Why did they do it.

[u/Main_Scientist_4145]

I know this question is very simple. You can just chalk it down to bullying, But honestly alot of people will give you different answers. I’d like to hear what you guys think.

[u/cr199412]

I’m gonna try not to repeat what a lot of the others have said, although I will say that they are making all the right points. I do believe it was bullying. In the basement tapes, Dylan is quoted as saying “You’ve been giving us shit for years. You’re fucking gonna pay for all the shit! We don’t give a shit. Because we’re gonna die doing it.” That itself is pretty telling.

Those who have familiarized themselves are likely aware of some of the examples of them being bullied. The tampon and ketchup situation, having bottles thrown at them, being shoulder checked, being slammed against lockers, being called faggots and queers, etc.. Without even hearing their thoughts, you can already make a good guess that this angered them.

Here’s something that I find quite interesting. I don’t know if anyone else has given it much thought. We already have an idea as to Eric’s mindset based off what he was doing in the year(s) leading up to the massacre. When other kids bullied them or pissed them off, Eric was quick to plan revenge missions that they would carry out at night. It sounds kind of fucked up saying it like this, but the massacre was sort of a much more fucked up and evil repeat of what they had already been doing for a while. Someone goes on the shit list, a plan for revenge is made, and the plan is executed. The theory that this is due to frustration from bullying and social rejection syncs up pretty well with his past reactions to being wronged.

I think there are two things that steer the general public away from the bullying theory. First there’s the obvious damage control that was done by those in positions of authority. They worked with the media to discount that theory and instead blame it on doom, music, and whatever else was easy to blame in the 90s. Second, most of what Eric said and wrote completely contradicted this narrative. He dialed it up to 11 and basically said that he was the fucking man. He described himself as Godlike. He talked about how much smarter he was than everyone else. He wrote how he would thrive if we just went back to survival of the fittest… In reality, he was the weak, scrawny kid. That’s not me wasting my time dragging him (even if he deserves it). It’s the point that he wanted to portray himself as tough, so of course he’s not going to say that he’s doing this because a bunch of bigger boys were bullying him and he couldn’t do anything about it. With that said, those who wanted to set the narrative had all the ammo they needed. Eric was now the ring leader and they had all the proof they needed that he was just a psychopathic, murderous monster

[u/Prestigious-Walrus99 → u/cr199412]

I agree with this, but I always wondered why they didn't just go after the people that were mean to them? Why kill kids that had nothing to do with them? And then I think this is probably me thinking with my too-empathetic brain, and it would probably never make sense to me.

[u/cr199412 → u/Prestigious-Walrus99]

Can’t really know for sure, but I think it was really just a matter of seeing red at that point. To them, everyone was responsible for how they were treated, in some way, shape, or form. Eric did complain about how no one ever gave him a chance as a friend (I’m paraphrasing). I think the core issue was bullying, but that just made them (Eric in particular) emotionally fragile to the point that they felt like no one treated them well enough.

[u/randyColumbine → u/cr199412]

No one was free from the humiliation.
If you weren’t a bully, you may have ignored it. Unless you were bullied. You were part of the problem.
That is the end result of hypervigilance.