Talk:Columbine High School massacre

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[edit] Edit reverted

I added the following edit: "John Lott conjectured that because Klebold followed and openly opposed Colorado legislation permitting concealed handguns [on school property], April 20th was chosen because it was the day scheduled for the legislators to vote on this law.[1]" User:Wildhartlivie reverted this edit with the following description: "Reverted good faith edits by Connelly; Article says it was a great coincidence, period." A relevant quotation from the article cited, as written by John Lott, goes as follows:

"Few know that Dylan Klebold, one of the two Columbine killers, closely was following Colorado legislation that would have allowed citizens to carry a concealed handgun. Klebold strongly opposed the legislation and openly talked about it. No wonder, as the bill being debated would have allowed permitted guns to be carried on school property. It is quite a coincidence that he attacked the Columbine High School the very day the legislature was scheduled to vote on the bill."

First, due to "no wonder" and "it is quite a coincidence," I interpreted the last sentence as sarcasm. From the general tone and context of the article, I thought my edit added materially to the article in a small way, because I didn't know that Klebold opposed this law. Although the connection with April 20th is speculative at best, and may fall below the threshold of being merely trivia, and so perhaps that should not have been added to the article. What do you think? - Connelly (talk) 04:41, 20 February 2008 (UTC)

There were a couple reasons why I thought this wasn't germane to the article. One point is that I'm not at all clear on what Lott was trying to say with his commentary. Was he implying it was a statement Klebold was trying to make about the legislation? There isn't anything in the reams of material I read about Dylan Klebold that addressed this legislation, and, as it was described, any connection between what date was chosen for the attack and legislation is just conjecture, and Lott's commentary wasn't even completely clear on that. Klebold did a lot of contradictory things during that time - including visiting a college and going through the motions of applying. As we see, none of it meant anything. I am convinced it was just an ironic coincidence. The thing about commentators and writers is that they often seem to seize on the smallest of material and construe it with meaning. In Lott's article, there is a link to a 1999 New York Times article which has the sole following quote as support for his "strong" opposition and "openly talk(ing) about it." The paragraph in the article being referenced says:

The other father prided himself on being his son's soul mate. They had just spent five days visiting the Arizona campus where the teen-ager planned to enroll in the fall, and recently discussed their shared opposition to a bill in the state legislature that would have made it easier to carry concealed weapons.[2]

I think it's quite a stretch for Lott to go from that sole sentence to even the backhanded implication that the date was chosen because it was in conjunction with a supposed vote on legislation (which isn't mentioned in the article), or even to say that he was closely following it. Given that Lott's comment was buried in a story about a totally unrelated shooting in another state, under different circumstances, it seems to be an attempt to draw a connection where one didn't exist. His argument seems to be pointed toward citizens carrying concealed weapons, which, ostensibly, would have meant the shooting wouldn't have occurred. That's a lot of conjecture. In any case, it was a stray statement in an unrelated commentary that just seemed too far afield for inclusion. Wildhartlivie (talk) 05:59, 20 February 2008 (UTC)
OK, I was careless. A better source than Lott is needed to discuss any of this. Thanks and sorry for wasting your time. - Connelly (talk) 04:50, 22 February 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Inspired by The Matrix?

Am I the only one who noticed all of the parallels this event holds with the famous lobby scene from The Matrix? Machine pistols, duffel bags full of bombs, obviously the trench coats. Add that to the fact that the movie came out only a month before the shooting. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Lukesed (talk • contribs) 05:06, 21 January 2008 (UTC)

Please note the talk page explanation above which cautions against using these pages to discuss things besides improvements to the article. Thank you. Wildhartlivie (talk) 11:57, 21 January 2008 (UTC)

They were planning the attack a year before it happened. The Matrix came out 3 weeks before the shooting, so I doubt it had any impact. Ijustwantaaccount (talk) 03:53, 3 March 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Bullying and Depression

Why has no one pointed out that they might ahve been outcasts, been bullied or in bouts of depression before the event? Jackpot Den (talk) 19:26, 17 April 2008 (UTC)

Perhaps you might scroll down to Columbine High School massacre#Aftermath and the search for rationale|here]] for some discussion on that and check the Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold page. Wildhartlivie (talk) 21:02, 17 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] RFC: List of victims

Wikipedia:Victim Lists is an attempt by me to gain community consensus on the inappropriateness of lists of victims of events on Wikipedia. As this page is now the redirect for Victims of the Columbine massacre (recently, and in my mind, appropriately deleted) I felt it was appropriate to inform you all of its existance. Titanium Dragon (talk) 22:13, 25 April 2008 (UTC)


There isn't a place called Columbine, Colorado. The school is located in Littleton, Colorado, not Columbine.Dancer447 (talk) 00:31, 3 May 2008 (UTC)

Perhaps you should take it up at the Columbine, Colorado article. Phiwum (talk) 01:27, 3 May 2008 (UTC)