIt makes sense that he would have committed suicide,since he was unable to talk to another person without the presence of one of his friends. This would have made it hard for him to seek help from a therapist. Both scenarios would have been sad, on one side we have Dylan committing suicide, and on the other we have him killing his classmates.
ReplyDeleteI agree. I think the idea of revenge was planted in Dylan's head by Eric. Eric used Dylan's depression to his advantage, and preyed on his messy emotional state. Dylan was the perfect, impressionable, "side kick" who already had slightly violent tendencies, no value of life, and deep hatred for his classmates.
ReplyDeleteAs a near full blown psychopath, Eric was already a master of manipulation. Eric merely used him as a pawn in his big plan to gain revenge against the people he hated. Had the two not met up, Dylan would not have been a part of the shooting, but I'm sure Eric would've been able to use a different person in a similar situation.
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ReplyDeleteVery Interesting post! I agree with all your arguments. I think Eric's friendship was a very bad influence for Dylan. Eric had the capacity to effect Dylan's behavior and automatically attributed him to his plan. Like you said, if they had not meet up, Dylan would still have had some personal issues, but he would not have done such a horrible thing like that. I also agree with Dylan one the point that Eric would have used a different person in a similar situation. His psychopathic traits of manipulation and narcissism would have affected someone else.
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