Terrorism

Columbine:

The Means to an End

Everyday many American people wake up with the same questions: Will a terrorist attack happen today? When and where will it take place? How can I protect myself and my family? How will it affect America?

Terrorism is the main concern with Americans, but has anyone stop to think about our children and the things that are happening or could happen right in our own backyards? Look in Webster’s Dictionary the definition of terrorism is the systematic use of terror especially as a means of coercion. Alex Schmid says that terrorism has no true definition because terrorism is an abstract model with no bona fide existence. He states that two elements of terrorist are common вЂ" someone is terrorized and/or victims of terrorist. People tend to forget about domestic terrorism and the serious threats they could cause.

Given the definition of terrorism, other questions that need to be asked are: When I send my child to school today, what series of events may affect his or her life today? Will he or she even make it back home once the after school bell rings? Many of the small things that we could never imagine happening are being secretly plotted by many hate groups, racist people, and the students who are being bullied on a day to day basis.

The main eye opener to these questions came forth on April 20, 1999, when Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold brutally murdered twelve students, one teacher, and then turned the guns on themselves. Within this paper I will discuss how the Columbine High School Massacre not only affected Littleton Colorado, but the United States as a whole. Remember one of the elements of terrorism is to change the way people live and/or think.

On April 20, 1999, in a small suburban town, two high school seniors, Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris, enacted an all-out assault on Columbine High School in the middle of the school day. These two gentlemen made plans to kill hundreds of their peers with guns, knives, and a multitude of bombs. The two gentlemen walked the hallways searching for innocent by standers who had only come to school to do one thing, and that was learning.

It was said that both Eric and Dylan were both intelligent, and came from two parent homes that had older bothers that were three seniors. Eric and Dylan meet each other in 1993 while attending Ken Caryl Middle School. According to journals, notes, and videos that Klebold and Harris left to be discovered, it was said that Dylan Klebold had thought about committing suicide in early 1997. Of course we all know that Mr. Kledbold did not go through with committing the suicide but later teamed up with Mr. Harris to think about a large massacre as early as April 1998.

Before completing the actual event the two had already began to get into trouble. On January 30, 1998, Klebold and Harris were arrested for breaking into a van. As part of there plea agreement the two were sent to began a juvenile diversion program in April of 1998. Being that they were first time offenders, the program allowed them to purge the event from their record if they successfully completed the program. For eleven months the two boys were to complete the workshops, speak to counselors, and work on volunteer projects. During this time the boys had convinced everyone that they were sincerely sorry about the break-in. Nevertheless, behind all of their volunteer projects, and speaking to counselors Klebold and Harris were making plans for a large-scale massacre at their High School. It is said that “they were not only angry at athletes that made fun of them, or Christians, or black. They basically hated everyone except for a handful of people. On the front of one of Harris’s journals, he wrote “I hate the fucking world.” Harris also wrote that he hates racists, martial arts experts, and people who brag about their cars. Many people believe that Klebold and Harris were serious about acting out on this hate. They both used the internet to find recipes for pipe bombs and other explosives. The boys amassed an arsenal, which eventually included guns, knives, and 99 explosive devices. Klebold and Harris planned to kill as many people as possible so they plotted out the time when most of the students would be around, and that was lunchtime. There was some discrepancy whether the original date planned for the massacre was to be April 19 or 20. On April 19th that was the anniversary for the Oklahoma City Bombing and April 20th was the 110th anniversary of Adolph Hitler’s birthday. For whatever reason, the two boys settled with April 20, 1999.

Tuesday April 20, 1999 around 11:10 am Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris arrived at Columbine High School wearing black trench coats. The coats were to hide all of their weapons that they would be later using. The two boys drove separate cars and parked in their usual spots. Around 11:14 am the boys entered the school carrying two 20 pound propane bombs (with timers set for 11:17 am) in duffel bags. The bags blended in well with the hundreds of other school bags floating around the Columbine High hallway. They sat the bags at a table that was located in the cafeteria and then preceded back to their cars to wait for the explosion.

After waiting several minutes and nothing happen the boys realized that something had definitely gone wrong, so of course their original plan had failed. Klebold and Harris then decided to go back into the school. Klebold was wearing cargo pants and a black T-shirt with “Wrath” on the front, armed with a 9-mm semi-automatic handgun as well as a 12-gauge double-barrel sawed-off shotgun. Harris wore dark-colored pants and a white T-Shirt that had “Natural Selection,” written on it. Both boys were also wearing the black trench coats to hide the weapons, Klebold wore a black glove on his left hand and Harris’s glove was on the right hand.

Klebold and Harris started firing their shots at students sitting outside the cafeteria. Almost immediately 17-year old Rachel Scott was killed and Richard Castaldo was injured. Unfortunately many of the students had no idea of what was really going on. Many thought that since it was only a few days until graduation, the seniors were playing a last minute senior prank. In the aftermath, 13 children lay dead; one teacher fatally wounded trying to save others. Many wondered were there any signs or forewarnings that could be visualized before this travesty had taken place, the dismay answer to that question is yes. The signs were there but people refused to acknowledge them until it was too late.

In 1998, Harris parents were warned by the local police to start paying close attention