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I was teaching school then, in a high school. There are always kids who are on the "social fringe", and just don't really fit in. As a SPED teacher, I knew many of those kids...but many others are in regular ed, just living lives of desperation. We all know how high school is...Dickens said it best, "It was the best of times, and the worst of times".
That night, I went home, stunned. Realizing I taught in a school much like Columbine, large, in an affluent area. And many of those teachers did not make it home that night, or ever.
Our school changed after that. Better or worse? I don't know...we had "Shelter in Place" drills. Basically, what to do if you hear gunshots in the school. It was not presented like that...but we knew what it was all about.
We had small teams meet to discuss students who needed intervention, and a dress code was put in place...no long coats at our school. No wearing all black either.
It really does not Matter if Eric was a "Psychopath", what matters is to do some intervention, so this does not happen again....and sadly, it has....
Anyone who commits a heinous crime is labelled a psychopath by someone, sooner or later. They can't imagine that someone like you and me would do such a thing; there must be something terribly wrong with them. The actual evidence suggests that Eric Harris was harassed endlessly by the jocks and preppies at Columbine High and he was not getting any help from anyone. Teenagers are well-known for coming up with stupid ideas and acting on them instead of going to someone for help. I think the fact that he went in there armed to the teeth is a measure of how scared and angry he was, not how sociopathic he was.
I agree. Being bullied and tormented, esp. in the formative teen years can drive someone crazy, like this. I can't condone his actions, but these "kids" are really just expressing their pain outwards. I do wonder, the red flags that are there w/ these kids before hand, do parents miss, ignore or downplay them? Does everyone? Do we ever know what someone else will do?
I agree. Being bullied and tormented, esp. in the formative teen years can drive someone crazy, like this. I can't condone his actions, but these "kids" are really just expressing their pain outwards. I do wonder, the red flags that are there w/ these kids before hand, do parents miss, ignore or downplay them? Does everyone? Do we ever know what someone else will do?
I completely agree. Bullying and torment can definitely take a major toll on someone. I dont think it was the only factor that caused the shootings. But I do think it was one of the main factors. And while I dont condone their actions at all I understand it on some level. From what I read Dylan's parents had absoutely no idea that their was son was depressed and suicidal. Eric's parents on the other hand knew their son was having problems and tried to help him. I think they just fooled ALOT of people Dylan especially.
It really does not Matter if Eric was a "Psychopath", what matters is to do some intervention, so this does not happen again...
But that's why I started this thread...because I think it does matter. Possibly there are specific interventions that can be made with a person who has this diagnosis, as opposed to people who kill for other reasons (e.g. Jared Laughner of Tucson, who apparently has paranoid schizophrenia). From everything I've read, it appeared that Harris showed extremely antisocial signs early in life, but those around him either looked the other way or didn't take his behavior seriously.
I do wonder, the red flags that are there w/ these kids before hand, do parents miss, ignore or downplay them? Does everyone? Do we ever know what someone else will do?
It's hard to tell. When I first started reading about Harris, I really did think that his behavior was a result of his upbringing. Now I'm not so sure.
“You’re not born a psychopath but the foundation is there,” Hare says. “We’re all born with temperaments that can be shaped by the environment.” Furthermore, most psychopaths aren’t violent offenders. Those raised in deprived environments may grow up to be street criminals, for instance, whereas those raised in privileged homes may become corporate criminals, says Hare. Others won’t be criminals at all. Psychopaths may be influenced by a bad home environment but they also can come from seemingly happy, loving homes, where “no matter how much love mommy gives, the child just doesn’t connect,” says Hare. Ochberg believes that genetics plays a strong role in the development of psychopathy, and that environmental influences are much less important. “I believe the building blocks of psychopathy are largely inherited,” he says, “and by 5 or 6 you either put together a normal conscience, a superego, or you don’t.” Harris appears to be a case in point, says Ochberg. “I don’t think early life exposure contributed to his lack of conscience,” he says, nothing that Harris had a “conventionally good older brother.” “My opinion is the die was probably cast by age 6 for psychopathy through no fault of his parents,” Ochberg says. “They seem, from what I was able to learn, perfectly capable of raising a normal child.” Destined as a psychopath? Experts seek clues - Mental health
All of that happened in high school and he turned into quite a rebel around the age of 15. I dont think that counts as early in his life. Plus Brooks didnt even know Eric until freshman year.
Biggie: They should not give this kids medications that INCREASE the tendency to violent behavior.
I wish more parents would treat their kids with nutrition instead of pills. I saw in that link E.H. was on Luvox. LUVOX CR®
(increased depression - SE)
It's hard to tell. When I first started reading about Harris, I really did think that his behavior was a result of his upbringing. Now I'm not so sure.
“You’re not born a psychopath but the foundation is there,” Hare says. “We’re all born with temperaments that can be shaped by the environment.” Furthermore, most psychopaths aren’t violent offenders. Those raised in deprived environments may grow up to be street criminals, for instance, whereas those raised in privileged homes may become corporate criminals, says Hare. Others won’t be criminals at all. Psychopaths may be influenced by a bad home environment but they also can come from seemingly happy, loving homes, where “no matter how much love mommy gives, the child just doesn’t connect,” says Hare. Ochberg believes that genetics plays a strong role in the development of psychopathy, and that environmental influences are much less important. “I believe the building blocks of psychopathy are largely inherited,” he says, “and by 5 or 6 you either put together a normal conscience, a superego, or you don’t.” Harris appears to be a case in point, says Ochberg. “I don’t think early life exposure contributed to his lack of conscience,” he says, nothing that Harris had a “conventionally good older brother.” “My opinion is the die was probably cast by age 6 for psychopathy through no fault of his parents,” Ochberg says. “They seem, from what I was able to learn, perfectly capable of raising a normal child.” Destined as a psychopath? Experts seek clues - Mental health
Do you believe that Eric was a physcopath? I really dont think he was. He may have had physcopathic traits but so do alot of people and they wouldnt be described as physcopaths. People say physcopaths cannot feel emotion or chose not to, have no concenious, cant empathize with others, etc. Well isnt feeling angry, sad and happy emotion which he was angry and sad alot of the time? And I'm sure he felt happy some of the time. I also believe that on some level Eric felt sorry on some level for how his actions would effect his parents. He mentions this several times and stopped hanging out with them so it wouldnt be harder to do. Psrt of me also thinks he was trying to get caught so he wouldnt have to go through with it. There's many examples of this. Eric had a strong love for animals and stayed home from work to care of his dog Sparkey when it was having seizures and appartenly even cried about it. And on Dr. Hare's checklist the first trait is glib and superficial charm and how physcopaths are NEVER shy, self consiousnes or tongue tied which doesnt describe Eric.
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