On COLUMBINE again. To: Lisa, Peg, and Jim

"Columbine is a major social issue, and it deserves a lot of books to be written about it -- a lot of serious books." Jeff Kass, author of COLUMBINE: A TRUE CRIME STORY

One of my favorite things these days is to get a reaction or reactions to one of my blog postings. When I blogged about the book COLUMBINE by Dave Cullen yesterday, I received three reactions, all questioning the veracity of Cullen's book, and/or suggesting that his research was flawed. The reactions came from Peggy Nunez and Jim Small, two people I've known a long time and whose opinions I respect. The other came directly to my blog rather than through FACEBOOK. It was from Lisa, who also offered interesting thoughts, but I have no way to write back to her, so I hope she reads my blog again and sees that I have responded.

I went web searching to see what I could find out about the criticisms. I searched statements like "lies and mistakes made by Dave Cullen in his book COLUMBINE," "Dave Cullen vs. the Littleton citizenry," and "Jeff Kass on Dave Cullen." I found mostly praise for the book but some criticism.

Peg, Jim, and Lisa offered a variety of objections to Cullen's book. I'll try to speak to three of them:

1. It has been suggested that Cullen greatly downplayed the amount of bullying that Eric and Dylan received. It is even suggested that Columbine High School's administration fostered a climate of bullying. I researched an interview of Jeff Kass, author of COLUMBINE: A TRUE STORY, a book that was recommended by Peggy Nunez as being particularly truthful. Of Kass and Cullen, the interviewer states "the authors agree on plenty of things, including the relative unimportance of bullying as a motivator for the killing spree launched by Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold." Lisa sent me to a book review of Cullen's COLUMBINE written by Randy Brown, father of Brooks Brown, a sometimes friend of Dylan and a Columbine author himself. It's online at: http://www.amazon.com/review/R3AJEK6T7746K6/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm. Brown attacks the book and speaks to bullying as a cause, but he is so close to situation as a Columbine parent, whose son wasn't treated particularly well in Cullen's book, that the review is without objectivity. My heart goes out to Mr. Brown, but I'm afraid his commentary is affected and possibly flawed by his heart. I found nothing on the web to suggest that Frank DeAngelis, principal of Columbine H.S. was accepting of bullying in his school, but there are probably items out there. I find it interesting, though, that Cullen named DeAngelis, along with survivor Patrick Ireland, as the two heroes of Columbine.

2. A second point made was that Cullen ascribed emotions and conversation to Eric and Dylan that he couldn't possibly know about. I don't necessarily find Kullen at fault for this. These ideas, emotions, and conversations are logical extensions of his research and the videotapes and writings left behind. Eric Larsen, a great non-fiction writer, creates dialogues and reactions based on careful research. It certainly is a fair criticism, though.

3. The third point is the fact that the locals, those closest to the tragedy, are against Cullen; ergo, he must be a liar. My college friend Jim Small wrote me about a person who lived close to Littleton. Of Cullen, Jim wrote, "They have no use for the guy." That doesn't surprise me one bit. The citizens of Littleton needed someone to blame, and they didn't want two dead kids, which is what COLUMBINE by Cullen gives them. I believe they have a legitimate target for their anger in the Jeffco Sheriff's Department, whose administration missed so much. Cullen is hard on the sheriff's department. He doesn't sugarcoat their errors. It was the courts that released them from a lot of culpability. The Littleton citizenry would also love to blame their terrible sadness on Eric and Dylan's parents, but Cullen, aided by the research of Dr. Fuselier, doesn't grant them that release. What is the most troubling is the fact that a judge sealed the transcripts of depositons made by the killers' parents until 2027, which, of course, might suggest some horrible secret contained within.

Finally, I could possibly concede these points about COLUMBINE the book and still believe it to be an important document. That's because I feel that Dwayne Fuselier, the FBI behavioral psychologist, whose son was a freshman in Columbine H.S. the day of the massacre is the hero of the book. His tremendous research and analysis leads me to believe that Eric is a psychopath, and that his supposed regret was simply part of his sociopathic game. And contrary to those that believe they should have seen these psychopathic behaviors earlier, Fuselier was surprised to see the behavior in a person of such a young age. I feel sorry for Dylan whose depression turned him into Eric's violent pawn, and I believe that the basic cause of the tragedy was something terribly wrong with the chemistry of Eric Harris' brain.

I quoted Jeff Kass at the beginning of this blog, and I think he's right. Only thing is I don't want to be reading those new books. COLUMBINE the book takes you to a terrifying place: Columbine High School in April of 1999. I've spent enough time there for awhile.