Understanding Columbine

I think my initial reaction to the story is just that of multi-faceted tragedy not only on the part of those who suffered that great loss as a result of those shootings, but of a mother who did her best to raise a son who choose to disassociate himself from society.

The article does an amazing job at telling a story. It is progressive as it gives background of a good child who grew up to be perceived as a monster. What’s more, is that it tells the story from a mothers perspective and describes her feelings while the tragedy was occurring as well as what was going on after it took place.

During the time the shooting was occurring, it was obvious that Ms. Klebold did not see this coming. She was worried, as any mother would be about her son’s well being and lived in denial until she learned of the evidence that would lead to his persecution. What is important about this story is also the idea that it is relatable despite such extreme circumstances. Even though, she was commonly viewed as a monster and publicly condemned for bad parenting, we can understand what her feelings of anguish are and how devastating this tragedy was for her. It really allows the audience to see another side of the story, and reassess our perceptions of someone we simply thought was doing a bad job at parenting. It is more complicated than that…

It is hard to hear her describe her humiliation. In this sense, it is really obvious that she was ashamed of what her son did and it made it harder that she didn’t see it coming. It is tough to realize that because of her son, she is scarred for life and her parenting, morals, values and ethics are brought into question, as someone of something has to be blamed for such a tragedy. In a way, it helps people cope to find a scapegoat, and this story makes the reader feel as if for months she walked around with a target on her back.

The issue of responsibility is also very interesting. Everyone who was associated to Dylan felt responsible for what occurred. The parents especially felt responsible. It is hard as a reader to even begin to imagine that burden or how that would feel. However, it is also notable that she seems to differ responsibility off of herself and almost projects it onto someone else. However, at the same time, what mom would want to fully accept blame of such a tragedy and admit that maybe there was something that she might have missed.

As a reader, I appreciate the approach into the discussion of suicide and her being proactive in trying to understand the intentions of such a devastating act. I think that this is obviously a very deep and hard subject, but it is approach respectfully with hopes of understanding and most importantly, trying to solve a very serious problem. In this, the actions are still not condoned but it is important to try to understand them so they may not occur again in the future. However, I though that was that it was done was interesting. There is a section that reads "in loving memory of Dylan" and dedicates suicide research. While I get the feelings of why she did this, it definitely didn't sit as easily as I maybe thought it would. Additionally, if anyone was in this situation, I am sure that they would probably approach it in the same way.