UPDATE 6/3: Find it in your library!
LCCN: LB3013.33
Dewey: 373.7888
I learned this week that reading a book with the word "COLUMBINE" printed in bold letters down the spine will certainly get people's attention. In my case, I'm glad it did, because it gave me the opportunity to share with others what I learned from Cullen's thorough account and discuss why I think it is a valuable read. It has been a dozen years since the name of a high school in the Denver suburbs became the gruesome gauge for (alas) numerous instances of brutal school violence, and many of us have come to believe that we know the story well enough to draw basic conclusions and hold shared assumptions about what happened there and why.
Despite the challenges he faces in adjusting our preconceived notions, Cullen does an excellent job of debunking many common Columbine myths (including the oft-repeated myth that Harris and Klebold were ostracized loners -- simply not true) while remaining deferent to the memories of those who were killed. Unfortunately, one can argue that he does so at the risk of not treating each victim* equally. For example, Cassie Bernall's story has become relatively well-known and fraught with controversy; therefore, Cullen devotes a significant effort to setting that record straight. I will have to re-read parts before I can say this with certainty, but it's possible that some of the other students' names are never once mentioned, except perhaps when they fall into the detailed timeline of how the shooting spree unfolded. I understand that for Cullen's specific purposes it was neither feasible nor necessary to devote "equal time" to each student, but I did take notice of these patterns and tried to remember that there were many other seemingly invisible but intertwining personal stories taking place up to and on that day.
Beyond what I may have expected Cullen to discuss, in one chapter alone I learned more about psychopathy then I ever imagined would be presented to me at once outside of a university lecture. However, I found the information engrossing, and since that diagnosis is the crux of many investigators' beliefs about the killers' motives, it is important that readers understand the signs and symptoms of a psychopathic mind. (I can say with full confidence that I am not doing justice to this point. I am in no way qualified to discuss the impact of mental illness, particularly the role that Harris' and Klebold's mental illnesses played in their actions, so please forgive me for clumsily glossing over the finer details. Just know that as a layperson, I considered it a particularly informative chapter.)
A common-sense caveat to those who may be interested in further reading: it is impossible to discuss the full scope of Columbine without discussing the murders in a certain level of detail. Cullen does so in a balanced, straightforward way that reads not as a sensationalist account, but as a coroner's report or law enforcement investigation might. Even though we all know how the story ends, I do not doubt you will find many of these details disturbing. I handled such moments by pausing periodically to read something uplifting or to wrap my arms around someone I love.
While other reviewers have questioned Cullen’s motives or his unwillingness to place blame on the boys’ parents, I find his approach to be fair and honest, particularly in how he chronicles local law enforcement’s response to and handling of the case. We begin to see how Jefferson County’s series of critical mistakes followed by numerous cover-up attempts exacerbated an already horrible situation and obstructed opportunities to give the community (and a curious world) a clear picture of what happened at Columbine and why. However, one point he does make clear early on is that without living perpetrators to bear the blame, the community had an enormous amount of misplaced anger and pain that needed a target. Representatives of various institutions that failed to communicate properly with each other and their constituents became and continue to be one of those sets of targets.
Unfortunately, within this very review I see evidence that I’m falling into a pattern Cullen addresses of which many bystanders are guilty and should start to become more aware, which is to refer to the tragedy simply as “Columbine.” Can you imagine if your alma mater or hometown were so synonymous with such an awful event that everyone used just the name as a shortcut? Almost right away, students at Columbine High School took assertive efforts to reclaim their school and proceed with having completely normal lives. As many of them continue to point out, April 20, 1999 was one day of many in the history of Columbine High School, and these students deserve a better legacy because all students do.
Overall, I recommend this book, but it's difficult to say to whom. Many people could never imagine wanting to devote time to reading about such a grisly topic, but for those who may be interested for any number of reasons, there is a lot to learn in these pages. Columbine by Dave Cullen is a well-researched, thoughtfully presented piece of non-fiction that offers much to a receptive reader.
* I anticipate that some of my readers may take issue with my use of the word "victim," as many people consider it an emotionally charged term that unfairly represents someone as nothing more than an object of a perpetrator's actions. Please know that this is not my intention; I understand that everyone who was injured or killed at Columbine High School shared that day in common in their personal histories but were nonetheless unique individuals who all amount to far more than these tragic circumstances.
No comments:
Post a Comment