Mental Illness
Discussions of mental illness pervade Columbine. Both Dylan and Eric had severe mental illness (Dylan was depressive and very likely had Bipolar disorder and Eric was an egomaniacal psychopath who wanted to become famous because of his actions at Columbine High School). Cullen points to the duos mental illness' (as well as Harris' hatred for virtually everything in the world) as the primary reason why they did what they did.
Violence and Its Consequences
The school shooting at Columbine is one of the most deadly -- but also perhaps the most widely known school shooting of all time. In total, 13 people lost their lives at Columbine High School the day Eric and Dylan decided to go on a rampage. They used firearms and homemade bombs and hoped to be responsible for the biggest terrorist act in U.S. history. Their heinous, violent act left families forever shattered and destroyed. It left 13 people dead, and countless others injured both mentally and psychically. In other words, the consequences of the two mens actions were devastating on the school, the community, and the country as a whole.
Misinformation Spread by the Media
Cullen's primary goal in writing Columbine was to set the record straight on the "great media blunders" that were prevalent in the medias coverage of the shooting. Cullen argues that the medias faulty reporting and rampant speculation "sensationalized" the event.
According to Cullen, the mass shooting had nothing to do with school bullying, jocks, Goth culture, Marilyn Manson, or the Trench Coat Mafia. The attack (which Cullen says was supposed to be a terrible bombing rather than a shooting) directly resulted from the duos mental illnesses' (among a couple of other things) -- Dylan was depressive and very likely had Bipolar disorder and Eric was an egomaniacal psychopath. In other words, the media created an account of the incident which was based off fear, conjecture, and misinformation, which only hurts the victims of the incident and really, those around the world.
